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Lin van Hek & Joe Dolce

 

Song Notes

1. I Never Found Those Lips Again (dolce)

This song takes its title from a poem by Alexandrian poet, C.P. Cafavy. It began its artistic life as a villanelle published by Les Murray. The villanelle was common during the Renaissance and was sung and used for dance music. Over the centuries, it transformed into a strictly a poetic form but with this song, Joe has restored it to its original intention.

I Never Found Those Lips Again

I never found those lips again
my final preference for her kiss
I never thought that I could bend

when she had gone it felt the end
sorrow broke open an abyss
I never found those lips again

kind words from a few mutual friends
who didn't’t vanish into mist
I never thought that I could bend

some lovers with a soft pretend
their touch somehow always amiss
I never found those lips again

the helpful advice that offends
(there still too much I won’t dismiss)
I never thought that I could bend

an almost heal but never mend
the unannounced recall of bliss
I never found those lips again
I never thought that I could bend

© Joe Dolce
℗ Dolceamore Music

2. Working Class Hero (lennon)

One of the great post-Beatle John Lennon songs, interpreted by Lin in her own unique style.

Working Class Hero

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be.

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be.

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be.

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and class less and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be.

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be.

© John Lennon
℗ John Lennon Music

3. Dr. Eloesser (dolce)

This song was written for Difficult Women, the two-handed theatrical show, created by Lin and Joe, that performed internationally for fifteen years, including fifty shows in Edinburgh and tours of Estonia, Okinawa, Canada and New Zealand. The song is from a vignette about Frida Kahlo and her personal physician, the noted thoracic surgeon, Dr Leo Eloesser. Eloesser was also a battlefield doctor, serving in the Spanish Civil War and WWII.

Doctor Eloesser
  
Is there something you could give her, Dr. Eloesser?
Something to help her with this pain in here?
She is not sick, Doctor, she is broken,
pourque esta muy sola,
please don't forget her, Doctor Eloesser.
 
Is there something you could prescribe, Doctor Eloesser?
Morphine or Demerol might help it clear,
so she might sleep in her blue house again,
pourque esta muy sola,
please don't forget her, Doctor Eloesser.
 
Pies pare que los queros, Senor Eloesser,
Si tengo alas volare:
she wouldn't need feet if she had wings to fly,
pourque esta muy sola,
please don't forget her, Doctor Eloesser.

© Joe Dolce
℗ Dolceamore Music

4. The Digger's Daughter (lawson-van hek- dolce)

Another song created for Difficult Women, but this one is from a vignette about Louisa Lawson, the mother of Australian poet, Henry Lawson. Louisa was a force of nature and started and ran a newspaper in Sydney for fifteen years called The Dawn. The paper employed only women and was the first outlet for her son's early poetry. Louisa is sometimes credited as being Australia's first feminist and she wrote articles and poetry of her own for the paper. Lin found this poem in the microfiche files of The Dawn, at the State Library, and started singing an improvised acapella melody to it. Joe created the chords and a Whisky-in-the-Jar type of bush dance groove.

The Digger's Daughter

The waratah has stained her cheek,
Her lips are even brighter;
Like virgin quartz without a streak
Her teeth are, but far whiter.
Her eyes are large, and soft, and dark,
And clear as running water;
And straight as any stringy bark
Is Lil, the digger's daughter.

She'll wash a prospect quick and well,
And deftly use the ladle;
The weight of gold at sight she'll tell,
And work with tub and cradle.
She was her father's only mate,
And wound up wash and water;
She worked all day and studied late,
And all she knows he taught her.

She stood alone above the shaft –
A test for woman, rather –
When I sprang to the windlass haft
And helped her land her father.
She turned her pretty face to me
To thank me, and I thought her
The grandest girl of all her race –
Sweet Lil, the digger's daughter.

And when my luck began to change
I grew a trifle bolder
And told my love, but thought it strange
She knew before I told her.
She said that she would be my wife;
Then home I proudly brought her,
To be my loving mate for life,
But still the digger's daughter.

© Louisa Lawson-Lin van Hek-Joe Dolce
℗ Dolceamore Music

5. Green-eyed Boy of the Rain (dolce)

This was the first song lyric Joe wrote published as a stand-alone poem by Les Murray, who passed away in 2019 - without ever hearing the music. It is styled after the great troubadour ballads of the late 60s, in the manner of Lightfoot, Denver and early Dylan, (with a slight touch of Garcia Lorca added to the mix). Whereas all the ballads, from those days, written in this style, were about girls, this one is a little different. For ten years, it existed as two separate songs, frustrating for Joe as he liked them both and he couldn't decide on a final version. Finally, the instrumental melody of the first one became the guitar theme, and he retained the verse and chorus melodies from the second one to arrive at this definitive version.

Green-Eyed Boy of The Rain

Somehow we drifted into this wet place
I just couldn't’t feel any pain
he came and stole her away from me
the green-eyed boy of the rain.

I wanted to kill him to tear him apart
until nothing of him would remain
when I thought of him kissing her mouth
the green-eyed boy of the rain.

I thought I had rights to her body and soul
now I can’t even say her name
I drove her away and right into the arms of
the green-eyed boy of the rain.

Anger and sorrow become the same thing
two sides of a dark window pane
I’d give everything to see her look back from
the green-eyed boy of the rain.

© Joe Dolce
℗ Dolceamore Music

6. The Trees They Grow High (trad.)

Lin discovered this traditional British folk song (Roud 31, Laws O35) and instantly fell in love with it. It was the basis for Robbie Burns' 1792 poem, Lady Mary Ann. She experimented with several ways of singing the song, including the usual way, with guitar, (including an eccentric version where Joe beat solemnly on a metal bathtub with a mallet!) and finally settled on this simple acapella variation which highlights their personal harmony blend, while remaining true to the oral tradition of how these type of ballads were performed in the nineteenth century.

The Trees They Grow High

The trees they grow high, the leaves they do grow green
Many is the time my true love I've seen
Many a time I have watched him all alone
He's young, but he's daily growing.

Father, dear father, you've done me great wrong
You married me to a boy who’s much too young
I am twice twelve and he is but fourteen
He's young, but he's daily growing.

Daughter, dear daughter, I've done you no wrong
I have married you to a great lord's son
He'll make a Lord for you to wait upon
He's young, but he's daily growing.

Father, dear father, if you do see fit
We'll send him to college for one year yet
I'll tie blue ribbons around his head
To show the maidens there that he's married.

One day I was looking o'er my father's castle wall
I saw the boys there playing with the ball
My own true love was the flower of them all
He's young, but he's daily growing

At the age of fourteen, he was a married man
At the age of fifteen, the father of a son
At the age of sixteen, his grave it was green,
and death had put an end to his growing.

© & ℗ Public Domain

7. Toyota Corolla (eckhardt)

This stunning song was written by Australian songwriter and singer, Tiffany Eckhardt. Lin does an acapella interpretation.

Toyota Corolla

Let me tell you the story about the cars in my life
they took all my money and caused me strife
I never quite knew if I would get there or not
‘till I got my Toyota Corolla.

My Toyota Corolla,
I love my Toyota Corolla,
born in ’82, coloured light blue,
I love my Toyota Corolla.

Well, the first car I had,
it was a present from my dad,
it was a lovely Volkswagen,
but a friend got really blind,
and rolled it twenty times,
needless to say,
that was a very bad day.

My Toyota Corolla,
I love my Toyota Corolla,
born in ’82, coloured light blue,
I love my Toyota Corolla.

And then I got a van,
it cost me two grand,
I sold it for two hundred to a little Greek man,
it was a health hazard,
so Lord he can have it,
‘cause now I got my Toyota Corolla.

My Morris Minor,
it was so finer,
it was little and grey and groovy,
but it gave me the shits,
when it fell to bits,
back then I was not so choosy.

My Toyota Corolla,
I love my Toyota Corolla,
born in ’82, coloured light blue,
I love my Toyota Corolla.

It took awhile adjusting,
to a car with no rusting,
’cause never had one before,
always had a car
with a character,
but now I got one that works,
I like it much more.

My Toyota Corolla,
I love my Toyota Corolla,
born in ’82, coloured light blue,
I love my Toyota Corolla.

This is a story about the cars in my life
they took all my money and caused me strife
I never quite knew if I would get there or not
‘till I got my Toyota Corolla.

My Toyota Corolla,
I love my Toyota Corolla,
born in ’82, coloured light blue,
I love my Toyota Corolla.

© Tiffany Eckhardt
℗ Tiffany Eckhardt Music

8. I Tell Ya True (cobby-dolce)

Joe discovered this poem by indigenous poet Ali Cobby Eckermann and set it to a traditional country music-style song setting, a style which is used often by aboriginal singer-songwriters. But the subject matter of this poem is anything but traditional - it is a harrowing account of the experiences related to Eckermann by friends of hers. Joe sent a solo vocal demo of the song to her for her approval, which she enthusiastically gave. This version is performed by Lin and Joe as a duet.

I Tell You True

I can’t stop drinking, I tell you true
Since I watched my daughter perish
She burned to death inside a car
I lost what I most cherish
I saw the angels hold her
As I screamed with useless hope
I can’t stop drinking, I tell you true
It’s the only way I cope!

I can’t stop drinking, I tell you true
Since I found my sister dead
She hung herself to stop the rapes
I found her in the shed
The rapist bastard still lives here
Unpunished in this town
I can’t stop drinking, I tell you true
Since I cut her down.

I can’t stop drinking, I tell you true
Since my mother passed away.
They found her battered down the creek
I miss her more each day
My family blamed me for her death
Their words have made me wild
I can’t stop drinking, I tell you true
‘Cos I was just a child.

So if you see someone like me
Who’s drunk and loud and cursing
Don’t judge too hard, you never know
What sorrows we are nursing.

© Ali Cobby Eckermann-Joe Dolce
℗ Dolceamore Music

9. Jim Jones at Botany Bay (dolce-trad.)

The words to this song are from a traditional public domain Australian bush ballad but here with a new musical setting by Joe. Lin and Joe have been singing this song for over thirty years and it featured in the Phil Motherwell play, Held in Camera, in which Lin also had a featured role as actress. The lyrics capture the tragedy of the forced transportation of British convicts to Australia, in chains, against their will, which is often forgotten in today's political debates.

Jim Jones at Botany Bay

Listen for a moment lads and hear me tell my tale
How over the sea from England's shore I was compelled to sail.

The jury said He's guilty, sir and said the judge, said he:
For life Jim Jones I'm sending you across the stormy sea.

And take my tip before you ship to join those iron gangs,
Don’t be too gay on Botany Bay or else you'll surely hang.

Or else you'll hang! he said, said he, And after that Jim Jones,
High upon the gallows tree the crows will pick your bones.

You'll have no chance for mischief then, remember what I say,
They'll flog the poaching out of you there on Botany Bay.

The winds blew high upon the sea; the pirates came along,
But the soldiers on our convict ship were full 500 strong.

They opened fire and somehow drove that pirate ship away,
But I'd rather have joined that pirate ship then come to Botany Bay.

For day and night the irons clang and like poor galley slaves,
We toil and toil and when we die must fill dishonoured graves.

But some black night when everything is silent in the town,
I'll shoot the bastards one and all; I'll shoot the floggers down.

I'll give the law a little shock, remember what I say:
You'll yet regret you sent Jim Jones in chains to Botany Bay!

© Joe Dolce-Public Domain
℗ Dolceamore Music

10. Poor Dim Sally (tait)

This song was written by Lin's all-time favourite New Zealand singer-songwriter, Kath Tait. Lin first showcased Kath's songs on her CD, River of Life. 'Vim Valley’ refers to Pakuranga - a development of middle-class homes in Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb got its nick-name after a local housewife appeared in a tv commercial for a scouring powder called Vim (similar to Ajax) created by the Lever Brothers, in Liverpool. Vim was also the sponsor of the The Lucy Show, starring Lucille Ball. Painter Francis Bacon was reputed to have used it for toothpaste. On her website, Kath says: "Having been involved in a disreputable fringe sect when I was much younger, I decided to read a few sociological studies on the phenomenon. I discovered that they are all much the same, they all involve some sort of guru/con-artist and they all end up committing some kind of abuse involving sex or money. I have learnt the hard way that you have to be your own guru."

Poor Dim Sally

Poor dim Sally from old Vim Valley,
She was taken in by the Moonies.
Her friends said they would rather be dead
Than sucked in by a bunch of loonies.
Her mother cried and her father nearly died
To see their Sally being hypnotized,
And listening to strange philosophical lies
And giving all her money to the guru.

While dancing to the tune of the Reverend Moon,
Sally was benevolent and breezy.
But it made her sad to see her mum and her dad
Being hypnotized by the TV,
And giving all their money to the politicians,
Who wasted it all on their greedy ambitions,
And Sally was obsessed by her dubious position,
Enlisting more disciples for the guru.

Poor dim Sally from old Vim valley,
She went knocking on doors,
Explaining her views and proclaiming the news
And naming the Moonies' laws,
When she came upon a mysterious charmer,
Who appeared at the door in his pink pajama,
And talked her into following the Dalai Lama
And that's how she was rescued from the Moonies.

Sally took a ferry to a monastery
Where upon she shaved her head.
Her mother cried and her father said "Why
is our Sally so easily lead ?"
The deprogrammers came to unravel her brain
But their threats and bribes were all in vain,
And her poor mother she did proclaim
"Why can't we all just be nice Presbyterians ?"

Now poor dim Sally from old Vim valley
Was told to spend eleven days fasting,
But her need for food was so basic and crude
And she really wasn't very good at lasting.
When they found her hiding behind a tree
With a marmite sandwich and a cup of tea,
She said " I wouldn't be a failure spiritually
If I was the leader of my very own religion."

So she became the guru of her own fringe sect,
She got all of the money and all of the respect,
And she made her disciples swear an oath
To eat their way to spiritual growth.
"Have another sausage roll, have another cream bun",
She said sitting there on her big fat bum.
They said "we'll all be saved from being eternally glum
In Sally's own original religion!"

© Kath Tait
℗ Kath Tait Music

 

$30.00 (excluding gst & postage) Australian Orders Only

 

(Note: For digital downloads $A20.- and International Orders, email: dolcej@yahoo.com)

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