Beat-poem Written And Performed by Tony Strachan
This is the text of a beat-poem written and performed by Tony Strachan at the dinner at the Imperial Hotel, Bowral on Saturday 10 June 2023. The dinner followed a lunch which was to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the wife and son of Irene and Bill’s second child, John - Cecilia and Kevin, who both died in 2003, and to honour John (Jack) who died in 1985, and his eldest son John, who died in 2008.
The beat-poem was to honour the O’Briens, and in particular Jack, Cecilia, John and Kevin. To view the video of the performance, click here.
Cousins, cousins, cousins….Hear Ye, Hear Ye…
We’re back in Limerick…Tipperary…
The forebears of Pa, head for the Horn
Under sail and a wind of scorn
The young men shiver as the canvas flaps
They pray as the captain holds his oily maps
Round the Horn.. they rock and reel
They spew their guts all over the wheel
In the colony they head out to the heat
William says……….‘We will sow some wheat’
Cus, Cus..Oohh, Cus, Cus…Mmmm
The hard times follow - William curses the earth
The dust is rust and there’s the cry of birth
His plough share broken it’s a bloody big crack
He carries the metal load on his back
People shakin’ their heads….. at the two-legged horse
He becomes a bloody legend ….well of course.
TemORA….TemORA…There IS...a special AUra
Our pa is now a man and he meets a lass
The sheep do munch, the family goes to mass
The Great War passes but the fire comes
The family in the dam and the burnt out gums
Depression
pass the shoes down
four in a room
no trips to the store
war and the CALL-UP comes
men become rats in a desert war
And Allan adds to the deadly score.
TemORA…TemORA...There IS..a special AUra
It’s the nineteen sixties and it’s nine at night
The kids with rosaries kneel in low light
Celia pokes Jack and he wakes with a start
She tells them all it’s mass… at sparrow fart
Muster at TilBUSter…Muster at TilBUSter…
Spoken:
Cousins John and Kevin rest in peace
Bowed in Bowral on their personal lease
They carried THEIR plough shares through the dust
As all of us eventually surely must
Muster in…TilBUSter
TeMORa…TeMORa…
Etc…
Written and performed by Tony Strachan, with an attempt at backing vocals and interpretive dance by Leslie Jolley, Rob Landsberry and Kate Landsberry, last modified 13 July 2023