Born in Peebles, Scotland, and emigrating to Australia in 1969, he currently resides near Adelaide, South Australia. Written in 1972, And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda is perhaps his best-known song, being a haunting evocation of the ANZAC experience fighting in the Battle of Gallipoli. It has also been interpreted as a reaction to the Vietnam War.
Bogle's songs cover a wide range of subjects, including bright comic songs, satires, protest songs and other serious considerations of the human condition. Some idea of the breadth of his work can be gained from the differing subject matter, ranging from The Aussie Bar-B-Q to a homage to Stan Rogers, entitled Safe in the Harbour. One of his most popular songs, Katie and the Dreamtime Land, is a tribute to American folksinger Kate Wolf, following her untimely death from leukemia in 1986.
In a similar vein to And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", his song, No Man's Land, refers to the old Scottish song, "Flowers of the Forest" being played over the grave of a World War I soldier. (Bogle has been known to call the song The Green Fields of France, a title it was first given by The Fureys and subsequently used by The Men They Couldn't Hang.) In 1997, British Prime Minister Tony Blair presented a Belfast girl who wrote to him about the Troubles with a framed copy of the lyrics to The Green Fields of France", calling it his favourite anti-war poem.
Other well-known songs, with lighter subject matter, include two homages to departed pets, Little Gomez" and Nobody's Moggy Now, and an acknowledgment of his folk music fans with Do You Sing Any Dylan?.
Many of his songs have been covered by other artists, particularly his anti-war songs. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda and No Man's Land both gained fame in versions by June Tabor, The Men They Couldn't Hang and The Clancy Brothers. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda was covered by John McDermott, Mike Harding and The Pogues, and "All the Fine Young Men" was recorded by De Dannan. Recently, the Dropkick Murphys covered "The Green Fields of France", and "Shelter" was covered by John Williamson on his album of great Australian anthems.
In 2000 a five CD collection was released called, Singing The Spirit Home. In 2006 he undertook a lengthy UK tour accompanied by long term friend and collaborator John Munro.
Future plans include recording a new CD for release in 2008.
LOST SOUL
Eric Bogle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is no light here, it's cold and damp and grey,
There is no glory here amongst these marble stones,
Only young men's names above young men's bones.
We've searched for you so long and come so far,
But now at last, dear brother, there you are.
Lost soul, Ngarrindjeri man,
Lost soul, lying here alone,
Ngarrindjeri warrior, we've come to take your spirit home.
To where the black swan glides and the pelican soars,
Above the Coorong's blue waters and golden shores,
Where the Dreamtime sings from every leaf and stone.
Home, Coorong, home.
Home, Coorong, home.
Why did you come here, Ngarrindjeri man,
To fight and die here in this cold and alien land?
You owed them nothing, yet your life you freely gave,
The mark of a warrior, not a servant or a slave.
And as you fell in this war to end all wars,
Did they see that your blood was just as red as theirs?
Lost soul, Ngarrindjeri man,
Lost soul, far from the Dreamtime land,
Lost soul, lying here alone,
Ngarrindjeri warrior, we've come to take your spirit home.
To where the black swan glides and the pelican soars,
Above the Coorong's blue waters and golden shores,
Where the Dreamtime sings from every leaf and stone.
Home, Coorong, home.
Home, Coorong, home.
Home, Coorong,
Home, Coorong,
Home, Coorong,
Home, Coorong.
The song 'Lost Soul' by Eric Bogle is a moving tribute to the fallen soldiers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who fought for their country in World War I. The opening lines of the song set the somber tone, describing the bleak and haunting atmosphere of the cemetery where the soldier's remains lie. The lyrics lament the loss of young men who were taken far away from their indigenous homeland and their culture, to fight and die in a foreign, cold, and alien land.
As the song progresses, the lyrics address the fallen soldier directly, telling him that his tribe has searched for him long and hard to bring his spirit home. The song speaks to the importance of returning fallen soldiers to their ancestral lands and spiritual homelands, to honor their sacrifice and to give them the peace that they deserve. The lyrics point to the fact that the soldier was a warrior, and fought with dignity, not as a servant or a slave. The song ends with a plea for the soldier's spirit to be taken back to his homeland, where the dreamtime sings from every leaf and stone.
'Lost Soul' is a powerful tribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soldiers who fought in World War I. The song speaks to the themes of loss, remembrance, and the importance of honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The song's dramatic use of language, mixed with a haunting and melancholic melody, allows the listener to feel the deep sadness and pain of such a loss.
Line by Line Meaning
There is no sun here, the sun's a thousand miles away,
This place is dark and cold, the sun is far away.
There is no light here, it's cold and damp and grey,
This place is devoid of light, it's damp and cold and grey.
There is no glory here amongst these marble stones,
There is no honor or fame to be found among these headstones.
Only young men's names above young men's bones.
These graves hold only the names of young men who died young.
We've searched for you so long and come so far,
We have spent a long time searching for you and traveled far.
But now at last, dear brother, there you are.
Finally, we have found you, my dear brother.
Lost soul, Ngarrindjeri man,
You are a lost soul, a man of the Ngarrindjeri people.
Lost soul, far from the Dreamtime land,
You are far from your ancestral land in the Dreamtime.
Lost soul, lying here alone,
You are alone, lying here.
Ngarrindjeri warrior, we've come to take your spirit home.
As fellow warriors of the Ngarrindjeri people, we have come to take your spirit back home.
To where the black swan glides and the pelican soars,
To the place where black swans and pelicans fly gracefully.
Above the Coorong's blue waters and golden shores,
Hovering over the blue waters and shorelines of the Coorong.
Where the Dreamtime sings from every leaf and stone.
In this place, the Dreamtime can be heard through every leaf and stone.
Why did you come here, Ngarrindjeri man,
What brought you to this place, Ngarrindjeri warrior?
To fight and die here in this cold and alien land?
To fight and die in this foreign, cold land?
You owed them nothing, yet your life you freely gave,
You didn't owe them anything, yet you willingly gave your life.
The mark of a warrior, not a servant or a slave.
You are a true warrior, not a servant or a slave.
And as you fell in this war to end all wars,
As you met your end in this supposed 'war to end all wars',
Did they see that your blood was just as red as theirs?
Did they see that your blood was no different from theirs?
Home, Coorong, home.
Come home, to the Coorong.
Home, Coorong, home.
Come home, to the Coorong.
Home, Coorong, home.
Come home, to the Coorong.
Home, Coorong.
Come home, to the Coorong.
Writer(s): Eric Bogle
Contributed by Gabriel M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bruce Laidlaw
on Aussie Bar-B-Q Song
The lyrics given here are for a different song