WEEKEND ADVOCATE, Saturday, July 5, 2014 11

www.westernadvocate.com.au
By RACHEL FERRETT
P
AT Alexander won second place
in the Banjo Patterson Writing
Awards recently with a poem
based on a song he composed in
1981.
He saw an advertisement in the
newspaper for the Banjo Patterson
Writing Awards and picked up an
application form from the library
before a recent trip to Orange.
For Pat, the competition was
never about financial gain, but the
fun of being part of it.
The 77-year-old entered his song,
Carry Me, Carry Me Home, as a
poem for the writing competition.
After years of experience submit-
ting songs as poetry he realised that
removing the chorus was the secret
to success.
This is what he did for Carry Me,
Carry Me Home.
Pats inspiration for the poem
came from his keen interest in
Australian colonial history and his
knowledge of his grandfathers expe-
riences leaving Scotland.
This fellow is on his way to Van
Diemans Land and didnt want to
leave Scotland, he said.
Pat received $200 prize money for
the bush poetry section of the com-
petition.
He grew up on a farm in Oberon
as part of a large family.
It was a fantastic childhood, he
recalled.
His mother, a trained pianist,
encouraged him to pursue music.
It was the piano lessons she gave
Pat that enabled him, at the age of
19, to put chords together on guitar.
These guitar accompaniments
helped him to write lyrics and songs.
Pats musical career then took an
interesting, and unexpected, turn.
If you grew up with the musical
likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon
Jennings, then you will have heard
of Slim Dusty and his song Duncan.
True blue Slim Dusty fans have
commented that the song doesnt
suit his usual bush ballad style.
The reason?
Pat Alexander was the creative
force behind that song.
He was working on an EMI demo
disc in 1980 for a song about Bob
Hawke and Duncan had been put
on the flip side of the disc.
Pat sent a copy to Slim Dusty
Enterprises.
It was Dustys wife, Joy, who heard
the song first, and she encouraged
her husband to take it on despite his
initial reservations.
Dusty recorded the song and the
second take was pressed by EMI.
The company then released it to
radio presenter John Laws in
October, 1980.
Mr Laws was seemingly taken by
the song; he played it 11 times on
the first morning.
To this day, Pat is surprised that
the song, which was number one in
Australia for two weeks during 1980,
achieved such fame.
Its amazing Slim Dusty recorded
it, he said.
Duncan is not a bush ballad.
Pat has tried his hand at getting
more songs recorded, but hasnt had
any luck, despite submitting them
wherever he could.
As he says: They dont seem to fit
into a box at all.
Pat and his wife moved from
Wagga Wagga to Bathurst, where he
is living out his golden years.
Music is still a huge part of Pats
life and he continues to write songs
and poems.
I write them all the time, not
seriously, but I do it all the time, he
said.
Aside from his writing, he still
plays the guitar and is a member of
the Macquarie Male Singers, which
he describes as a good hobby.
The group has been around for
about 10 years and meets once a
week in Bathurst.
Over the years Pat has discovered
that his voice harmonises well, but
is not designed for a solo career,
which is why he enjoys being part of
the Macquarie Male Singers.
The group is available to perform
covers of old classics, generally at
retirement villages and church halls,
so keep an ear out and you may get
to experience Pats talent for your-
self.
Panorama your weekend magazine
Duncan is Pats mate
WINNING WRITER: Pat Alexander is delighted to have won second prize in the Banjo Patterson Writing Awards for his poetry, but there is more to this this man than you
might. Photo: PHILL MURRAY. 062414ppat
Carry Me, Carry Me Home
A young Scottish clansman, I was
visiting Glasgow,
Decked out in my kilt and me sporran.
But me weakness for drinkin was the
cause, Ive been thinkin
Of me sad transportation to a foreign
land. Southerly, carry me home.
At first they waylaid me, and tried to
persuade me,
But I was alert to their schemin.
But they were too quick, and I woke up
seasick,
On a clipper on her way to Van
Diemans Land. Southerly, carry me
home.
Up here in the riggin me mind gets to
wander,
Back home to me kinfolk Im driftin
Back home to the highlands of my
beloved Scotland,
Oh, Im restless as the waves on the
shifting sand. Southerly, carry me
home.
Now how would they ken whats
become of their laddie,
Oh, their hearts would be broken
asunder.
Oh, how would they ken if Im dead or
alive,
With their what, where and how, in that
wonderful land.
Carry me, carry me home. Southerly
carry me home.
Southerly wind that blows over the sea,
carry me, carry me home.