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Traversing the Fields

from Lines Are Drawn by Matt Reiner and the Aunt Sallys

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about

Laden with images of Australian folklore, history and geography the song 'Traversing the Fields' attempts to express a rebellious spirit, non-compliance and non-conformity.

I once read somewhere that 'Mighty Joe Moon' - the second album by US band Grant Lee Buffalo, was a sonic scrapbook of Americana which singer/songwriter Grant Lee Phillips had been able to distil onto record.

'Traversing the Fields' moves towards similar territory, but from a uniquely Australian perspective.

The final verse was written by me spending a lot of time in front of a print of Fredrick's McCubbin's famous painting 'Down on his luck'. The lyrical results are an earthy and honest rendering of the Australian bush experience.

It is the most Australian song I have written.

lyrics

As you’re driving towards the interstate I’ll be traversing the fields
I’m lost the place towards which I am travelling
No time to give in or to yield

The fields are wide and the land is a mystery
The shades and the shadows are here
Of intrepid explorers like Burke and Wills
Etched into time to endear

It’s better for me if I pack up and go
It’s better this way can’t you see
And I saw an eagle fly off into the mallee

I hear you call out to me from the roadway
But further and further I go
Until there’s no sign of the life that I used to live
Nothing but wood, dirt and stone

It’s better for me if I pack up and go
It’s better this way can’t you see
And I saw an eagle fly off into the mallee

Sitting down in a brown dusty landscape
My fist meets the crease of my brow
Twig in hand and poking at embers
Of a life that is far from me now

It’s better for me if I pack up and go
It’s better this way can’t you see
And I saw an eagle fly off into the mallee

credits

from Lines Are Drawn, released May 1, 2010
Matt Reiner: Vocals, Guitars
Matthew Hill: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Anne Romeo: Snare Drum
Sean Kemp: Additional Percussion
Steve Lennox: Additional Vocals
Tristan Newsome: Additional Vocals
Damian Jolly: Additional Keyboard and Programming

Engineered and mixed by Damian Jolly.
Mastered by Craig Lewis at Mixmasters, Adelaide.

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Matt Reiner and the Aunt Sallys Adelaide, Australia

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