He was born on the steps of the rum hospital
As the rains flowed down veins of Macquarie Street
His mother, exhausted, died in her sleep
It was September fourteen eighteen twenty-eight
And on George Street that evening
As John Brodie was born
Three men dug a tunnel into the Bank of Australia
A considerable sensation was excited in town
John lost his mother while the bank lost its pounds
When he was twenty-three he moved to Ballarat
Looking for the gold
And a pretty girl to have his children
But all he found was bureaucrats and taxes
Well they say we need a license to be rich
They sent the troops from Melbourne
With their sniders
They aimed their guns at good men and decent folk
And when that bastard Bentley
Killed Scobie in cold blood
We kept warm that night from the ashes of his hotel
You could feel the hate and greed in the miasma
I heard that they killed that boy
That played the drums
But on Bakery Hill the Southern Cross flew high
But John Brodie lost his life
Before he could see the blue flag fly
His heart skipped a beat when the bullet hit
And the blood spilled from his chest onto the ground
And as he lay in agony he stared up at the clouds
And he whispered to himself as he died
He said when I find gold
Oh I'm gonna be a better man
When I find gold
Yeah, we'll settle down and buy some land
When I find gold
I'll put a ring upon your hand
When I find gold
Oh I'm gonna be a better man for sure.
Alec Bowman perfectly captures the dark soil under the pastoral world of British folk with this collection of melancholy originals. Bandcamp New & Notable May 12, 2020
Beautifully played and full of moving vocal performances, the Bay Area singer/songwriter's latest is a stellar work of art. Bandcamp Album of the Day Feb 3, 2023
The new EP from Scottish songwriter Alec Bowman_Clarke goes deep, setting vulnerable lyrics to gentle melodies & stripped-back arrangements. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 30, 2021