Albert Namatjira

by Michael Atherton

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about

Music composed and performed by Michael Atherton;
Words by Denis Kevans

lyrics

I am come a lot of years,
Along the far and dusty road,
And know our days are sharp with fear,
And that our nights are quiet and cold,
My hands are worn by work and pain,
And all my eyes are tracked with tears,
But still my courage strides again,
To where the hunters shape their spears.

Desert winds are scratching dust,
And whirling vapours from the sand,
Colours sift into my mind,
Australia grips my shaking hand,
Down desert tracks my memory tramps,
And in the heat of desert noon,
I see the dead in blackened camps,
I hear them chant a people's doom.

I watch as squatters ride them down,
With rifle-butt and stirrup-iron,
I watch the legions of the Crown.,
That rape the land I thought was mine,
The screams of children fill the air,
Crows and eagles crowd the grass,
Unbuttoned tunics, stuck with hair,
Smell bloody as the troopers pass.

I cannot hope to rest for long,
Or lie asleep and take my ease,
I cannot hope to right the wrong,
That hunts my people through the trees,
My canvas is a hangman's noose,
That will not let me stand at rest,
Oh, that there might be some use,
For genius in a black-skinned breast.

credits

released September 21, 2023
Recorded at the Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs

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about

Michael Atherton Sydney, Australia

Michael Atherton - multi-instrumentalist whose creative output includes composition, screen music, performance and artistic direction in many genres and styles, including Asia-Pacific musical instruments, Australian instrument makers and intercultural music. His performances and recordings include creative realisations of ancient Egyptian, Greek, medieval and renaissance music. ... more