Paul Kelly – Think Bensonium

Day 413: Firewood and Candles, Paul Kelly

Roderick Benson — Thu, 06 May 2021 23:00:18 +0000

In 2018 I took my daughter Grace to see Paul Kelly in a pub in the Northern quarter of Manchester. If we were to see him in Australia, we would be in a many thousand seat venue however because he is not really known in the UK we had the privilege of seeing him a venue which held at most about 150 people. It was absolutely great. At the time his latest album “Life is Fine” had only recently been released and this was the third song on the album which he played as his third song in the concert since he literally played every song on the new album; something he could do because every song on the album is top quality and so makes great concert material.

Day 294: To her Door, Paul Kelly

Roderick Benson — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Time to finish the first week of 2021 with another classic song from arguably the greatest Australian wordsmith Paul Kelly. A great story about a guy struggling with alcohol addiction who ends up splitting up with his wife while he receives inpatient therapy for his addiction. The story then covers the nervousness of his returning to his home after such a long time away.

He came in on a Sunday
Every muscle aching
Walking in slow motion
Like he’d just been hit
Did they have a future?
Would he know his children?
Could he make a picture
And get them all to fit?
He was shaking in his seat
Riding through the streets
In a Silvertop
To her door

Day 207: Everything’s turning to white, Paul Kelly

Roderick Benson — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 23:00:00 +0000

Given yesterday’s post, I thought it was time for another song by the great Australian wordsmith Paul Kelly. This is a spooky song which captures a rather bizarre story which was also the subject of an Australian film called Jindabyne.

The story is about a group of men who go out on a fishing trip and when they arrive at their camping spot they discover the body of a woman who had been murdered. However, rather than spoil their fishing trip they instead wedge the body against a rock in the river to stop it from being washed away and then after their fishing trip they report the murder to the police. In this song, Paul Kelly imagines being the wife of one of the fisherman and how his callous actions means that she is now left cold “with nothing working inside” every time he touches her.

Day 76: Deeper Water, Paul Kelly

Rbenson — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 20:52:15 +0000

So completed my first swim since lockdown without a wetsuit so quite cold. Two people from Platt were also there John Boley (Sarah Boley) and Rachel Watson. Was good to see some church folk in 3D for once although sad social distancing meant could only greet them with a distance wave. We’re still in strange times. OK so this song seems very appropriate to celebrate my first swim. A song from the Australian wordsmith himself capturing another very human and sad story that revolves around the Australian beach and surf.

The other cool thing about this video is it brings back pleasant memories for me. Paul Kelly when playing a gig in Australia is so famous that he would only play at a major venue like the Sydney Entertainment Centre. However, in the UK, he is not really known and amazingly he did a gig in the northern quarter of Manchester in a small pub with a concert room that held only about 100 or so people. My daughter Grace and I got tickets to see it. This was my daughter’s first experience of a rock gig so what a way to start her concert portfolio. It was a really great to see Paul Kelly up close on stage doing all his amazing hits.

Day 22: How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly

Rbenson — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 17:05:52 +0000

So on Thursday I posted a song by probably the greatest wordsmith of rock and roll, Bob Dylan. Yet this Australian gives the great Dylan a run for his money in my opinion. For my UK friends, his music is really worth getting into if you like poetry set to music. He has so many great songs but in this little number, he manages to smuggle a recipe for making gravy into his lyric (“Just flower, salt, a little red wine; don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce for that sweetness and extra tang“). Like Bob Dylan’s song Hurricane, this song tells a detailed and complex story about a guy spending his time in prison over Christmas.

Another clever lyric clause in this song is: “and you’ll dance with Rita, I know you really like her, just don’t hold her too close oh brother please don’t stab me in the back. I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just my mind it plays up, multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact.“