RIP Grant McLennan 1958-2006
Grant McLennan died on May 6th. I don't think my musical history would be the same without him and The Go Betweens. Discovered them way back in my teenage years when I was house sitting solo, during summer time and didn't want to be outdoors. My first favourite song was River of Money. Only saw them play once-last year at Homebake; and saw Jack Frost, his project with Steve Kilbey, perform in Adelaide about 1996. Sad I didn't see them play more often; pleased I saw them play at all. Grant's music was elegant, urbane, Australian, civilised, humourous, thoughtful, lyrical, beautiful.
"RIVER OF MONEY
It is neither fair nor reasonable to expect sadnessto confine itself to it's causes. Like a river in flood,when it subsides and the drowned bodies of animals have been deposited in the treetops, there is another kind of damage that takes place beyond the torrent.At first, it seemed as though she had only left the room to go into the garden and had been delayed by stray chickens in the corn. Then he had thought she might have eloped with the rodeo-boy from the neighbouring property but it wasn't till one afternoon, when he had heard guitar playing coming from her room andhad rushed upstairs to confront her and had seen that it was only the wind in the curtains brushing against the open strings, that he finally knew shewasn't coming back. He had dealt with the deluge alright but the watermark of her leaving was still quite visible. He had resorted to the compass then, thinking that geography might rescue him but after one week in theVictorian Alps he came back north, realising that snow which he had never seen before, was only frozen water.
I'll take you to Hollywood
I'll take you to Mexico
I'll take you anywhere theRiver of Money flows.
I'll take you to HollywoodI'll take you to Mexico
I'll take you anywhere theRiver of Money flows.
But was it really possible for him to cope with the magnitude of her absence? The snow had failed him. Bottles had almost emptied themselves without effect.The television, a samaritan during other tribulations, had been repossessed. She had left her travelling clock though thinking it incapable of funcitioning in another time-zone; so the long vacant days of expensive sunlight were filled with the sound of her minutes, with the measuring of her hours. "
Grant McLennan
"RIVER OF MONEY
It is neither fair nor reasonable to expect sadnessto confine itself to it's causes. Like a river in flood,when it subsides and the drowned bodies of animals have been deposited in the treetops, there is another kind of damage that takes place beyond the torrent.At first, it seemed as though she had only left the room to go into the garden and had been delayed by stray chickens in the corn. Then he had thought she might have eloped with the rodeo-boy from the neighbouring property but it wasn't till one afternoon, when he had heard guitar playing coming from her room andhad rushed upstairs to confront her and had seen that it was only the wind in the curtains brushing against the open strings, that he finally knew shewasn't coming back. He had dealt with the deluge alright but the watermark of her leaving was still quite visible. He had resorted to the compass then, thinking that geography might rescue him but after one week in theVictorian Alps he came back north, realising that snow which he had never seen before, was only frozen water.
I'll take you to Hollywood
I'll take you to Mexico
I'll take you anywhere theRiver of Money flows.
I'll take you to HollywoodI'll take you to Mexico
I'll take you anywhere theRiver of Money flows.
But was it really possible for him to cope with the magnitude of her absence? The snow had failed him. Bottles had almost emptied themselves without effect.The television, a samaritan during other tribulations, had been repossessed. She had left her travelling clock though thinking it incapable of funcitioning in another time-zone; so the long vacant days of expensive sunlight were filled with the sound of her minutes, with the measuring of her hours. "
Grant McLennan
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