Rabbit Holes and Earworms

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Once upon a time (five years ago), Australia and New Zealand were to have been our destination, but alas, Covid came and the world changed.

Now the world has more or less reverted and we are finally preparing to visit the land down under. I started humming and singing Australia’s unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda, a few weeks back. It’s a folk tune that was written at the turn of the twentieth century about a hobo who gets caught poaching a sheep. The term “waltzing Matilda” is not about dancing, but refers to traveling on foot (waltzing) with a bag of your belongings (Matilda) slung over your shoulder. You know how this sprightly tune goes (as demonstrated by Australian performer Rolf Harris… more about him later).

The tale turns dark at the end, as the hobo chooses to drown himself in a lake rather than be arrested for his crime…. perhaps more of a tribute to the independent spirit of the Aussies than just a light-hearted ditty.

Rolf’s story also becomes clouded…..an Australian who emigrated to the UK, he had a musical career, several shows on British television and recorded “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport”, which was a big hit in the US and other anglophone countries in 1963. Not only was he a successful entertainer, he was also quite a gifted painter. In 2006, the BBC commissioned him to do a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday……

Sadly for poor old Rolf, he was snared in the “Me Too” movement – convicted in 2014 of multiple counts of sexual misconduct by British courts. He spent three years in prison and died last year at age 93. Following his conviction, he was stripped of many honors accrued in his lifetime, including Commander of the British Empire, Officer of the Order of Australia and as an “Australian National Living Treasure”, among other awards. No one seems to know where the queen’s painting is any more either.

Sad for Rolf, sad for the victims of unwanted attention….. which brings us to this also-sad song written by Tom Waits (as recorded in 1992 by Rod Stewart) that takes the Waltzing Matilda refrain in a whole different direction. From the viewpoint of an alcoholic stranded in a foreign country….. in pain, isolated and hopeless.

I’ve included a clip of this recording; but I encourage you to seek out the full version. It’s a haunting piece that is embedded in my brain. Never can I hear the zippy “Waltzing Matilda” again without hearing Rod’s voice croaking out a refrain of misery.

Uplifting, yeah? It’s amazing where you can go when following simple threads of inquiry….. like the origins of a perky folk song. I had to share this particular journey.

Speaking of journeys…..

We depart in a couple of days for the north island of New Zealand and then Australia. Once again, it will be trains, planes, automobiles and boats as we explore some distant reaches of that part of the world. A bonus – it’s winter there, so we will escape the treacherous heat and humidity of our East Texas home. And another bonus – we will be absent for most of the hoo-rah that will no doubt surround the build-up to the US general election in November! Yay.

It is particularly exciting that two trusted traveling companions from South Africa – Tertius and Ty – will be joining us for a few weeks flying over Australia’s middle, from Melbourne to Darwin. Here we are in 2022 celebrating our climb up the Sani Pass from South Africa to Lesotho.

More hilarity will doubtless ensue on this trip!

Little of great moment has happened to us since the circumnavigation with National Geographic last year…. If you don’t count the addition of a couple of new souls to our household.

Boudreaux and Sally O’Malley showed up on our porch in the middle of an electrical storm a month or two ago, and quickly established that they were never going to leave. They are truly lovely dogs…. But will not supplant in our affections Raider, shown here dreaming under multiple images of a solar eclipse.

Raider will spend this summer with his “first” family in Tyler, while Boudreaux and Sally O will stay with a lovely woman who boards pets in her home.

With the critters taken care of, we’re off to the other side of the world. First posting from the road will probably come out at the end of June.

Stay cool and stay safe….. but not too safe!