I was driving through the bush in 1994 when I first heard this song - clear night, stars everywhere and the stark trees of the WA hills around me with not another soul in sight. It was the first time I ever felt Australian. It still makes me feel Australian.
I’m a native Californian, but I’ve been singing & playing Grant McLennans songs forever. He once ate dinner with me in la Luna & we only spoke in poems. Here’s to Paul Kelly too, he also makes me feel Australian, even though I only lived there from 1988-1991, I drove across the Nulaboor plain and performed everywhere there was love ❤
I used to drink with Grant at a bar in Brisbane called Rics in the late 90s. He was a REAL gentleman. He was incredibly well read, and a very gentle, unassuming man. I had spent quite a few sessions on the piss with him, before finally asking him: "what do you do?" He looked at me shyly, and said: "Umm.. I do Music." Such a modest man. And such a fantastic ear for a melody. I will never forget GW McLennan.
That's Brizzie for you 2 degrees of separation. Not long after Grant left us (bastard) I was at a party and the usual cohort was there and I was talking to Johnathan Midgley about Grants passing and Johnathan blurts out that he was Godfather to either Grant or Roberts kids (I'm not sure and unfortunately I can no longer ask Johnathan which one Vale you vague wonderful man). See 2 degrees of separation...
Pretty cool. I'm a Sydneysider. I bought Before Hollywood when it came out, one of my top five Aussie albums forever. Saw them live just after Spring Hill Fair was released, at my local pub, was able to walk home. Later worked with Amanda at Woollhara Library. One of the best bands.
@@frasermacmillan5940On one hand, you wish they had achieved more success. They deserved it. On the other, I agree. It’s like having a special place no one knows about that you go to, the fact that nobody else knows and that its “yours” in a way makes it all the more special.
@Patrick Names old comment, I know, but for reference, Wikipedia page says it's a bar of five, a bar of two and a bar of four for eleven beats total. Checks out when I tap it with my fingers.
A simple cyclical chord structure followed by that wonderful ringing open G , beyond fantastic, brings you to another place, one of the best pop tunes ever written
Yep, you won. I used to drive through burning cane fields driving around in Queensland in the late 70s and 80s. Some songs are just perfection. This is one of them.
@@demisecphuketI’d say so. Top 100 for sure. I consider myself pretty damn snobby when it comes to music. Excellent writing, powerful emotion, flawless musicianship, and a catchy “hooky” melody. What more could you want?
One of the most beautiful pop songs ever written. I know lots of people here think of Australia when they hear this song, but I think of growing up in southeast Texas, fields of cattle, fields of cane.
I'm not an Aussie but grew up listening to this song as a surfer boy. I learned the lyrics to this song and it truly gave me a perspective of growing the Australian countryside. Thanks iteglund! ~geovision
A classic Australian song. A song that picks up the imagery of this outstanding sprawling land. The best country on the planet. I LOVE THE GB for telling Aussies how great it is to live in the beautiful land of plenty. God Bless you Grant!
Nick Ireland I want to visit Australia someday. I think I would feel at home. I live in the U.S. in the desert southwest in the middle of Arizona. I love the desert and I think I would love Australia.
All offence, but I think you may've got mOzz confused with Unzudd there? Tho yess, your music IS (almosst) as good as ours (plz note: DON'T feed the Troll... LoL? Ahem!) jk - The Gobby Twins rock HARRDER than Ayers & Plymouth COMBYNED..! Pity they weren't Kiwis, izzall I'm sayin' - SLAPP! - tho I'm DAMN proud to say I mettem & shook their clever liddle hans when they came to ChurchChurch in the early '80s... ;-D
@@KaneNormanHolahan Aussie History For Dummies...have a great Australia Day mate,such a "lucky country" doubt you've heard that expression or can explain your own expression of "thats rubbish" LOLs
The song has become even more poignant for me as I get older. With my dad suffering dementia in his old age. Time waits for no one. Innocence lost. Then faint memories come back, but never quite sure whether they are real.
The first time I ever heard this song was when I was 16 and heard it on CJSW in Calgary, I was listening to the station at the right time and this song struck me, I called in and fortunate to find out who sang this song, and from that time on , the go betweens became one of my most favourite bands, they were incredible and never got the recognition that they deserved.
What a wonderful song... I'd never heard it before, but now I've discovered something special. The video looks like it could have been made last month, instead of 23 years ago. Life is too brief. Thank you for sharing this.
A beautiful song. I'm not usually a fan of most folky type music but the Go Between's music is so evocative and beautifully done with unique timing. I saw them play at the Seaview Ballroom in Melbourne in the early 80s and they were fantastic live. They were a tight unit.
Sadly I didn't know Grant had died until played this. One of, if not THE most unheralded great bands of all time. Fond memories of listening to thses guys in the mid 80's when I was still cool.
My God, the syncopated baseline! They take the end of the string and run to the hills, just until the ball nearly unravels. Then when two lines appear to converge in the distance, the music fades.
I've owned Before Hollywood on vinyl since it came out. It's not an everyday listen but one to savour when you're in the mood. When you are, every song satisfies and takes you to a very special place. 37 years ago, so long ago I don't know what triggered me to buy it but I know I was aware of this song first, and thought I'd never heard anything like it, and I've still never heard anything like it.
That Way and this song are the best from a sublime album as Before Hollywood still is. I was just mentioning today to a friend of mine when I saw r.e.m. for the first time in 1989 and Go-Betweens were the opening. Simply beatiful.
more a memory song than a nostalgia song i think.the way that specific memories of specific events mark and corrupt your thought process_'from time to time the waste.memory wastes'it reminds me of harold pinter's script to the movie from whence came their name.
This song is up there with the Churches “Under the Milkyway”, if you ask me. Isn’t it funny how Steve Kilby formed Jack Frost with Grant too… well it’s a coincidence to me hahaha. Love reading everyone’s comments too.
Second but only just to Grant's brilliant writing is Lindy's drumming. Some people criticize her style but I think she helps make this song. Also Bono said some years ago that this song is one of his top 5 favs of all time.
definitely, god only knows what kind of time signature or whatever she's playing, she probably didn't know either (good!) just lots of feel and groove instead of mathematical equations. Lindy was the first thing to catch my eye with the Go Betweens (at some Joint Effort at UQ a million years ago) - ie "a girl drumming! cool - we're probably not going to be hearing a pile of neanderthal 4/4 boring rock drumming then..." She actually strikes me as quite jazzy, like John Densmore in the Doors, bringing a jazzy feel into non-jazz songs. And now we have a bridge named after them (a TOLL bridge)
Oh BIG frakking DEAL - Bono rates thiss song? He should be so lukky as to write one HARF as good, the overrated plonker. Just sayin'! lulz >:-D Oh, but yess - Lindy's drumming IS frikken BRILLO on thiss, and WHEN o WHEN are them thar mOzzies gunner WAKE UP & make this their National Anthem??? Cos, y'know, a Bridge, while nice, DUZZINT quite cuttit (in MY Kiwi handbook, at leasst) - nossireebob n noma'ameelindy neithurr.
The Go Betweens bebeu da fonte do Joy Division e The Cure, há música Your Turn My Turn soa bastante Cure. The Go Betweens e The Church são duas bandas que se você não souber da onde vem diria que são bandas Inglesas pelo som soar parecido com 90% das bandas pós punk Inglesas.
You could say that both Grant's dad and Grant died when Grant was, relatively speaking, young. His own father's early loss brings some meaning to the line "his father's watch, he left it in the showers" -- not sure what. Maybe he took that one to the grave.
Question for muso's on this thread. Is the timing of this song 5/4 then 4/4 over and over again? It's so catchy, yet so hard to keep timing to. I think this makes Lindy Morrison even more under-rated. How hard would that be to play!!!
i count it as 11/8 but i'd imagine more accomplished musicians would disagree with me there as i can imagine charting the entire riff as one absurdly long bar might raise a few eyebrows... but whatever it works for me
seems a shame that such a wonderful musician has to work at TAFE (no offence TAFE teachers), I just mean if would be nice if she could live off fat royalties like other people (eg Sting). Maybe she likes it. Hope she is still creating music in some form or other.
I was driving through the bush in 1994 when I first heard this song - clear night, stars everywhere and the stark trees of the WA hills around me with not another soul in sight. It was the first time I ever felt Australian. It still makes me feel Australian.
Rad
Sounds made up.
My favourite song of all time.
I’m a native Californian, but I’ve been singing & playing Grant McLennans songs forever. He once ate dinner with me in la Luna & we only spoke in poems. Here’s to Paul Kelly too, he also makes me feel Australian, even though I only lived there from 1988-1991, I drove across the Nulaboor plain and performed everywhere there was love ❤
I used to drink with Grant at a bar in Brisbane called Rics in the late 90s. He was a REAL gentleman. He was incredibly well read, and a very gentle, unassuming man. I had spent quite a few sessions on the piss with him, before finally asking him: "what do you do?" He looked at me shyly, and said: "Umm.. I do Music."
Such a modest man. And such a fantastic ear for a melody. I will never forget GW McLennan.
Grant was genius songwriter , say no more
That's Brizzie for you 2 degrees of separation. Not long after Grant left us (bastard) I was at a party and the usual cohort was there and I was talking to Johnathan Midgley about Grants passing and Johnathan blurts out that he was Godfather to either Grant or Roberts kids (I'm not sure and unfortunately I can no longer ask Johnathan which one Vale you vague wonderful man). See 2 degrees of separation...
I met Robert Forster in STA travel opposite King George Square circa 1991. I was so gaga i was a dick. He was cool ofcourse
Pretty cool. I'm a Sydneysider. I bought Before Hollywood when it came out, one of my top five Aussie albums forever. Saw them live just after Spring Hill Fair was released, at my local pub, was able to walk home. Later worked with Amanda at Woollhara Library. One of the best bands.
Wow James did you come to Livid Festival too… haha god Rics that takes me back as well.
A band doesn't have to ever have "Made it Big" to be loved by those who had the pleasure of discovering them.
The fact that they haven’t only makes it better to be one of the chosen, select few enlightened by them.
@@frasermacmillan5940On one hand, you wish they had achieved more success. They deserved it. On the other, I agree. It’s like having a special place no one knows about that you go to, the fact that nobody else knows and that its “yours” in a way makes it all the more special.
No chorus, strange time signature, such an unusual and beautiful song.
@Patrick Names It isn’t until the last minute of the song that Lindy seems to play separately from the rest of the band
@Patrick Names old comment, I know, but for reference, Wikipedia page says it's a bar of five, a bar of two and a bar of four for eleven beats total.
Checks out when I tap it with my fingers.
Arguably one of besh Australian songs ever!!
A song that breaks all the rules and works so well.
It can't break rules that weren't invented yet
@@floydgondolli7321 the sentiment "avoid writing in 5/4 + 2/4 + 4/4 if you want to succeed in Western popular music" certainly pre-dates this song.
The drummer, Lindy Morrison, is my son's teacher at TAFE on musical copyright law.
Wow. That would have been exciting.
She’s also currently on an insurance advert
Yeah, the APIA ad.
@@geetee8154 that’s right! And she drums at home in the advert!!
Probably made more cash from the advert than the Go Betweens.
I turn this song up in my little flat in London and dream of my home in Brissie :)
My soul is filled. What a song!
Listen to this song and tell me it doesn't bring tears to your eyes. Go ahead, tell me, you can't.
A simple cyclical chord structure followed by that wonderful ringing open G , beyond fantastic, brings you to another place, one of the best pop tunes ever written
Yep, you won. I used to drive through burning cane fields driving around in Queensland in the late 70s and 80s. Some songs are just perfection. This is one of them.
Stone cold masterpiece.
Without doubt one of the best songs of all time
Really?
@@demisecphuket yes
Yup, I cant recall how many Rage programmers included it during the 90s
@@demisecphuketI’d say so. Top 100 for sure. I consider myself pretty damn snobby when it comes to music. Excellent writing, powerful emotion, flawless musicianship, and a catchy “hooky” melody. What more could you want?
"alone and so at home"...says it all...classic tune
That's a brilliant line Jim
One of the most beautiful pop songs ever written. I know lots of people here think of Australia when they hear this song, but I think of growing up in southeast Texas, fields of cattle, fields of cane.
A sad and beautiful song,loved overseas I'm told
This song just brings tears to my eyes.......so beautiful
Something so complex yet simplistically beautiful
Simply the sound of Australia.
I'm not an Aussie but grew up listening to this song as a surfer boy. I learned the lyrics to this song and it truly gave me a perspective of growing the Australian countryside.
Thanks iteglund!
~geovision
A classic Australian song. A song that picks up the imagery of this outstanding sprawling land. The best country on the planet. I LOVE THE GB for telling Aussies how great it is to live in the beautiful land of plenty. God Bless you Grant!
Nick Ireland I want to visit Australia someday. I think I would feel at home. I live in the U.S. in the desert southwest in the middle of Arizona. I love the desert and I think I would love Australia.
Yes a beautiful land with a terrible Stolen history
All offence, but I think you may've got mOzz confused with Unzudd there? Tho yess, your music IS (almosst) as good as ours (plz note: DON'T feed the Troll... LoL? Ahem!) jk - The Gobby Twins rock HARRDER than Ayers & Plymouth COMBYNED..! Pity they weren't Kiwis, izzall I'm sayin' - SLAPP! - tho I'm DAMN proud to say I mettem & shook their clever liddle hans when they came to ChurchChurch in the early '80s... ;-D
@@dannymo2595 thats rubbish
@@KaneNormanHolahan Aussie History For Dummies...have a great Australia Day mate,such a "lucky country" doubt you've heard that expression or can explain your own expression of "thats rubbish" LOLs
The song has become even more poignant for me as I get older. With my dad suffering dementia in his old age. Time waits for no one. Innocence lost. Then faint memories come back, but never quite sure whether they are real.
neka je Bog s tobom
The song evokes sentimental memories of the past.
They were big in my eyes as they were esoteric.
wonderfully hypnotic and rhythmic
The first time I ever heard this song was when I was 16 and heard it on CJSW in Calgary, I was listening to the station at the right time and this song struck me, I called in and fortunate to find out who sang this song, and from that time on , the go betweens became one of my most favourite bands, they were incredible and never got the recognition that they deserved.
Pure joy
I traveled to WA across the Nullabor and The Go Betweens were definitely on my playlist!🏜🛣🚘🎶🎵🎼🎸🎸🥁🎻🤩😍 fantastic memories!!😎🤩
gorgeous melancholia.
Classic song from a classic band....we won't hear from such a fantastic band in a long,long time.
Thank you
What a wonderful song... I'd never heard it before, but now I've discovered something special.
The video looks like it could have been made last month, instead of 23 years ago. Life is too brief.
Thank you for sharing this.
39 years ago now
WONDERFUL SONG!!As many more from this truly magnificent band!
A beautiful song. I'm not usually a fan of most folky type music but the Go Between's music is so evocative and beautifully done with unique timing. I saw them play at the Seaview Ballroom in Melbourne in the early 80s and they were fantastic live. They were a tight unit.
It's Ultimo TAFE in Sydney.
She teaches subject 7810A "Copyright & Royalties". Must be a good teacher as my son got a Distinction.
Sadly I didn't know Grant had died until played this. One of, if not THE most unheralded great bands of all time. Fond memories of listening to thses guys in the mid 80's when I was still cool.
Don't be silly. You were never cool.
@@Spectrescup LOL
@@dartmouthhoop i take it all back.
Just listening to these guys once makes you cool for Eternity
Still love this song to this day! And will continue to even after years of not playing it.
One of the greatest Australian songs ever.
Well that was beautiful. 🥹
Absolutely brilliant songwriting and performance.
Gutted...completely gutted... this song alone meant the world to me at 15.
It still does... Rest in Peace Grant.
What a beautiful song. Very Aussie
I ws a paddy in Sydney 89/92. The Site in Victoria St. Sydney ws thee club for punks, indie, alternative. The best Aussie band
Great great song.
It's always sounded beautiful, but it's breaking my heart to hear it now...
Timeless.
My God, the syncopated baseline! They take the end of the string and run to the hills, just until the ball nearly unravels. Then when two lines appear to converge in the distance, the music fades.
Perfection
+Martine Imms A friend of mine said it best: "Grant taught grace"
Brilliant music. Thanks for posting.
love this song :D
This is a tune and a half!!!!
I've owned Before Hollywood on vinyl since it came out. It's not an everyday listen but one to savour when you're in the mood. When you are, every song satisfies and takes you to a very special place.
37 years ago, so long ago I don't know what triggered me to buy it but I know I was aware of this song first, and thought I'd never heard anything like it, and I've still never heard anything like it.
First heard this track on ZM all night. Sounded pretty damn good even on the tiny transistor underneath all the bedcovers. Thank you doctor.
Awesome track
That Way and this song are the best from a sublime album as Before Hollywood still is. I was just mentioning today to a friend of mine when I saw r.e.m. for the first time in 1989 and Go-Betweens were the opening. Simply beatiful.
I concur....an Aussie masterpiece
❤❤❤❤
Bought this single in 1983. Can still remember the needledrop and the feeling of euphoria on first listen
Superb Song
wonderful song and Jimmy Little does an excellent version with Brendan Gallagher at his side, it's really worth checking out
15 years today since Grant left us.
Lindy the most underrated drummer ever, brilliant :)
Roberts contribution very fake as he knew FA of FNQ
"It's A Jangle Out There" MAIN-FM brought me here!
Lindy Morrison's drumming on this is..... WOW
Sounds pretty basic. If she wasn't a woman, would you even say anything? How do you even know what is wow drumming vs. not wow?
Jeanie, I hope you like. Browse through them on a search if you do, many gems to be found. R.I.P to Grant.
Saw this on the tele!
more a memory song than a nostalgia song i think.the way that specific memories of specific events mark and corrupt your thought process_'from time to time the waste.memory wastes'it reminds me of harold pinter's script to the movie from whence came their name.
thank you, thank you, thank you
Love the drums,good work .
Grant wrote this on one of Nick Cave's old guitars that was lying around
Cave wouldn’t try to play that guitar after Grant wrote Cattle and Cane. He knew it couldn’t be topped
This song is up there with the Churches “Under the Milkyway”, if you ask me. Isn’t it funny how Steve Kilby formed Jack Frost with Grant too… well it’s a coincidence to me hahaha. Love reading everyone’s comments too.
Interestingly, when Grant heard Under the Milky Way for the first time he was inspired to write Streets of Your Town.
Amazing band
Second but only just to Grant's brilliant writing is Lindy's drumming. Some people criticize her style but I think she helps make this song. Also Bono said some years ago that this song is one of his top 5 favs of all time.
definitely, god only knows what kind of time signature or whatever she's playing, she probably didn't know either (good!) just lots of feel and groove instead of mathematical equations. Lindy was the first thing to catch my eye with the Go Betweens (at some Joint Effort at UQ a million years ago) - ie "a girl drumming! cool - we're probably not going to be hearing a pile of neanderthal 4/4 boring rock drumming then..." She actually strikes me as quite jazzy, like John Densmore in the Doors, bringing a jazzy feel into non-jazz songs. And now we have a bridge named after them (a TOLL bridge)
You are wrong, this song is nothing without her drumming
+Ben Jackson he does have good taste in music!
She liked programming drum machines too,hence different time signatures
Oh BIG frakking DEAL - Bono rates thiss song? He should be so lukky as to write one HARF as good, the overrated plonker. Just sayin'! lulz >:-D Oh, but yess - Lindy's drumming IS frikken BRILLO on thiss, and WHEN o WHEN are them thar mOzzies gunner WAKE UP & make this their National Anthem??? Cos, y'know, a Bridge, while nice, DUZZINT quite cuttit (in MY Kiwi handbook, at leasst) - nossireebob n noma'ameelindy neithurr.
Love
The Go Betweens bebeu da fonte do Joy Division e The Cure, há música Your Turn My Turn soa bastante Cure. The Go Betweens e The Church são duas bandas que se você não souber da onde vem diria que são bandas Inglesas pelo som soar parecido com 90% das bandas pós punk Inglesas.
VERY GOOD..................................................
Support the band members: buy this evocative and beautiful song
Best song
Song of innocence song of growing up song of being true self
You could say that both Grant's dad and Grant died when Grant was, relatively speaking, young.
His own father's early loss brings some meaning to the line "his father's watch, he left it in the showers" -- not sure what. Maybe he took that one to the grave.
Question for muso's on this thread. Is the timing of this song 5/4 then 4/4 over and over again? It's so catchy, yet so hard to keep timing to. I think this makes Lindy Morrison even more under-rated. How hard would that be to play!!!
i count it as 11/8 but i'd imagine more accomplished musicians would disagree with me there as i can imagine charting the entire riff as one absurdly long bar might raise a few eyebrows... but whatever it works for me
Reading Tracet Thorn's book, think about the drumming, it's good.
Uploaded the day Grant passed away. Still an absolute classic
allow me pedantary, but the very next day, and quite obviously as a tribute to GM
It's just brilliant, isn't it.
seems a shame that such a wonderful musician has to work at TAFE (no offence TAFE teachers), I just mean if would be nice if she could live off fat royalties like other people (eg Sting). Maybe she likes it. Hope she is still creating music in some form or other.
very few musicians can live off royalties any more. That's why bands keep touring until they are 80 years old
Unique.
The Velvet Underground nor the Byrds don't even come close to it.
far kernel! this song attracts strange comments
2023!
Lindy. Goddam. The drumming in this song is just wild cool.
yo what time sig this is?
Bit of Joy Division influence there?
Nah, seems too upbeat to be Joy Division
@@TimmyTickle xfdfgdkgn
The best of rage
Wonderful, many thanks. As I recall the rest of the album was pretty gash though
No way. All of Before Hollywood is brilliant. It's an all killer no filler album.
Too little views a decade and a half later, wake up people
Australia is the most Texan place in the whole world ❤
they even have more poisonous bugs!
i wonder if there are fireants yoo 😈
*too
She took Robert's actually.
Just Ace
Am I incorrect in thinking 🤔 that there was a campaign to have this adopted as The Australian National Anthem?
For indie kids perhaps 💩
I don't get all the fuss. Each to their own.
Sounds a bit like The Cure
Nope.
Since when was Grant McClennan gay?