This song imagines the resistance to Peter Malinauskas’ destruction of the Adelaide Park Lands as a tale about standing up to a tyrant set in historical Greece.
The reason for this writing experiment is because I have just read The Iliad and The Odyssey, and then seen The Odyssey movie, so I am deeply immersed in Greek culture at the moment.
What has struck me about their traditional folk music is the rustic simplicity of the words and the use of sensual activities like drinking, weeping, dancing, etc, and how they juxtapose celebratory activities against a backdrop of accepting their fate.
Of course, there is much more nuance in their culture, but I wanted to play with the idea of and Adelaide man bidding goodbye to his beloved as he set about trying to bring the tyrant down. Sadly, in this tale, the town is destroyed and he ends up in the ground. Meanwhile, his lover is instructed to dance, weep, and drink while she still can. Full pathos here to capture the sense of frustration when an unhinged Premier with zero appreciation of cultural heritage is driven by mates and money and the allure of rubbing shoulders with “VIPs” in the makeshift exclusive areas in tacky racetrack buildings amid a sweltering, tree-less Park Lands zone.
This is the first time in my life that I have endured a pigheaded Premier who is hell bent on playing to an imaginery crowd, while creating strawmen to shout insults at. Somewhere in that frustration, I found solace in the despair of many Greek traditional songs. It seems opppression comes in many shades across many different civilisations.
Our resident olive tree grove (conveniently and disingenuously labelled as a pest by our turncoat leader) is paid tribute to in the opening lines of the song.
This is an exercise of imagination as a way of dealing with the frustration of a tone-deaf, short-sighted Premier who will leave a hideous scar on our city and society.
And Drink To Us Lyrics
[Verse 1]
My darling, my darling
Meet me at the olive tree
I’m leaving, I’m leaving
Come and say goodbye to me
[Chorus]
Dance (Dance)
And weep (Weep)
Clear your mind, before you sleep
Share (Share)
Your wine (Wine)
And drink to us, while there’s still time
[Verse 2]
My darling, my darling
There is a tyrant in our town
I’m fighting, I’m fighting
I’m trying to bring him down
[Chorus]
Dance (Dance)
And weep (Weep)
Clear your mind, before you sleep
Share (Share)
Your wine (Wine)
And drink to us, while there’s still time
[Verse 3]
My darling, my darling
Dress in black for me today
In mourning, in mourning
As they steal our town away
[Chorus]
Dance (Dance)
And weep (Weep)
Clear your mind, before you sleep
Share (Share)
Your wine (Wine)
And drink to us, while there’s still time
[Bridge]
Please keep a candle lit, please keep your lamp a-glow
Please leave somewhere to sit, even when I’m down below
[Chorus]
Dance (Dance)
And weep (Weep)
Clear your mind, before you sleep
Share (Share)
Your wine (Wine)
And drink to us, while there’s still time
[Chorus]
Dance (Dance)
And weep (Weep)
Clear your mind, before you sleep
Share (Share)
Your wine (Wine)
And drink to us, while there’s still time
[Chorus]
Dance (Dance)
And weep (Weep)
Clear your mind, before you sleep
Share (Share)
Your wine (Wine)
And drink to us, while there’s still time
Listen To And Drink To Us
And Drink To Us Scratchings
Here are the handwritten scribbles as this song took shape.
