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SPIRITUAL SONG OF THE ABORIGINE
SPIRITUAL SONG OF THE ABORIGINE
I am a child of the Dreamtime People
Part of this Land, like the gnarled gumtree
I am the river, softly singing
Chanting our songs on my way to the sea
My spirit is the dust-devils
Mirages, that dance on the plain
I’m the snow, the wind and the falling rain
I’m part of the rocks and the red desert earth
Red as the blood that flows in my veins
I am eagle, crow and snake that glides
Thorough the rain-forest that clings to the mountainside
I awakened here when the earth was new
There was emu, wombat, kangaroo
No other man of a different hue
I am this land
And this land is me
I am Australia.
By Hyllus Maris
Questions
1. Imagery used to express themes
What are the pictures in the poem?
Are metaphors/similes used to explain ideas?
Is there multi-sensory imagery in the poem? - i.e. are the five senses used to evoke certain reactions in the reader?
2. Form and Structure
How is the poem organised? - e.g. lines, verses, layout and shape.
Why has the poet decided to structure the ideas in this way? e.g. the sequence of ideas, length of lines, patterns etc.
3. Rhyme and Rhythm
How does the poem rhyme? - e.g. abab or aabb etc.
What is the rhythm of the poem when read aloud?
Why has the poet chosen this rhyme and rhythm to express these ideas?
4. Language Techniques
Think about the sounds of the poem and choice of words.
The poet uses specific words because they have a certain association in the reader's mind.
Look out for alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, personification, symbolism.
How has the poet grouped words to achieve a desired effect?
5. The Poet's Message
What is the poet trying to communicate to the reader? What is the tone?
How effective are the devices/language that he/she uses?
What is your response to the poem?
THE TRIBAL GHOST
He walks at Yarralumla,
‘Neath the shining Southern Cross
An his fingers, stern, accusing
Point out his country’s loss.
His features faintly glowing
In a deeply spectred light,
A silent voice just crying
‘Guv’nor General’ through the night.
He walks at Yarralumla
And his mournful features plead
For the Koori men, his brothers
Seeking justice in their need.
But the empty symbols, wooden
With a wooden heart look on:
‘You must bow to hypocrisy
And injustice, so walk on!
Walk on! I take no heeding
To the spirit of the land,
Nor your silent, ghostly pleading,
Nor your stern but harmless hand
Your cry for land and totems
From the distant misty age
Your pleas for right and dignity
Your proud, but futile rage!’
He walks at Yarralumla
And we know he walks in vain
There, forever silent, pleading,
For his tribal lands again—
Here the gaunt, embittered vision
Holding hands up to the skies
Will sink to deep oblivion
When the last old tribesman dies.
By Kevin Gilbert
Questions:
Understanding
1 How do we know that the ghost is visiting the Governor-General’s residence at night?
2. Why has the ghost come to Yarralumla? What is he hoping to achieve?
3. The ghost is clearly dissatisfied. Explain which words and images help to convey this?
Applying
4. In the poem ‘The Tribal Ghost’ identify:
examples of personification
lines in which imagery is used
evidence of symbolism
phrases in which descriptive language is used.
Analysing
5. The word ‘But’ signals a change in mood in the tone of the poem. It is at this point in the poem that the focus shifts from the ghost to the voice of the Governor- General. How does Gilbert portray this figure as an aloof and dismissive authority figure?
6. In what ways are the ghost’s demands dismissed?
7. ‘He walks at Yarralumla / And we know he walks in vain’. Who is the ‘we’ that the poet refers to in this line? What makes you think this?
Evaluating
8. Does Gilbert’s poem suggest that the ghost’s endeavours will be futile? Give reasons for your answer.
9. ‘But the empty symbols, wooden / with a wooden heart look on’.The role of Governor-General is a typical representation of the role of white authority in Australia. What does the use of these lines say to the reader about the way in which this authority views the demands of the ghost?
Archie Roach - They Took the Children Away
They Took the Children Away – Archie Roach
This story's right, this story's true
I would not tell lies to you
Like the promises they did not keep
And how they fenced us in like sheep.
Said to us come take our hand
Sent us off to mission land.
Taught us to read, to write and pray
Then they took the children away,
Took the children away,
The children away.
Snatched from their mother's breast
Said this is for the best
Took them away.
The welfare and the policeman
Said you've got to understand
We'll give them what you can't give
Teach them how to really live.
Teach them how to live they said
Humiliated them instead
Taught them that and taught them this
And others taught them prejudice.
You took the children away
The children away
Breaking their mothers heart
Tearing us all apart
Took them away
One dark day on Framingham
Come and didn't give a damn
My mother cried go get their dad
He came running, fighting mad
Mother's tears were falling down
Dad shaped up and stood his ground.
He said 'You touch my kids and you fight me'
And they took us from our family.
Took us away
They took us away
Snatched from our mother's breast
Said this was for the best
Took us away.
Told us what to do and say
Told us all the white man's ways
Then they split us up again
And gave us gifts to ease the pain
Sent us off to foster homesAs we grew up we felt alone
Cause we were acting white
Yet feeling black
One sweet day all the children came back
The children come back
The children come back
Back where their hearts grow strong
Back where they all belong
The children came back
Said the children come back
The children come back
Back where they understand
Back to their mother's land
The children come back
Back to their mother
Back to their father
Back to their sister
Back to their brother
Back to their people
Back to their land
All the children come back
The children come back
The children come back
Yes I came back.
Questions
1. What is your initial response to the song? What does it make you think? What does it make you feel? What images come to mind?
2. How would you describe Archie Roach’s voice? What emotions does he convey in his voice alone? Are these emotions the same in every verse?
3. Which lyrics in the song have an impact to you? Describe their significance.
4. What is the difference between the first two verses and the third?
5. How is the fourth verse different from the previous three?
6. What have you learned about the Stolen Generations from this song?
MOONSTRUCK
When the western sky’s ablaze
And the sun lays down to rest
When the curlew starts to cry
And the birds fly home to roost
When the full moon begins to rise
Satin moon beams on my face
Beauty of the night goes far beyond
Far beyond both time and place
No ones lost who finds the moon
Or the sweetness of the wattle’s bloom
Rebirth with the rain in spring
Or the dingoe’s howl on the autumn wind
Spirit of the moon here calls me home
Spirit of the moon here guides me home
Moon it draws me to the scrub
Night voices raised in song
Past the water lilies bloom
In that tranquil billabong
Walkin’ on the shadowed leaves
That are reflected by the moon
To the rocks and hills an’ caves
Where the dingoe’s pups are born
Stars ablazin’ across the sky
In the brilliance of the Milky Way
I’m surrounded by the beauty
Of every night and every day
Walkin’ towards that morning moon set
Caress of moonlight on my skin
Knowin’ that freedom of not carin’
Of why I’m goin’ or where I’ve been
By Kev Carmody
Questions
1. In the first stanza how has Carmody created a feeling of peace and serenity?
2. When does Carmody feel most contemplative about home?
3. ‘Beauty of the night goes far beyond / Far beyond both time and place’ How do these lines suggest that Carmody has moved into a sense of reverie?
4. The moon is central to the songwriter’s journey. How is the moon used by Carmody to explore the ideas in the song?
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