I Don't Care

what do you do when you go outside
see your cattle dying by the riverside
where the water went
well you don't know
all you can say is it don't flow

and they're all so spontaneous
it's so ridiculous
unless it's miraculous

i don't care

when the one you love has gone away
and it doesn't matter what you say
why she went
well you don't know
you were so sure she loved you so

and they're all so spontaneous
it's so ridiculous
unless it's miraculous

i don't care

scrimp and save to get ahead
you should have been a thief instead
why the prices rise
well you don't know
and the rich just watch their power grow

and they're all so spontaneous
it's so ridiculous
unless it's miraculous

i don't care
 

Blow Flies

written for Skye and the Blowfly'z


Maybe you like a little Dusty?
When the rain falls in July?
Or the haunting sound of Hank Williams
Brother you and i see i to i

But i like the sound - of blow flies - of blow flies

Maybe you like the sound of songbirds?
Sometimes they can make you cry
Or the sound of a million cicadas
When it fills the whole sky

But i like the sound - of blow flies - of blow flies

Maybe you like the ocean?

The way the foam flies

Or the sound of a waterfall

Falling down from on high

But i like the sound - of blow flies - of blow flies

I know you

Where are you going?
What do you seek?
When you look back
What do you see?

Why are you running?
Running's no use
Running from reality is running away from the truth

But i know you, i know you

Birds and bees disappearing
and that's a fact
Seems we're implicated
in that act

Why are we running
When running's no use?
Running from reality is running away from the truth

But i know you, i know you

Chase your tale/tail

Written for and inspired by my son Mat 


No mind comes from minding your own business - no mind at all
No mind comes from minding your own business - no mind at all

'cause it's a game - chase your tail

Rats and pandas they know the meaning - they know it all
Rats and pandas they know the meaning - they know it all

it's just a game - chase your tale

there's no real meaning to existence - no meaning at all
there's no real meaning to existence - no meaning at all

it's just a game - chase your tale

No mind comes from minding your own business - no mind at all
Rats and pandas they know the answer - they know it all

it's a game - chase your tail

F for Fairlie

It's "F" for Fairlie "Wh" for Whakatane
It's "F" for Fairlie "Wh" for Whakatane

It's ph-phenomenal and always been this way

It's ph-phenomenal that's all i have to say

Living here is not as easy as it seems

Living here is not as easy as it seems

I tell you my friend it has a way to haunt your dreams

I tell you my friend it has a way to haunt your dreams

I don't want to listen to what you want me to hear

I don't want to listen to what you want me to hear

I just want to sit in the corner and quietly drink a beer

Just sit in the corner and cry into my beer

thanks to Peter for doing some magic on a wav file i sent him and giving this:

The very worst band in the world

The very worst bush band in the world

updated (words are slightly different)

          G                                               F                         Am
I was rushing between distant towns hungry tired and grim
                    C                          F                        G
when bad weather came and made me chuck it in
             G                                            F                           Am
Some buildings and a single light, i parked there in the street
              C               F              G
and just sat there until i fell asleep

   G                                                      F                   Am
forced out into the pouring rain cause i just had to pee
                    C                        F                     G
when some joker braved the storm to rescue me
        G                                                 F                     Am
he dragged me into somewhere - an old and sturdy shed
         C                          F                 G
with lights and people sitting being fed (and)

chorus
        F                                           C
the very worst bush band in the world (1 or more times)
        F                                      C   
the world's worst singers the world's worst players
       Am              G                     C
but ancient folk magic made it work (that old folk magic..some old folk magic...)
       Am              G                    C
but ancient folk magic made it work (that old folk magic..some old folk magic...)

he sat me with some people who smiled at me or waved
and beer and pav just magically appeared
it seemed so unbelievable on such a wicked night
oh eff me days i could not believe my ears

before long i was swingin and swayin to the sound
as everybody danced before the band
and though it sounded horrible i could not help myself
some magic seemed to drag me by the hand (it was)

chorus

then suddenly i woke up still sitting in my car
the buildings gone the night sky filled with stars
and though i passed it off as just a dream to leave behind
that awful sound keeps running through my mind

chorus

chorus

Hogwash days - 1983 - such a good sound band

Thanks so much to Peter for this material


I'm lead singer (for a change in this, and mandolin) Chris McManus doing the better than mine harmony, Terry Toohill holding us all together on the bass and Peter Scott playing banjo in a way i didn't realise then was totally unique and really solid - we didn't need a drummer.




same, touched up by Peter





In these I'm harmony and mandolin

I'll never be as good as Marcus Turner

      C                                                         Bb
first saw him play and sing when i was struggling with the blues
  F                                                   C
i listened and i watched with open envy
  C                                                  Bb
i fumbled on self-conscious 'cause i was just a learner
        F                                                  C
but i vowed i'd be as good as Marcus Turner

   C                                         Bb
I didn't see him often cause I lived across the tracks
             F                                             C
and my life was hectic, difficult and crazy
             C                                                     Bb
but his playing and his singing made my determination sterner
          F                                               C
"one day i'll play as good as Marcus Turner"

   C                                       Bb
I fled to live in Sydney and busked my way through school
F                                                           C
    joined bands and made music for a living
    C                                                    Bb
and as i learned the mandolin my confidence grew firmer
       F                                             C
"i bet now i'm as good as Marcus Turner!"

C                                                            Bb
    then back to Dunedin - he was even better than before
      F                                               C
in every way he seemed to go on winning
  C                                                Bb
i loved him and i hated him - i'd always be the learner
         F                                                 C
and i'd never play as good as Marcus Turner

    C                                             Bb
I gave up playing music, a long story i wont tell
      F                                              C
for 30 years i went without much pickin'
  C                                                                         Bb
though Marcus went from strength to strength i heard not a murmur
        F                                                C
i no longer thought at all of Marcus Turner

C                                            Bb
Now i'm old and cranky my fingers stiff and sore
        F                                         C
and Marcus, well, he is gone forever
            C                                                    Bb
when i think of what i might have been if i had pushed it further
             F                                          C
i'd still never be as good as Marcus Turner


RIP Marcus Turner - a great kiwi, a great musician and a great human being

you might be able to get albums with Marcus here

To the extent possible under law, Murray Hobbs has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to I'll never be as good as Marcus Turner. This work is published from: New Zealand.