Sunday, May 18, 2008

Redgum - Caught In The Act


By 1983 Redgum had become one of the biggest crowd pulling acts in
Australia, so this release was capitalizing on what was one of their
biggest strengths, performing live. I did see them once and I did
see John Schumann perform solo after Redgum and they were good,
But don't take my word for it listen to this LP.
This album also has a live version of the song that turned John into
a songwriting legend, "I was only nineteen."
I actually met John at a songwriting seminar he was giving, He
talked a lot about the process that led to this song I can only say
it is a spellbinding story.
The song was released as a studio recored single which never
made to an official album until the greatest hits ones, so this
live version was it for a LP, for quite a while.
The single released in march 83 was number 1 for 2 weeks
here and stayed in the top 40 for 4 months.

I Was Only Nineteen - John Schumann

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing-out parade
at Puckapunyal
It was a long march from cadets.
The sixth battalion was the next to tour,
and it was me who drew the card.
We did Canungra, Shoalwater before we left.

And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched
down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young
and strong and clean.
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
God help me, I was only nineteen.

From Vung Tau, riding Chinooks, to the dust at Nui Dat
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.
But we made our tents a home, VB and pinups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And night-time's just a jungle dark and a barking M16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes,
can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.

A four week operation when each step could mean your
last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn't let your mates down till they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.

Then someone yelled out "Contact!" and the bloke
behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,
God help me, he was going home in June.

I can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
Till the morphine came and killed the bloody row.

And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real.
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
God help me, I was only nineteen.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes,
can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.

Download Here

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Bob. Gareth in the UK here. Thanks for the live Redgum (I have it on CD but I'm glad more people will get to hear it). I wonder if you have the 'Frontline' album ? Thanks again, Gareth

bob nebe said...

Yes Gareth Frontline is the next Redgum album I have to post.
Have you downloaded all the others here, Ive been posting them in the order they were released.
Their 1st album "If you don't fight you lose" (which i believe you said you had)
their 2nd "Virgin Ground"
their 3rd "Brown rice and kerosene"
and the Ep their 4th release, (outside of singles)
"Cut to the quick"
"caught in the act" was next
followed by "Frontline"
And finally their last Lp
"Midnight sun"
So I'll make front line my next post soon
ciao bob

Anonymous said...

Hi Bob, that's excellent, and thanks for the info. I have downloaded the other Redgum too (fantastic - thank you again). In addition to CITA on CD I do have IYDFYL- but only on a wornout cassette so it was great to hear it without the hiss! Also, a while back I bought Redgum's Against the Grain (best of) CD and John Schumann's Portrait (not sure if they are still in print, so let me know if you want those and I upload to Rapidshare for you). Anyway, I look forward to seeing (and hearing)'Frontline'. Does this mean you also have Midnight Sun to post aswell ? Hope so. I love Redgum, although it draws some strange looks from people when I have Poor Ned blasting out, driving through town ! :O)

bob nebe said...

Yep I have midnight sun and thanks but I have the best of lp and john solo lp, Have you tried the bushwackers, I have one of theirs here and I think theres one at the ausroc blog. If you like redgum I think you'll like these guys.
ciao bob

Anonymous said...

Hi Bob, I'm downloading Frontline as I type this :O) Didn't expect it to appear so quickly! Thank you. And I'll be sure to checkout the bushwackers too, thanks for the tip, cheers, Gareth

Anonymous said...

g'day bob
did you know that tracks 6 & 7 (THE TITLE TRACK AND STEWIE)on the caught in the act cd were not actually on
the original vinyl lp.
but on a 7 inch single released with it.apparently the record didn't want to upset the
banks

bob nebe said...

Hi les, yes I have that vinyl Lp with the single, I never knew why it was like that however thanks

Dustbowl said...

This album Redgum-Caught In The Act is a dead link.Very dead.Can you upload it again please.Mediafire.com is a much better file hosting service

bob nebe said...

Nice Blog Dustbowl I will link too you as well and i shall reup the redgum album I'm afraid I only use free file sharing services and the link do expire when they are old from lack of use.

bob nebe said...

back up

Unknown said...

Thankyou so much! I have been looking everywhere to get this album for my dads birthday. And finally i have found it. Thankyou so much.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm useless at 'posting' - my email is mr@melanieryder.com. I used to have Midnight Sun on Cassette and have spent years trying to track it down again (even managed to ask the wrong Redgum singer - that went down pretty badly). Where can I get it (it's oop). FYI I'm the goddaughter of a guy called Tommy Vance, who was JD for years on UK Pirate Radio, then Radio 1, and Top of The Pops, which was a cheesy weekly chart show he used to take me to all the time. He was sent it as a promo and played it - not his thing but he thought I'd love it, and I did. Sadly he's not with us any more. Mel

bob nebe said...

Hi Mel you can find it on this blog alone with all things redgum,
the link is
http://stripedsunlight.blogspot.com/2008/05/redgum-midnight-sun.html
I checked the link and its still good