Big Fat Salmon

2000

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Tracklist

1. 1
   Red Rock

   Red Rock commemorates Minyirr, or Gantheume Point, on the southern end of Cable Beach, Broome, in the Kimberley region of north-west Australia. This place is of very important significance to indigenous people from this region, as I hope the song conveys. My friend Dalisa Pigram, a Yawuru/Bardi woman from Broome, sings Red Rock.

   Russell Roberts — acoustic guitar, percussion · Dalisa Pigram — vocals · Kevin Hawkins — fiddle, keyboards

   2:08
2. 2
   Blinded By The Glitter

   This song captures the impact a visit to the travelling Fun Fair has on children in Australian country towns. The song is from my musical play Fairground.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano, accordion · Kevin Hawkins — guitar, keyboards · Robbie Phillips — harmonica · Andrew Jenz — trumpet

   4:01
3. 3
   Savannah

   The savannah country of northern Australia, where the sub-tropical Kimberley region transitions into the great deserts at Australia's heart, is a vast and mysterious landscape. It has drawn me like a moth to a candle flame, a yearning suitor to my beloved. This song is from my musical play Savannah.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano · Kevin Hawkins — fiddle, keyboards · Andrew Jenz — trumpet

   5:48
4. 4
   Come To Australia

   A song of welcome to those who wish to come to the great southern land of Australia. I have always enjoyed meeting the diverse range of travellers who I have crossed paths with, welcomed into my home and shared meals with. I feel like I've travelled the world without venturing far at all. The cultural influences that have shaped my life, and this now wonderful multi-cultural country, have been rich and extraordinary.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano, accordion · Kevin Hawkins — fiddle, keyboards · Robbie Phillips — harmonica

   3:41
5. 5
   Satin Sheets

   The gulf between those with great wealth and those struggling to provide the most basic requirements for themselves and their families must be addressed. I endeavour to light heartedly do that in this song. It is from my musical play Pearl.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano, accordion · Kevin Hawkins — keyboards

   3:53
6. 6
   Homeland

   Acknowledging one's homeland in song is a tradition that is as old as the earliest travellers venturing out into the wider world. My friend Dalisa Pigram, a Yawuru/Bardi woman from Broome, sings Homeland. This song is from my musical play Pearl.

   Dalisa Pigram — vocals · Russell Roberts — acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano, accordion · Kevin Hawkins — fiddle, keyboards · Robbie Phillips — harmonica

   3:06
7. 7
   Moonlight On The Water

   In the early days of Broome's pearling history, racism was rife. The white establishment barred indigenous people from the town area, while people of islander and Asian background, the backbone of the pearling industry workforce, were barred from entering the residential area designated by the whites. This song is about the love between a Japanese pearl diver and a white pearling master's daughter. It is from my musical play Pearl.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano · Kevin Hawkins — fiddle, keyboards · Robbie Phillips — harmonica · Andrew Jenz — trumpet

   4:52
8. 8
   Big Fat Salmon

   An elder of the Karajarri people, the indigenous Australians from the southern Kimberley and northern Pilbara regions of Western Australia, asked me to write a song about the north-west salmon. He was lamenting that the salmon, (which were in extraordinary abundance in my own memory), a staple food for people of northern Australia, had been plundered by commercial fishermen to the extent that it was proving hard for this man to feed his family. This song is from my musical play Pearl.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Robbie Phillips — harmonica, bongos · Kevin Hawkins — keyboards

   2:55
9. 9
   Serves Him Right

   Pearl fishing on the old wooden luggers is considered romantic by many, usually those who never worked on one. It was exceptionally hard and dangerous work, in very rudimentary conditions and in one of the most remote locations on earth. Those who were new to the game soon had their brazen ego bruised once they got a taste of what was actually involved. This song is from my musical play Pearl.

   Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Brendan Fitzgerald — piano, accordion · Kevin Hawkins — keyboards · Phil Jones — congas

   3:39
10. 10
    Taiji

    Many of the pearl divers in Broome came from Taiji, in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The reason they came to this isolated, harsh and wild environment wasn't because of a desire for pearls. The people of Taiji were fishermen. On one fishing expedition most of the town's menfolk perished, causing great poverty. Those who survived, and the older boys, travelled to Broome to earn what they could to support their families back home. This song features in Susan Sickert's Beyond the Lattice, published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press and is from my musical play Pearl.

    Russell Roberts — vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion · Kevin Hawkins — keyboards · Robbie Phillips — harmonica · Dalisa Pigram — backup vocals

    3:20

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