Ash Grunwald is an Australian blues musician.

While it’s true that h… Read Full Bio ↴Ash Grunwald is an Australian blues musician.

While it’s true that his music is steeped in the Delta blues tradition of the legendary acoustic musicians who proliferated in pre-World War II America’s deep South and the giants of electric blues who shaped rock and roll, it’s the young Victorian’s willingness to combine these influences with grooves and sounds common in contemporary music that sets him apart.

A soulful singer and guitar player, Grunwald immediately drew attention with the release of 2002’s ‘Introducing … Ash Grunwald’ a collection of originals and blues standards that included ‘Smokestack Lightnin’ (Howlin’ Wolf) ‘The Sky Is Crying’ (Elmore James), and ‘Rolling and Tumbling’ (Robert Johnson) recorded live with only acoustic guitar and foot percussion consisting of a stomp box and tambourine.

The positive response to Grunwald’s debut resulted in two Victorian Blues awards for Emerging Talent and Album of the Year.

The following year he scored two Australian Blues awards for Male Vocalist of the Year and Best New Talent in addition to the MBAS’ Blues Performer of the Year. He also reached the final of the International Blues Performer of the Year in Memphis.

In 2004 Grunwald released his follow up album, I Don’t Believe, once again recorded solo and live.

Since his initial release he’d been made aware of two Tom Waits albums, Swordfishtrombones and Bone Machine. In a daring move he emulated Waits’ experimental bang and clang percussion using hammers, spanners, pots, etc, in addition to a boss loop station as a bed for his lap steel, dobro, and acoustic guitars.

The album included six originals, two of Waits’ compositions, "Going out West" and "Jesus Gonna Be Here" (a-cappella with handclaps) and blues standards "Walking Blues" and "Cross Roads" (Robert Johnson), "Empire State" (Son House), and "How Many More Years" (Howlin’ Wolf).

On the strength of this release Ash won an ARIA award nomination for Best Blues And Roots Album, and the Victorian Blues award for Male Vocalist Of The Year (equal with Lloyd Spiegel) and in 2005 the MBAS Vic / Tas award for Solo / Duo Of The Year (equal with Dave Hogan).

For the ‘Live At The Corner’ album (songs from his first two releases plus Willie Dixon’s ‘Spoonful’ featuring Ian Collard on harmonica) Ash won the 2005 MBAS Vic / Tas and Australian Blues award’s Album Of The Year in addition to being nominated once again for the Best Blues And Roots album at the ARIA’s.

Ash has built a substantial following performing at countless live venues around the country and at major festivals including Byron Bay, Port Fairy, Falls, Apollo Bay, Fremantle, Cockatoo Island and Margaret River.

In May 2005, Ash was invited to take over the reins as host of Triple J’s popular Thursday night show Roots ‘N All.

Ash Grunwald continues to forge his own identity with the release of twelve original songs on album number four, ‘Give Signs’ recorded on his own label Delta Groove Records. As usual it will be live and solo. And as usual, it is another terrific offering from this talented performer.

Walkin blues
Ash Grunwald Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Duet!
Hutchence: Everybody shake,
Barnes: Now everybody groove,
Hutchence: Everybody shake,
Barnes: Oooooh,
Hutchence: Mary, Mary you're on my mind,
The folks are gone and the place will be mine,
Mary, Mary I wanna be with you,

And this is what I'm gonna do,
I'm wanna put a call to you,
'Cause I feel good tonight,
And everything is gonna be right, right, right, right
Together: I'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Rock and roll music gonna play all night,
Come on baby it won't take long,
Only take a minute just to sing my song,
Barnes: Boney Maroney's gonna be with Jim,
I said, long, tall Sally's gonna be with Slim,
Short, fat Fanny's gonna be, she's gonna be there too,
And this is what I'm gonna do,
Well, I've got to put a call to you,
'Cause I feel good tonight,
And everything's gonna be right, right, right.
Together: I'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Rock and roll music gonna play all night,
Come on baby it won't take long,
Only take a minute just to sing my song,
Hutchence: Oooho
Barnes: OOW, I gotta talk to you
Instrumental
Hutchence: Boney Maroney's gonna be with Jim,
Barnes: Long, tall Sally's gonna be with him,
Hutchence: Short, fat Fanny's gonna be, she's gonna be there too,
Together: And this is what I'm gonna do,
I've got to put a call to you,
'Cause I feel good tonight,
And everything's gonna be right, right, right.
'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Rock and roll music gonna play all night,
Come on baby it won't take long,
Only take a minute just to sing my song.
Barnes: Listen
Hutchence: Aaahhaaa
Together: I'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Rock and roll music gonna play all night,
Come on baby it won't take long,
Only take a minute just to sing my song,
I'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Rock and roll music gonna play all night,
Come on baby it won't take long,
Only take a minute just to sing my song,
I'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Rock and roll music gonna play all night,
Come on baby it won't take long,
Only take a minute just to sing my song.

In loving memory of the good times of Michael Hutchence

Overall Meaning

The song "Walkin' Blues" by Ash Grunwald featuring Michael Hutchence and Jimmy Barnes is an upbeat rock and roll number that celebrates good times and good music. The lyrics are full of energy and enthusiasm, urging listeners to shake their bodies and groove to the beat. The song starts with a duet between Hutchence and Barnes, where they encourage everyone to join in and have a good time.

The lyrics then shift to a specific person, Mary, who is on the singer's mind. The singer expresses his desire to be with her and promises to call her later. He feels good tonight, and he believes that everything is going to be right. He then goes on to mention several other people who will be at the party, including Boney Maroney, Long-Tall Sally, and Short-Fat Fanny. The singer promises that he will have a good time, and he encourages everyone else to do the same.

Overall, "Walkin' Blues" is a song about letting loose, having fun, and enjoying life. The lyrics are simple but effective, and the upbeat melody makes it hard not to dance along. The duet between Hutchence and Barnes is a highlight of the song, and their voices blend together perfectly.

Line by Line Meaning

Everybody shake,
Let's get moving and have some fun

Now everybody groove,
Let's get into the rhythm

Oooooh,
Expressing excitement and anticipation

Mary, Mary you're on my mind,
Thinking about someone named Mary

The folks are gone and the place will be mine,
The opportunity to have some fun now that others are gone

Mary, Mary I wanna be with you,
Expressing the desire to be with Mary

And this is what I'm gonna do,
Explaining the plan

I'm wanna put a call to you,
Intending to call Mary

'Cause I feel good tonight,
Feeling happy and excited

And everything is gonna be right, right, right, right
Confident that things will go well

I'm gonna have a good time tonight,
Planning to enjoy the night