Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish and Australian folk singer-songwriter and musician. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25 to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of topics and have been performed by many artists. Two of his best known songs are "No Man's Land" (or "The Green Fields of France") and "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", with the latter named one of the APRA Top 30 Australian songs in 2001 as part of the celebrations for the Australasian Performing Right Association's 75th anniversary.
Early years Eric Bogle was born on 23 September 1944 in Peebles, Scotland. His father was a railway signalman who played the bagpipes. Bogle started writing poetry when he was eight years old. After attending school until he was sixteen, he worked in various trades: labourer, clerk and barman. In 1969, he emigrated to Australia and initially lived in the capital, Canberra, where he worked as an accountant. He had an interest in politics and by 1980 had moved to Queensland before settling in Adelaide.
Career
Bogle taught himself to play guitar and joined a skiffle and rock band. He was the leader of Eric and the Informers in Scotland. His early influences were Lonnie Donegan, Elvis Presley and Ewan MacColl. He turned to folk music prior to emigrating to Australia – his first written songs concerned his parents. One of these, "Leaving Nancy", which sang of the day he left home for Australia, being the last time he saw his mother Nancy, was often covered, most notably by the Dubliners and the Fureys. When living in Canberra he joined the local folk music scene and performed occasionally.
Several of his most famous songs tell of the futility or loss of war. Prominent among these is "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", written in 1971, later covered by Joan Baez, the Pogues, June Tabor and many more. The lyrics recount the experiences of a member of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at the Battle of Gallipoli. It has also been interpreted as a reaction to the Vietnam War.
Another of his best-known songs, "No Man's Land", is also World War I-themed. This song is commonly known as "The Green Fields of France", a title it was first given by the Fureys and which has subsequently been used in many further cover versions. The song refers to the traditional Scottish song "Flowers of the Forest" being played over the grave of a World War I soldier. Bogle deliberately gave the dead soldier an Irish name ("Willie McBride") as a counter to the anti-Irish sentiment prevalent in Britain during the 1970s. The song has been covered by Alex Beaton (with "A Scottish Soldier" from The Water is Wide), Plethyn ("Gwaed ar eu Dwylo" (Blood on their Hands), sung in Welsh from "Blas y Pridd"), Hannes Wader ("Es ist an der Zeit" (It is the Time)), and Dutch folk band as "14-18". American folk singer Charlie Zahm also has a version on his album Festival Favorites, as does American folk singer Robert Marr on his 2011 album Celticism. The lyrics from the song were referred to by former British prime minister Tony Blair in 2003 as his favourite anti-war poem.
"As if he Knows" (2001) widens the theme of the wastage of war to describe the sadness of Australian mounted soldiers in Palestine in 1918 as they are obliged to shoot their horses, "who asked so little and gave so much", before embarkation.
Another notable song on a similar theme, but with a more contemporary setting, is the Troubles-inspired "My Youngest Son Came Home Today", with its tale of a young man killed during fighting in Northern Ireland. Notably, the song does not take sides in the conflict; it does not mention whether the title character is a nationalist or loyalist. However, the song has been adopted by Nationalists and is now associated with Irish Republicanism. When Billy Bragg covered the song, on his 1990 album The Internationale, he changed the line "dreams of freedom unfulfilled" (which echoes the language of Nationalists) to "dreams of glory unfulfilled".
Bogle's songs cover a wide range of subjects and themes, including comedic songs ("The Aussie Bar-B-Q"), songs of real life emotion “Daniel Smiling “, The Enigma”, “One Small Star” and “ Now I'm Easy". Few would tackle a subject such as cerebral palsy, yet Eric knew the daughter of his friend Ray Smith and wrote “Rosie”, an endearing song where many find that they join in the chorus. His song "Safe in the Harbour" is an homage to Stan Rogers. "Katie and the Dreamtime Land" is a tribute to American folk singer Kate Wolf, who died from leukaemia in 1986. 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?".
In 2000 a five-CD collection, Singing The Spirit Home, was released. His first and only live performance DVD was released in May 2009.
Touring
Bogle has undertaken an extensive concert tour of the UK (sometimes including appearances in continental Europe as well), every three years since 1985. These tours have usually included a supporting cast of Australian-based singers and musicians, most regularly John Munro and Brent Miller. Bogle said that his 2009 tour, with John Munro, would be his last overseas tour. This featured a Saturday Night Special on 27 June with Martyn Wyndham-Read, Johnny Collins and Les Sullivan in Watford, the closest venue to London.
More recent tours in Australia have included Adelaide-based musicians Emma Luker (fiddle) and Pete Titchener (guitar/bass)
Bogle was a prominent artist at the National Folk Festival in Canberra over Easter 2011 as well as a regular artist at the Port Fairy Folk Festival held in Port Fairy, Victoria, every March.
Many of Bogle's songs have been covered by other artists; including Joan Baez, Mr. Ian Stuart Donaldson & Stigger, John Schumann, Donovan, the Skids, June Tabor, the Men They Couldn't Hang, the Clancy Brothers, the Dubliners, John McDermott, Liam Clancy, Mike Harding, the Pogues, De Dannan, Dropkick Murphys, the Corries, Billy Bragg, the Bushwackers, Slim Dusty, Mary Black, the Fureys, and John Williamson. In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, named his song "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positionsAUSNow I'm Easy Released: 1980 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF041) -Plain & Simple (with John Munro)Released: 1981 Label: Grass Roots (GR 172815) -Scraps of Paper (With John Munro and Brent Miller) Released: September 1982 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF104) 84When The Wind Blows (With John Munro and Brent Miller) Released: July 1984 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF144) 78Hard, Hard Times (With John Munro) Released: 1985 Label: Folk Freak (FF-404018) The Anzacs (with Ted Egan, Judy Small, Nerys Evans and the Anzac Band & Singers)Released: 1985 Label: Faces of Australia Series, ABC Records (TELP 1003) —Singing the Spirit Home Released: November 1986 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF186) 96Something of Value Released: 1988 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF220) —Voices in the WildernessReleased: 1990 Label: Larrikin Records (L 30413) —MirrorsReleased: 1993 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF 282) —The Emigrant & The Exile (with John Munro)Released: 1996 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF478) —Small MiraclesReleased: 1997 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF473) —Endangered SpeciesReleased: 1999 Label: Acmec Records (ACMEC001) —The Colour of DreamsReleased: 2002 Label: Rouseabout Records (RRR33) —Other People's ChildrenReleased: 2005 Label: Rouseabout Records (RRR39) —The DreamerReleased: 2009 Label: Rouseabout Records (RRR47) —A Toss of the Coin (with John Munro)Released: 2013 Label: Rouseabout Records (RRR61) —Voice (with John Munro)Released: 2016 Label: —The Source of Light (with John Munro)Released: 2021 Label: Greentrax —
Live albums Title Album details Peak chart positionsAUSIn Person / Vol. 1 – Live in PersonReleased: 1977 (Germany) Label: Autogram (ALLP-211) Note: Recorded live in Germany, February 1977 -Vol. 2 – Down UnderReleased: 1982 (Germany) Label: Autogram (ALLP-220) Note: Recorded live in Australia February & May 1977 -Vol. 3 – PureReleased: 1982 (Germany) Label: Autogram (ALLP-253) Note: Recorded in 1977 -Eric Bogle In Concert (with John Munro & Brent Miller)Released: 1985 Label: Larrikin Records (LRF160) Note: Recorded at the Octagon Theatre, Perth in August 1984. -I Wrote This Wee Song...Released: 1994 Label: ABC Records (4797422 Note: Recorded live at the Adelaide Arts Theatre on 31 July 1993 -
Compilations Title Album details Peak chart positionsAUSThe Eric Bogle SongbookReleased: August 1986 Label: Axis (AX.701256) -The Eric Bogle Songbook Volume 2Released: 1992 Label: Greentrax (CDTRAX 051) -The Gift of Years: Very Best of Eric BogleReleased: 2000 Label: EMI (724352485123) -By RequestReleased: 2001 (Europe) Label: Greentrax (CDTRAX 210) -Singing The Spirit HomeReleased: 2001 Label: EMI (724353552022) Note: 5×CD set -At This Stage: The Live Collection Released: 2005 Label: Greentrax (CDTRAX286)/Rouseabout Records (RRR38) Note: 2×CD set -
Videos Title Album details Peak chart positionsAUSLive at Stoneyfell WineryReleased: 2009 Label: Greentrax (DVTRAX2022) Recorded live at Stoneyfell Winery, Adelaide, on 1 March 2009 -
Awards On 25 January 1987, Bogle was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia "In recognition of service to the performing arts as a song writer and singer."
ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards are an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
! |- | 1989 | rowspan="3"| Something of Value | Best Independent Release
Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognised achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Bogle won one award in that time. (wins only) |- | 1990 | Eric Bogle | Folk Performer of the Year
National Folk Festival (wins only) |- | 2019 | Eric Bogle | Lifetime Achievement Award
Tamworth Songwriters Association The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986. Bogle has won three awards. (wins only) |- | 1987 | Eric Bogle | Songmaker Award
| 1988 | Eric Bogle | Tex Morton Award
| 1991 | "Silly Slang Song" by Eric Bogle | Comedy/Novelty Song of the Year
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