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about

Written in Vasse, Western Australia 6-11 Feb 2014

Specially researched and written on request for the ANZAC Commemorative Committee in Albany, WA.

Song Title, ‘First To Fall’ originated from the Anzac website

General idea: A dreamlike recollection of a digger who survived.

My objective is to write a song that celebrates the Spirit of the Anzac soldiers. Their loyalty, service, mate-ship.

In thinking about this I recalled a scene from Herman Hesse’s ’The Glass Bead Game’ (that I read years ago now) where the main character (which as I vaguely recall) dives into an icy pool which shocks his system and kills him - symbolically bringing about a death of his old life as an intellectual (with lots of theorising about the nature of life) and the birth of a new person willing to embrace life to it’s fullest.

“the big thing in the war for Australia was the discovery of the character of
Australian men. It was character which rushed the hills at Gallipoli and held on there”.
Charles Bean - WW1 Historian (‘In Your Hands’)

———————————
Origin of line from 1st Verse:

I can still hear Jack Adams cry
“Up boys and at ‘em, follow me”

Transcription of Private Ralph Scobie DCM 54th Battalion AIF: Jack Adams ran along the top of the trench and he bawled out ‘Fix bayonets and load up’ and then he came back still running, ‘Up boys and at ‘em, keep going, there is no objective’.

———————————————-

The idea for the lines from the song Bridge section:

Explained in this extract from the RSL website:

All these stories, together with the reports of the terrible losses were being printed in the newspapers back home in Australia. After reading such horrors, why then did 36,000 men volunteer to join the war effort? The spirit of the ANZACs had touched the hearts and minds of all Australians. Win or lose, they wanted to be with their mates. They couldn't stay home and do nothing after their mates had given so much. Their country needed them and they wanted to stand up and be counted. The true spirit of the ANZACs - a willingness to sacrifice their lives for their country, their pride and their mates.

The spirit of the ANZAC continues today in times of hardship such as cyclones, floods and bush fires. At those times Australians come together to rescue one another, to ease suffering, to provide food and shelter, to look after one another, and to let the victims of these disasters know they are not alone.

"I'd rather be killed than leave them there to die", said one ANZAC after he had risked his life to rescue a wounded mate from the battlefield and lowered him back into the Australians' trench at Gallipoli. That spirit lives on in many Australians today.
————————————————

Origin of lines from 3rd Verse:

“Webb was an orphan from Essendon
Throwing bombs back into the night
He lost both his hands and walked out of the Pine
Following an ancient light”

Extract from Australia War Memorial website:
“One of them, Corporal Frederick Wright, clutched at a bomb that burst in his face, killing him. Another, Corporal Harry Webb, described by Charles Bean as an ‘orphan from Essendon’, continued to catch until both his hands had been blown off. He walked out of the Pine and died.”

Coincidentally: The Essendon Football Club are nicknamed the Bombers.

lyrics



6. First To Fall 



We’d dive into the water, together we crossed the sea 

I can hear Jack Adams cry, “Up boys and at ‘em, follow me”

Never thought I’d find myself, when we heeded the call 

We were the first, we were the first to fall 



We’d never stop to think if we could swim, didn’t know how to hesitate

We were the first to jump right in, the enemy lying in wait 

We sure were something else, we were once and for all 

We were the first, we were the first to fall
We were the first, the first to fall


I wrote you a letter, I could never explain it all

If I ever make it that far, I’d do it again for the first to fall 



Webb was an orphan from Essendon, throwing bombs back into the night

Lost both his hands and walked out of the Pine, following an ancient light 

He sure was something else, he was once and for all 

And I never thought I’d find myself, when we heeded the call 


We were the first, we were the first to fall 


Wrote so many letters, I could never explain it all 

If I ever make it that far, I’d do it again for the first to fall

credits

from Southern Cross Northern Skies, released February 8, 2016

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Rory Faithfield Dublin, Ireland

Performing solo with acoustic guitar, harmonicas and a loop station, Rory has mesmerised audiences and critics alike. Bruce Elder stated, "Faithfield inhabits the same rich musical world as Christy Moore, Luka Bloom and Glen Hansard. His songs are wistful, romantic, deeply felt, beautifully crafted and sung with a voice that pours sincerity and emotion over every line and note”. ... more

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