This is a collection of songs written as I traveled through Australia with Stanford's Overseas Studies Program in 2006. What began as a joke for a mock town hall meeting slowly evolved into an album that told the stories of our adventures in the rainforests and coral reefs. Thanks to Ron Johnstone and the Center for Marine Studies at University of Queensland for helping us to record these memories.
The song that started the songwriting Australian adventure. As the green activist group for a mock-town meeting on Stradbroke Island, we felt it would be appropriate to write a ballad lamenting the dugong fatalities that would result from a (hypothetically) proposed resort.
Music by David. Words by David, Ryan, Lia, Gen, and Jessie. Harmonica duet by Matt and Ryan. Background vocals by the OSP Australia Singers. This version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia.
Words and music by David. Originally written on February 13, 2006 for a species list presentation at Heron Island. This version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia.
Verse 1 Let’s take a walk down the family tree of my species Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata Class Osteichthyes, sub class Actinopterygii And we come to our friend, the Three-striped Damselfish
Chorus Dascyllus aruanus, the humbug of the sea With your three black stripes and your bright white tail And your love of territory
Verse 2 The Dascyllus is a damsel-fish, a particle feeder like the rest Known as the Humbug Dascyllus or the Three-striped Damsel It was found in coral near the wall and all throughout the harbor Easy to spot with three wide black stripes and a shining bright-white tail
Verse 3 When it comes to reproduction, the story’s not too hard Eggs laid upon the ground with later fertilization In three days the larvae hatch and rise to live up with the plankton Then four weeks later, the Dascyllus settles down
Verse 4 The defining characteristic of the Dascyllus Is found in its territorial nature It restricts its movements to one home-base coral colony If it sees another three-striped damsel, it’ll kick him out
Written in Australia in February 2006 to commemorate the adventures in Lamington rainforest.
Words and music by David. Harmony vocals by Kristen. The original version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia. Version 2 was recorded by our friend Lilly at the Knoll at Stanford, with harmony vocals added in later using GarageBand.
Verse 1 Call me Mike Pole; I’ll be your guide to fire and trees With a leech in my eye, I can’t pause to cry, just push on down the trail Meet tutor Conrad, who wrestles snakes and tastes like sexy, And Rob, plant demigod, will sing us all to sleep Now we’re all here, let the activities begin
Commence the transects, with piles of leaves of entire margins “What species is this?” “Let’s say they’re the same” and on the story goes Old fire boundaries, where Eucalyptus meets the booyong And tests to give the studious a pang of fear But the sunset blaze reminds us why we’re here
Chorus Lamington, Lamington, O take me away to your leech kingdom Lamington, O Lamington With Mike Pole as our guide We’ll wander far and wide From the day’s first rays ‘til the fire of the setting sun In Lamington
Verse 2 Up the Caldera, singing songs of pop and Broadway “Silence please, respect the trees, they’re older than you know.” Across the stream, waterfalls one after another, The beauty’s too much, can’t take it in – all rush and foam and roar But the winner is the summit’s view of cloud.
Then the leech attacks, grabbing hard to socks and ankles And Ryan’s found a new lover to leave a hickie on his neck The rain comes down, and the trail’s a mass of fog and mudslides Slip and slide, keep pushing on, it’s only five miles more If you run you’ll make it back for Happy Hour
Verse 3 What amazing fauna, from paddymelons to shining glow worms, Blue lobster-looking things that put up quite a fight Conrad’s the master, from possums to his leaf-tailed geckos Emily, watch out for snakes, they care not for your shoe Now the commodore is calling to the frogs (Spoken: This next verse is a description of the duckbill platypus based on personal observations by our very own Courtney and Kat)
Then they awoke, but there was nothing to be seen.
Originally written on February 26, 2006 as part of a class presentation on mangrove distribution in creeks on the Daintree River in Australia. We decided a country dirge was appropriate for the subject.
Words and music by David, Matt, and Kristen. Harmonica and Norm Duke bridge by Matt. Harmony vocals by Kristen. Soul vocals by Chris. Background vocals by the OSP Australia Singers. This version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia.
Verse 1 The first time I saw your buttress flare, The sweet music of mosquitoes hung in the air. I breathed in your fragrant pits of mud Felt your rough bark and smooth young bud Tasted the salt you excrete from your pore I knew I had to come back for some more It all began on that warm summer day A love that flourished in the rain’s cool spray
Chorus When your branch broke, you broke my heart And I landed in the mud and was back at the start I saw my bleeding soul in your oozing red sap How did I ever fall into your trap?
Verse 2 Thinking back on the days of estuarine delight Those pneumatophores, they just felt so right Your propogules were always on my mind How could I have been so blind? I couldn’t see through your tangled web of roots Your slippery branches didn’t hold up my boots Did you think of how it’d make me feel Leaving me to be to be crocs’ next meal?
Bridge (spoken) Well mangroves, I’ve known a few in my day. Rhizophora, she was the first, she was nice, but those prop roots wandered off way too soon. Sonneratia, well her apples turned out to be a whole lotta sour and not a lotta sweet. Bruguiera, oh sweet Brugy, those knee roots had a mind of their own. And now Xylocarpus, I thought you were the one, till I found myself face down in the mud and with one o your cannonballs laying by my side. So my advice to all you guys out there, they may seem great at first, but stay away from them mangroves, cuz you’ll only get hurt . . . big time. I been hurt before, and I’ll be hurt again, cuz I’m in too deep. But take the advice of me, Norm Duke, a hard core mangrove addict, they’ll love you, they’ll leave you, and they’ll ruin you.
Written in Australia in commemoration of the time spent on Heron Island, a veritable paradise.
Words and music by David. Harmony vocals by Kristen. Background vocals by the OSP Australia Singers. This version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia.
Well they say Heron Island is paradise found White sands and clear waters of blue But two weeks at a place fifteen minutes around And it starts to do something to you Well the island is nice but I’m sure you’ll agree You begin to feel trapped by the encircling sea And all I can think is I have to get free! And we all have island fever!
I’m coated with salt and a layer of grit With a gift from the Noddy on top And I can’t even sleep to escape all of it ‘Cause those Shearwaters won’t bloody stop Don’t try to take milk, ‘cause you know that she sees And you’ll only get seconds if you beg on your knees Now the fury is on for the thief of the cheese And we all have island fever!
Well the work wakes us up and goes late through the night As we research our topics of choice Running transects and braving the coral’s sharp bite, When it’s over we all will rejoice All those green algae cells soon will be my demise Coral bleaches and dies but I can’t sympathize If I do one more count then I’ll gouge out my eyes And we all have island fever!
O why do we care about coral and the like When Ove tells us they’re not going to stay? Rising CO2 levels and temperature spikes Mean the end of the world’s on its way Well, the coral is fine and the water is clear But with this global warming they’ll soon disappear All that’s good in the world… will be gone by next year And we all have island fever!
And the worst of it is being packed like sardines All into a tiny bunk room What friendship will last still remains to be seen But this island spells impending doom Well I’m sick of the mess and the smell and the fuss And I need some escape from this crowd we call “us” And right after this we’re all stuck on a bus And we all have island fever!
Well the island is nice but I’m sure you’ll agree You begin to feel trapped by the encircling sea And all I can think is I have to get free! And we all have island fever!
