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Free Country

by Ben Mitchell

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1.
Australia 05:06
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2.
This Is Home 03:51
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This Is Home by Ben Mitchell © 2022 I grew up in Melbourne on the outskirts of town Where my first love and my last was found And I began my journey to be a man I grew up in Perth even before that Where I learnt to surf and hold a cricket bat And even ride a bike—which I still can I grew up in Ballarat where I saw snow first I had two more brothers but they died at birth Once I took Mum back to see where they lay I grew up in Toowoomba on holidays Grandma’s lamingtons she made for days I called Grandpa ‘Grunka’ ‘cause that’s all I could say CHORUS I grew up in cars and planes and trains leaving the station I grew up in this land of many nations I grew up in Adelaide where I first heard ABBA At a holiday park on a jukebox they had there Driving home with Elvis and Olivia Newton John I grew up in Sydney where my brother was born We used to punch up like it was a bloody war But we survived and now we really get on I grew up in Brisbane where I had a job I tended to move around wherever work was Drifting over land from shore to shore I grew up in Broome, my nephew on my knee Out of everywhere and everything I’ve ever seen That was the place taught me about family CHORUS And I grew up to know, wherever I roam I grew up to know, this is home, this is home I grew up in Hobart where I first heard the blues In a way that said to me, “You can play this too” And I was closer than ever before to being a man I grew up in Canberra where I did a gig Driving ten hours just to get to it, wasn’t bad Can’t say I’d do it again I grew up in Alice where I touched the rock Felt something return I didn’t know I’d lost Kind of like meeting up with a dear old friend I grew up in Byron where we all moved To live by the ocean somewhere with a view Back to the heart and hills of this fair land CHORUS And I grew up to know, wherever I roam I grew up to know, this is home, this is home
3.
Free Country 03:14
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Free Country by Ben Mitchell © 2022 I don’t know what you do But I try and stay true To who I am and where I come from It’s not always easy To see the forest for the trees But still we get up and carry on CHORUS I don’t know where you live But I hope you’re just like me Living in free country You don’t have to wear a mask You don’t have to get a shot You don’t have to be anything you’re not You don’t have to be afraid You don’t have to be dismayed You don’t have to give your name on the spot CHORUS When I grew up they talked a lot about those convict ships How we’re all supposed to come from crime and hardship But that’s not the whole truth I came to inner stand We just as much come from the people on this land CHORUS There’s room for us all you know And we don’t have to fight Not anymore
4.
The Full Moon Saloon 02:54
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The Full Moon Saloon by Ben Mitchell © 2022 At the full moon saloon We’re all free As we wanna be You do you and I’ll do me It’s easy enough To live with love So let’s live with love Love *3 Love for everybody At the full moon saloon We’re all cool Breaking all the rules Alright! It’s our right to always choose And it isn’t so tough To live with love So let’s live with Love * 4 For everybody At the full moon saloon We’re all fine Having a real good time Were all good Jumping out of line We’re ready to rock Whatever comes, sun down Come around—we’re having fun
5.
Looks Like Australia To Me 03:04
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Looks Like Australia by Ben Mitchell © 2022 I think I’ve seen this place before Not sure just when but I recall That mighty tree, that gentle stream We crossed, that big rock And all those stars It might have been one of my dreams Looks like Australia to me I recognise that smile too You don’t know me, but I know you Your reputation’s travelled far and wide Courage and pride in what you do And who you are So many new faces to see Looks like Australia to me You might have had a hard time But who could even tell Resilience comes we all find When you hold yourself so well You plant your feet deep in the soil And you let your breath go free And you reach up to the sun… Looks like Australia to me I feel the spirit coming back As love heals all and any cracks When the drought does break, that’s all it takes For us all, to dance as one Oh yeah, that’s what I like to see Looks like Australia to me
6.
This Is Your Captain Speaking 03:51
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This Is Your Captain Speaking by Ben Mitchell © 2022 This is your captain speaking I welcome you aboard Soon we will be leaving And setting our own course This is your captain speaking For some I’ll take you home For some you will be needing To go out on your own Come fly with me Come fly with me Where we’re going We don’t need runways or planes This is your captain speaking I’ll be first to admit I don’t know where this is leading Until I feel the lift This is your captain speaking The honour is all mine This dream I keep believing This dream I have to fly Come fly with me Come fly with me Where we’re going We don’t need runways or planes Best to make this clear There’s something bigger, much bigger Going on here I feel the spirit rising Like a jet engine firing You don’t see the flame, but it can burn you Just the same This is your captain speaking Please put out all the lights ‘Cause none ever shine brighter Than the one you have inside This is your captain speaking We’re on final approach Over clouds the sun a beacon To give a little hope This is your captain speaking Let’s all enjoy the flight And whatever you are feeling It’s totally alright This is your captain speaking This trip can be a breeze If you give what you are seeking And stay out of the trees
7.
Country Blues 03:56
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Country Blues by Ben Mitchell © 2022 Things don’t seem much like when I was young And this place has changed a lot more than some And I know there is no use to complain But I reckon maybe you might feel the same We all try to cover up the clues But it’s going ‘round here…….these Country blues People lost their jobs for no good reason Family and friends have been torn apart Some say it was a really bad flu season Some say it was something much more dark Whatever we got’s not on the news This here feels a whole lot like…Country blues While politicians promise, spreading thick the lies Ask yourself, be honest, maybe so do I? Where in my life, am I still, trying to control Then let it go, let it flow and watch it grow Everywhere I go I see the signs Kids afraid to breathe out of line Because they’re taught to follow a bad lead And to think, they think, they are young and free While television tells them what to do And they aint living nothin’ more than…Country blues From state to state it’s all the same Make no mistake, we all feel the pain No one wants or needs to live in fear We can do better, much better here Only one way to beat this sick Get on with living—life, be in it Take in that clean mountain air Leave behind all your troubles if you dare We can end all this self abuse And learn to get along with our…Country blues
8.
Someone's Playing Slim Dusty 03:48
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Someone’s Playing Slim Dusty by Ben Mitchell © 2022 Someone’s playing Slim Dusty And I really like the sound as he Is coming right over my fence Taking me back to you know when A time before this crazy one When things seemed simple, and things got done And politics didn’t rule our lives And people were true and even kind CHORUS It was a magic time as I recall Maybe it wasn’t all of that and more Oh but man, it sure seemed real good The music of my childhood So I yelled out, “Hey, turn it up That’s real music, real good stuff!” And I know they heard, cause soon enough The whole neighbourhood could feel the love Of a time when men were really men And the women? They liked that in them And the television knew it’s place Laying low while the records played CHORUS It got me through, some dark, dark nights It got me through, when I couldn’t see the light It got me through, when nothing else could The music of my childhood Now someone’s playing Johnny Cash And I really like the sound of that Its coming right over my fence I don’t think this song will ever end It lives in me and it lives in you Because now you see you’ve heard it too And even long after I’m gone This music will play on and on
9.
To Keep Family Alive 03:33
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To Keep Family Alive by Ben Mitchell © 2022 They all lined up to kiss him as he went on his way They knew he would go missing on the land to work for many days He left before his breakfast, took bread enough for one But it was more than he needed to get the job done He rose before the sunshine and washed up in the stream He told the old rosellas about his fantastic dream How he found a wild horse on a hill and lassoed it for fun Riding without a saddle to get the job done Nothing could ever stop him, he had purpose in his eyes He was a man on a mission to keep family alive He took a job ringbarking bringing down tall strong trees With kookaburras laughing, he fell to his knees After walking countless miles, and sweating more than some He found a little more grit inside to get the job done He finished feeling hungry thinking of his dear loved ones Sitting down to dinner as he cleaned up his gun He had a little bit of damper in a camp-fire for one But it was all he really needed to get the job done Nothing could ever stop him, he had purpose in his eyes He was a man on a mission to keep family alive He came back with a cow one day and started his own farm Got the kids onto milking into old buckets and old jars He didn’t see a problem and even convinced the wife These were gonna be the very best days of their lives They built up quite a business and sold it for a pretty song But sang that tune pretty quick soon most of the money was gone So he bought himself a taxi, moved to town with everyone Spent the rest of his life driving, to get the job done Nothing could ever stop him, he had purpose in his eyes He was a man on a mission to keep family alive (REPEAT) I'm off to work darling See ya' later
10.
The Land Up Over 03:32
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The Land Up Over by Ben Mitchell © 2022 I’ve always thought it strange, and maybe they got it wrong Whoever made the map, that says where I come from ‘Cause they put us at the bottom, which, to me, doesn’t really fit Who decided who’s on top, that’s what the question is They say the world’s on an axis, relative to everything But that is still subjective and won’t give them the win ‘Cause if you think about it the concept of elevation Is just another tricky way to engender separation We are the land up over, nothing can keep us down And the centre of the universe doesn’t have a crown We are the land up over, where the sun does always thunder And water flows, where it always goes wherever is most under I’ve been to other countries and they tell me they’re all north Saying that is philosophically arbitrary of course ‘Cause if you flip it on its head, look at it a different way It makes just as much sense and is just as easy to say We are the land up over where we come out on top Simply because we’re grateful for everything we’ve got We are the land up over, it took a while for us to find What’s hidden like a mountain only pure hearts can climb Just because they taught me to believe I’m underneath Doesn’t mean I can’t find me, another who will teach And the wisest one I’ve found, and I’ve searched wide and far Speaks to me through nature, the moon and the stars We are the land up over, the bush walk beyond the park The ocean view form the look out, the sounds after dark We are the land up over, of droughts and flooded planes Where we like to get to know you and treat everyone the same We are the land up over, the icing on your cake The coconut on your laminations, the ANZACS your mum bakes We are the land up over, the tools stuffed in your shed The Saturday morning sports, the dog jumping on your bed We are the land up over, the land up over We are the land up over We are the land up over, the land up over We are the land up over Up over Up over Up over

credits

released September 21, 2022

Written, performed, recorded and produced by Ben Mitchell.
Fiddle, banjo and mandolin by Hamish Davidson.
Pedal steel by Reggie Duncan.
Mastering by Kathy Naunton.

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Ben Mitchell Byron Bay, Australia

Thanks for dropping by. Ben Mitchell is my name, writing songs, singing and playing is my game. Country, blues, alt-country, folk, Australiana, and indie pop. My NEW album, 'Free Country' is out NOW. Maybe it's time for a new genre 'Australiana Americana'? ... more

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