Mt Wellington Reverie
Echoes of Tasmania's Haunting Mysteries
Lyrics
You can't walk through the Isle of the Dead,
You cannot traverse the Isle of the Dead.
you can't lie still in the guest house bed,
Resting in the guest house bed is impossible.
there's a pair of black eyes staring down at you from the mountain top,
Black eyes peer down from the mountain through your window.
through yr window,
Describes the view of the mountain through the window.
The bunks are empty, your mates are gone,
Empty bunks and departed friends, with a mention of breakfast.
breakfast lasts an hour long, O warm bread, drawn tea,
Reference to warm bread and drawn tea, expressing comfort.
the bastards'll never get to me
Asserts resilience against unnamed threats.
But somebody knows, somebody knows,
A recognition that someone always possesses knowledge.
somebody always knows,
Emphasizes the omnipresence of someone knowing where a body goes.
Where a body goes.
Reflects on the certainty of destination after death.
I were one of two, we were joined at the shoe when we thought to make our break,
Describes an escapade with a partner, making a break.
so we shimmied our locks and we knocked up a box
Created a box and traveled down a waterway.
and we rode the thing down the waterway,
Reference to the Derwent River and its movement.
Now the Derwent twists and the Derwent slides,
Describes the twists and slides of the river.
It's a moving thing with many eyes,
Reflects on the surprising fate of the vehicle used for escape.
O who'd have thought, at all or often,
Empty line with no explicit meaning.
that vehicle would become our coffin?
Contemplates the unexpected use of the vehicle as a coffin.
So many souls, so many souls, so many souls in the water
Observes numerous souls in the water, leaving loved ones behind.
I left me a little daughter, and I left me a girl,
The narrator left a daughter and a girl in the world.
and I left them alone, in that tired old world, O where are they now?
Wonders about the current whereabouts of the left ones.
I am one of a gang set to work on the land, a clearin' and fellin'
Part of a group engaged in land work involving clearing and killing.
and killin',
Expresses the violent nature of the work.
The best of us here has a conscience clear and he goes about it keen
A person with a clear conscience carries out the work willingly.
and willin',
Highlights the shooting of targets with indifference.
We're shooting them from the rocks,
Shooting from rocks is mentioned.
and we're shooting them in the water
Shooting targets in the water is described.
and when they're runnin' we're shootin' them in the backs
Running targets are shot in the back.
and we do it without a thought or care?
Actions are performed without concern or reflection.
So many lies, so many lies, so many lies been told
Reflects on the prevalence of lies and the consequence of not growing old.
We'll none of us here grow old
None of them will age gracefully or peacefully.
Not gracefully, not peacefully, in this blind old land,
Reflects on the challenges and nature of the land.
in this dreaming land, some demon's land.
Describes the land as a dreaming land, possibly with demonic influence.
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