50 Years - The Best Of

Buy 7" Vinyl from www.hopestreetrecordings.com/sosblak

This October Emma Donovan and The PutBacks have brought together some very special guests to release a new 7” single featuring two classic Aboriginal Australian songs. Emma is joined by Tim Rogers of You Am I and rapper Joelistics on a version of Warumpi Band’s 1985 anthem Blackfella Whitefella and by Archie Roach on a deep soul rendition of his late partner, Ruby Hunter’s, heartbreaking hit, Down City Streets.

This release supports the massive grassroots movement led by SOS Blak Australia, an organization dedicated to supporting Aboriginal communities in remote Western Australia currently under threat of closure.

Earlier this year SOS Blak Australia issued a worldwide call to action to stop these closures occurring. In response to this, Emma and all the artists involved have come together to declare that they stand with the Indigenous people of Australia in support of their right to self-determination on their traditional lands. All involved have donated their time free of charge and all proceeds from the record go to SOS Blak Australia.

Blackfella Whitefella, the country rock epic written by George Rrurrambu and Neil Murray in 1985, feels more relevant than ever 30 years on. 2015 is, in so many ways, becoming a critical year in relations between Aboriginal Australia and the broader community. This song asked long ago for Australians of all colours and backgrounds to “stand up and be counted,” for all of our rights. This year the call is being answered.

Written by Archie’s late wife Ruby Hunter, Down City Streets tells hard truths of Indigenous urban disadvantage. Emma and The PutBacks have put a deep, sweet soul groove under it and Emma and Archie revisit the song as a duet, sharing verses and singing the choruses together. It’s both a sad and hopeful song, mirroring Archie and Ruby’s personal journeys from struggle to security and success.

It’s also a fitting companion to Blackfella Whitefella, linking the experiences of bush and city life and a testament to the disconnection experienced when Indigenous people’s remaining links with family and country are severed. Blackfella Whitefella b/w Down City Streets is available on 7” vinyl and digital from HopeStreet Recordings from October 23rd and all proceeds from the release will be donated to SOS Blak Australia.

For more information on SOS Blak Australia’s campaign to protect remote communities of the Kimberly region, please visit www.sosblakaustralia.com.

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Emma Donovan & The PutBacks feat. Tim Rogers & Joelistics - Blackfella Whitefella

Routine
(c) J. Murdock McInnes Vasey

Routine

I hear the sobs, their whiny tone
the awful grind of steel on bone
I turn my back and wipe the blade
I took a life, nothing in trade

I report back, I killed one more
with every day a better score
So many lives, so many dreams
Back in my tent a blur it seems

I fall sleep, this life my fate
My mind is numb, I feel no hate
My soul is cold like a machine
The death I cause is now routine

[instrumental]

I report back, I killed one more
with every day a better score
So many lives, so many dreams
Back in my tent a blur it seems

I fall sleep, this life my fate
My mind is numb, I feel no hate
My soul is cold like a machine
The death I cause is now routine

The death I cause is now routine

[instrumental]

I hear the sobs, their whiny tone
the awful grind of steel on bone
I turn my back and wipe the blade
I took a life, nothing in trade

I report back, I killed one more
with every day a better score
My soul is cold like a machine
The death I cause is now routine

[instrumental]

The death I cause is now routine

just routine

just routine

just routine

just routine

just routine


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