What is the song about and what is its historical context? Outline what happened, who was involved, when it occurred and key places. Are there any lyrics that answer these questions? If so, use these to support your answer. (HS3 & 4) The song From Little Things Big Things Grow is about the Aboriginal workers and families fight for better pay and then their land back from Lord Vestey on Wave Hill Station. Paul Kelley and Kev Carmody wrote this song in 1991 to raise awareness about the historical event at Wave Hill because Paul Kelly found not many people knew about the events, when he was at school. This can be seen throughout the song in it’s format of telling a story through the song. The song says in it’s opening paragraph,” An eight year …show more content…
long story of power and pride, ‘‘Bout British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari” The song gives us the first few facts about the Wave Hill walk off went for 8 years and was a battle between Lord Vestey (own of Wave Hill Station) and Vincent Lingiari (leader of the Gurindji people). “Vestey was fat with money and muscle, Beef was his business.” Vincent “He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor.” These two lines set the scene more and give more context about Vestey being wealthy and powerful, compared to Vincent being broke and with little power. The Gurindji people were paid very little or only rations at the time and lived in terrible conditions, visible in the lyrics “Gurindji were working for nothing but rations”. The Gurindji people were sick of the oppression and walked off Wave Hill Station and moved to Wattie Creek. Although Lord Vestey tried to lure the Gurindji people back they didn’t come back and demanded their land back, this is stated in the song “Vestey man said I’ll double your wages”. In later years Vincent flew to the big city “And Vincent sat down with big politicians.” This chat later lead to the return of their land. “And through Vincent’s fingers poured a handful of sand.” This references when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam returned the land to people, the greatest moment in the land rights movement. Why was there a conflict of interest between Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari? To answer this question, consider their aims and motivations. E.g. why did they have their specific points of view on the issue? Use lyrics from the song AND evidence from other sources to support your response. (KU3&4, HS4) Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari “were opposite men on opposite sides”.
There was conflict between Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari because they were on opposite sides of the argument. Lord Vestey wanted to keep the land he was using for beef and also keep the aboriginal people’s pay at a low and keep them in poor condition. Lord Vestey was making a lot of money off the Wave Hill Station and if he had to give the land back he wouldn’t be able to make that money. Lord Vestey also didn’t want to pay the workers equal because that would cut into his profits, he was paying them 50% less than non-aboriginal and sometimes even less than that. The Gurindji people were like slave labour and much cheaper than any person not of color. The poor conditions that LLord Vestey had the Gurindji people living in, was due to he didn’t see them as equal to white people. Building proper facilities cost money he didn’t want to spend. Vincent had the polar opposite interest, then Lord Vestey, first off he wanted Aboriginal people to be payed the same wage as white people and he wanted better conditions for the Gurindji people. Vincent wanted to be treated like a person and not a slave. The better conditions and wage would make the Gurindji people’s lives so much easier and happier than before. Vincent also wanted the land return to the Gurindji people because it was rightfully the Gurindji’s land in the first place, before it was taken from them and the land holds a very strong cultural …show more content…
significance to the Gurindji people. Do you think the songwriters’ interpretation of events is justified? Why or why not? Revise your notes from Parts 1 and 2 to assist with this. (HS6) I think the song writer's interpretation of the events at Wave Hill Station are accurate and justified.
I think all the events are totally historically correct and the song although having a slight bias in favour of the Gurindji people doesn’t make the statements incorrect. An example of this is “Vestey was fat with money and muscle” this sentence is historically correct with Vestey being very rich and powerful but the way it is worded shows a bias against Vestey with the use of “fat with” instead of just saying Vestey was rich and powerful. This interpretation could be due Kev Carmody growing up on Station as well and understanding what the Gurindji people went through and wanting to support
them. How might this song be useful to an historian who is studying evidence related to these events? Consider what they can learn about a certain aspect of history and the significance or importance of this event from analysing the song lyric. Use quotes from the lyric to support. (HS3, 4 & 5) This song would be useful to historian who are studying the Wave Hill Station walk off. Not only for the song tells the story of the Wave Hill Walk Off in chronological order and gives a great overview of the whole walk off. But the song also gives some context into education about the walk off at the time with this being the first time many people heard about the walk off. The song does have some limitation with no dates given and a very simplistic telling of the story only from the Gurindji people’s side.
The song From Little Things Big Things Grow was written by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody, and was released in 1993. It is written about the eight year long struggle of the Gurindji people and their land rights. The song focuses on Vincent Lingiari, an Aboriginal activist who led the Wave Hill walk-off as an act of protest against a British pastoral company called Vesteys. This song is still well known today, and raises an incredibly important message about equality and land rights.
Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In 1982, along with four other Meriam people from Murray Island, he initiated legal proceedings in the Queensland Supreme Court claiming customary ownership of their lands on Murray Island. This original claim was rejected by the Supreme Court, but rather than backing down Mabo chose to present his case to the High Court of Australia. The basis of his case explores how “’Australia’ is morally illegitimate to the extent that it is founded on European denial of the continent’s prior ownership by indigenous people…” (Rowse, 1994)
Tribal Voice by Yothu Yindi is a song which incorporates perspective about how aboriginals were treated badly and cast out and that they should all stand up to take back what is theirs . This song is an aboriginal perceptive that they were treated badly though they gave the people of Australia home, even though they get no rewards or thanks. This song represents the aboriginal thinking of colonised Australia saying it wasn’t fair to themselves and their children as they took care of the land and it was just taken away and they were cast out. The indigenous people are still dreaming for a day that they can be fully welcomed back into society, but they now are going to speak for themselves and do whatever it takes so that the future generation of aboriginal culture have a better future.
Key describes the end of the bombardment of the fort and still flying above the fort is the flag of the United States. Key gloats in the British loss in the third stanza. He ask where are the British who were determined to destroy our country. The fourth and final stanza is a statement of America’s value and hopes for the
...ritten about Brown. It was entitled, "John Brown's Body". Union soldiers would chant and sing this song as they marched. After the worst defeats they would use it to cheer themselves up.
...ils to explain why this song was so popular. In this case not giving all of the facts about a historical figure is to that person's detriment.
An underlying theme in The Lieutenant is Racism, in The Lieutenant the British Settlers consider the Indigenous Australians (specifically the people they encounter are that of the Eora Ethnic group) to be savages and below them, while the British considered themselves superior and believed that their actions were justified, which led to much conflict between both groups. Racism was a major conflict that affected many societies all over the world and the effects are still being felt now, for example Racism was a large issue in countries such as America and there are still many that cling to this prejudice and many who despise people groups, such as white Americans because of the way they were treated by said people group in their lifetime, and aboriginal communities are still feeling the effects from actions taken against them by the British settlers after they began to colonise and spread across Australia. In this situation it is not necessarily individuals that have been effected by the conflicts caused by Racism, but rather groups and
The song was written to motivate young men to join the army, idealizing soldiers as patriotic “son[s] of liberty” who would make their fathers, girlfriends, and country proud. The US soldiers are shown as the liberators of
Struggles by Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people for recognition of their rights and interests have been long and arduous (Choo & Hollobach: 2003:5). The ‘watershed’ decision made by the High Court of Australia in 1992 (Mabo v Queensland) paved the way for Indigenous Australians to obtain what was ‘stolen’ from them in 1788 when the British ‘invaded’ (ATSIC:1988). The focus o...
...rgence, it was not recorded and recognized. The narrator and the authors from SSUS both express an emphasis on the importance of this music. The narrator felt so compelled by the music that he decided to bring the music to a different audience and environment. The authors in SSUS also voiced the importance of remembering and try to recreate the original African-American slave songs. Although both stories place a huge emphasis on these songs, the musicking experiences are quite different. The narrator provides a raw, detailed emotional response to the music. Meanwhile, the authors in SSUS choose to focus more on the music’s context and technicalities. Aside from their similarities and differences, these stories greatly show how music can help record a time in history, show different examples of musicking, and help show the importance of some of music’s original roots
The assimilation policy was a policy that existed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s, and replaced that of protectionism. Its purpose was to have all persons of aboriginal blood and mixed blood living like ‘white’ Australians, this established practice of removing Aboriginal children (generally half-bloods) from their homes was to bring them up without their culture, and they were encouraged to forget their aboriginal heritage. Children were placed in institutions where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society. During the time of assimilation Aboriginal people were to be educated for full citizenship, and have access to public education, housing and services. However, most commonly aboriginal people did not receive equal rights and opportunities, for example, their wages were usually less than that paid to the white workers and they often did not receive recognition for the roles they played in the defence of Australia and their contribution to the cattle industry. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that expendi...
Political issues such as the war on terrorism is evoked as an issue throughout the song. American was divided “All across the alien nation” when troops were sent to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction. Metaphorical language was used to explore the issue. Audience positioning from techniques indorse concerns with a country divided and positions them to feel the need to cooperate and sort things out other than civil unrest and debate.
" Sing for freedom : the story of the Civil Rights Movement through its songs. Montgomery, Ala.: NewSouth Books. Kirk, J. (2007). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secon Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
The 1960’s was a time of war and fear for the United States and many people were turning their accusations towards the government. “Masters of War” was written by Bob Dylan in late 1962 and early 1963. The focus of this song is a protest against the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that was happening during the early 1960’s. The song is protesting on the American government having its citizens live in fear of a constant attack and hiding behind their shroud, unaffected by anything that would happen to the people. It shook the nation with its fierce and angry tone against the “military industrial complex.” Dylan’s lyrics stated that it was not contained by declaring a pointless war and not taking responsibility for the problems it was causing. “Masters of War” is a powerful song against the government and the military. The protest song “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan highlights how the looming aspect of the Cold War affected the people of the United States and demonstrates Dylan’s view on the governments involved.
The song that I choose to do this assignment on is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Fight the Power was written in 1989 and quickly became a street anthem for millions of youths. It reflects with issues dealing with both the Civil Rights Movement and to remind everyone that they too have Constitutional Rights. This particular song is about empowerment but also fighting the abuse of power that is given to the law enforcement agencies. It gave citizens of the U.S a more modern outlook on the many struggles that not only the African American community is up against but the other minority groups as well. The song’s message was eventually supposed to bring people together and make the world a better place, even though some teens saw it as a way