Angus was born on the 11th June 1982 in Melbourne, Victoria. he started playing trumpet at the age of twelve, and learnt to scat from listening to jazz recordings. He went to Malvern Primary School, where he often sang at school assemblies. He then went to McKinnon Secondary College and was taught by Ian Orr in Melbourne before studying at the Victorian College of the Arts. In 2006 he appeared twice as a panellist on the ABC Australian Music Quiz show Spicks and Specks. Angus is also part of The Conglomerate, a four-piece Melbourne jazz band. He also played basketball for the Malvern Tigers Basketball Club, and used to wear the club's black and yellow singlet while performing at gigs. He is married to Emily Lubitz, the lead singer of Tinpan Orange.
His side project, Jackson Jackson, is a partnership with producer and film composer Jan Skubiszewski (Two Hands, The Rage in Placid Lake, Last Man Standing). "Jackson Jackson and the New Apocalypso Beat" features Melbourne trio The Genie (composed of Ollie McGill on keyboards and keytar, Ryan Monro on bass, and Will Hull-Brown on drums). His backing singers are known as "The Jackson Jackson 5" (made up of Elana Stone, Karishma Sadhai, Bec Ari, Chantal Mitvalsky, and Rory Osman). Jackson Jackson are signed to EMI, and their debut album The Fire Is on ohe Bird was released in 2007. In 2008 they released their second album. Tools for Survival.
Angus is a member of The Conglomerate, and plays trumpet on four tracks of the debut album Aroona Palace by Tinpan Orange, which also features Ollie McGill.
He has also released two folk/acoustic solo albums: Live at the Famous Spiegeltent (2008) and Little Stories (2011).
Matty and Josie
Harry James Angus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She was totally strung out.
They'd gone to primary school together,
It's funny how some things turn out.
He remembered how they used to sit,
Upon the hill and clean the chalky dusters from the school.
They made pumpkin soup together,
Her eyes, they changed like the weather,
And they soon made love together.
And when her eyes had cleared she saw
Him standing in the bathroom light,
And realised that she would love him,
Until the end of time.
Matty worked down at the meat works,
With all the pigs and all the blood.
Sometimes the smell of death follows him home,
And sometimes he dreams of the flood.
But he would wake to find that golden face
Asleep beside his pillow
And he thought that he might love her
Until the end of time.
One night Josie was making coffee,
Matty came home kind of early,
He was carrying an old sack of bones
He said "I killed a man a long time ago".
He said, "you don't have to know the when or the why,
Just believe me that he was bad and he deserved to die.
I buried him down by the river side a long time ago
And now they're building those new movie studios
So I had to dig him up, gonna put him in the yard.
You can't tell anybody babe, I know that this is hard,
But you can't tell anybody if you love me.
You can't tell anybody if you love me"
That night they made love so passionately and he smelled of earth,
As he lay beside her in the moonlight and she cried.
Because she knew that she would love him,
Until the end of time.
Next day Josie went to the policeman,
She said, "my boyfriend he's killed a man".
She said, "he's buried in our garden".
They said, "you're doing the right thing, ma'am".
They went around to Matty's house with picks and shovels,
Josie felt that hot old desert wind, coming down the line.
The cops started digging,
The cops started digging,
The cops started digging in the yard.
The cops started digging,
The cops started digging,
The cops started digging in the yard.
And soon they found a sack,
A big old brown sack,
And they opened it up on the grass.
And underneath the heshen,
Was a pile of bones that looked like they could have been buried,
Since before the dawn of time.
But they weren't human bones they were pig bones.
While the cops were standing around Matty came home.
"Sorry for the trouble, fellers", he said, and he explained what he had done
And the cops were quite impressed.
He said, "I wanted to know if I could trust her with my life,
But baby you're a junkie, not a wife.
Glad I made this little test, how could I marry someone who would turn me in for murder,
You're not worth it".
The cops silently agreed as they turned their backs and started to shovel all the earth back in.
And Matty hung his head in sadness because he knew that the person that he loved was not this person.
And that night Josie felt the cold space beside her pillow in the moonlight,
And she cried, because she knew that she would love him, until the end of time.
The song "Matty and Josie" by Harry James Angus tells the story of a couple, Matty and Josie, who have known each other since they were in primary school. The song starts with Matty finding Josie on a Tuesday, completely strung out, and taking her home to make her better. As they spend time together, they grow closer and soon make love. Matty works at the meatworks and sometimes dreams of the flood or smells of death, but Josie is his grounding force. One night, Matty comes home early carrying an old sack of bones and confesses to killing a man a long time ago. He tells Josie that he had to dig the body up because they were building new movie studios in the area. He begs her not to tell anyone if she loves him.
The next day, Josie goes to the police and reports the murder. The police start digging up the yard while Josie feels the hot desert wind coming down the line. Ultimately, they find a sack of pig bones, not human bones. Matty returns home to explain that it was a test of trust, and he couldn't marry someone who would turn him in for murder. The police silently agree and start shoveling the dirt back. However, Matty realizes that the person he loves is not the person he thought she was, while Josie cries knowing she would love him until the end of time.
The song is a well-crafted narrative with a surprise twist ending that leaves you wondering. This story touches on the topics of drug addiction, murder, love, trust, and betrayal. The lyrics suggest that people are not always who they seem to be, and sometimes our perceptions of love can be misguided.
Line by Line Meaning
Matty saw Josie on a Tuesday,
Matty first saw Josie on a Tuesday.
She was totally strung out.
Josie was struggling with addiction.
They'd gone to primary school together,
Matty and Josie knew each other from childhood.
It's funny how some things turn out.
It's interesting how life can take surprising turns.
He remembered how they used to sit,
Matty reminisced about his past with Josie.
Upon the hill and clean the chalky dusters from the school.
They used to clean the chalkboard erasers together.
He took her home to make her better,
Matty took Josie home to help her.
They made pumpkin soup together,
Matty and Josie cooked pumpkin soup together.
Her eyes, they changed like the weather,
Josie's mood changed suddenly and unpredictably.
And they soon made love together.
They became intimate soon after.
And when her eyes had cleared she saw
After her mind became clearer, Josie saw
Him standing in the bathroom light,
Matty standing in the bathroom light.
And realised that she would love him,
Josie realized that she loved Matty.
Until the end of time.
She felt that she would love him forever.
Matty worked down at the meat works,
Matty worked in a meat processing factory.
With all the pigs and all the blood.
He dealt with pigs and blood as part of his job.
Sometimes the smell of death follows him home,
He sometimes smelled of death after work.
And sometimes he dreams of the flood.
He occasionally had nightmares about a flood.
But he would wake to find that golden face
He would wake up to see Josie's face.
Asleep beside his pillow
She would be sleeping next to him in bed.
And he thought that he might love her
Matty felt he might love Josie.
Until the end of time.
He thought he might love her forever.
One night Josie was making coffee,
One night Josie was making coffee at home.
Matty came home kind of early,
Matty arrived home earlier than usual.
He was carrying an old sack of bones
Matty was carrying an old bag of bones.
He said "I killed a man a long time ago".
Matty confessed to murdering a man.
He said, "you don't have to know the when or the why,
Matty told Josie she didn't need to know the details of the murder.
Just believe me that he was bad and he deserved to die.
Matty said that the man deserved to die.
I buried him down by the river side a long time ago
Matty buried the man by the river long ago.
And now they're building those new movie studios
Now that new movie studios were being built in the area.
So I had to dig him up, gonna put him in the yard.
Matty dug up the man's remains and planned to bury him in his own yard.
You can't tell anybody babe, I know that this is hard,
Matty told Josie not to tell anyone about the murder and he knew it must be difficult for her.
But you can't tell anybody if you love me.
Matty made it clear that if Josie loved him, she wouldn't speak of the murder.
That night they made love so passionately and he smelled of earth,
That night, Matty and Josie made love fervently, and Matty smelled like earth.
As he lay beside her in the moonlight and she cried.
He lay beside her in the moonlight and she cried.
Because she knew that she would love him,
Josie knew she would love Matty.
Until the end of time.
She felt she would love him forever.
Next day Josie went to the policeman,
The next day, Josie went to the police.
She said, "my boyfriend he's killed a man".
Josie reported that her boyfriend had murdered someone.
She said, "he's buried in our garden".
She told the police that the body was buried in their garden.
They said, "you're doing the right thing, ma'am".
The police praised Josie for coming forward.
They went around to Matty's house with picks and shovels,
The police came to Matty's house with tools to dig up the body.
Josie felt that hot old desert wind, coming down the line.
Josie felt a wind, reminiscent of the desert, blowing toward the house.
The cops started digging,
The police began digging in the yard.
The cops started digging,
The police continued digging.
The cops started digging in the yard.
The police dug up the yard.
And soon they found a sack,
The police soon found a bag.
A big old brown sack,
The bag was big and brown.
And they opened it up on the grass.
They opened the bag and dumped its contents on the grass.
And underneath the heshen,
Beneath the burlap
Was a pile of bones that looked like they could have been buried,
There were bones that seemed to have been buried for a long time.
Since before the dawn of time.
They looked very old.
But they weren't human bones they were pig bones.
Contrary to what they thought, they found animal bones
While the cops were standing around Matty came home.
While the police were there, Matty returned home.
"Sorry for the trouble, fellers",
Matty apologized for the trouble he had caused.
he said, and he explained what he had done
He explained the situation.
And the cops were quite impressed.
The police were impressed in some way.
He said, "I wanted to know if I could trust her with my life,
Matty wanted to see if he could trust Josie.
But baby you're a junkie, not a wife.
He told her that she wasn't fit to be a wife due to her addiction.
Glad I made this little test, how could I marry someone who would turn me in for murder,
Matty was relieved that he discovered Josie's true nature and questioned how he could marry someone who would turn him in for murder.
You're not worth it".
He declared that Josie wasn't worth it.
The cops silently agreed as they turned their backs and started to shovel all the earth back in.
The police silently agreed with Matty's decision and started filling the hole back in.
And Matty hung his head in sadness because he knew that the person that he loved was not this person.
Matty was sad to discover that the person he loved wasn't the person he thought her to be.
And that night Josie felt the cold space beside her pillow in the moonlight,
Josie felt alone that night, and the cold space next to her reminded her of that fact.
And she cried, because she knew that she would love him,
She cried because she knew that she loved Matty.
Until the end of time.
She felt like she would always love him.
Writer(s): Henry James Angus
Contributed by Jacob I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.