Bush Ballad

Bush Ballad

Bush songs or bush ballads are a folk music and poetry tradition in Australia's outback. The rhyming songs, poems and tales often relate to the itinerant and rebellious spirit of Australia, a young country. The lyrical tradition of bush songs was born of settlers and influenced by Aboriginal society in the geographical areas referred to as The Bush. The performers are sometimes referred to as bush bards.

Many of the songs were composed in the 19th century and passed on through the generations. Several collectors have catalogued some of the songs. John Meredith's collection, assembled in the 1950s when he bought himself a very large tape recorder and carted it around to record people who had memories of the old songs, became the basis of the collection in the National Library of Australia. Earlier collections, such as Banjo Paterson's 1905 The Old Bush Songs, include only the lyrics and no musical notation; however, for some of the ballads a particular folk tune is suggested (see image of "The Dying Stockman" next section below).

Famous quotes containing the words bush and/or ballad:

“Different persons growing up in the same language are like different bushes trimmed and trained to take the shape of identical elephants. The anatomical details of twigs and branches will fulfill the elephantine form differently from bush to bush, but the overall outward results are alike.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)

“During the cattle drives, Texas cowboy music came into national significance. Its practical purpose is well known—it was used primarily to keep the herds quiet at night, for often a ballad sung loudly and continuously enough might prevent a stampede. However, the cowboy also sang because he liked to sing.... In this music of the range and trail is “the grayness of the prairies, the mournful minor note of a Texas norther, and a rhythm that fits the gait of the cowboy’s pony.””
—Administration in the State of Texa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)