The Koran, the Ghan and a Yarn (2000) – David Bridie

The Koran, the Ghan and a Yarn is from David Bridie’s debut solo album Act of Free Choice. He is by far the most prominent Australian singer-songwriter to feature here and comes from the northern suburbs of Melbourne where I resided in the early 2000’s. He founded in the 1980’s the World Music band – Not Drowning Waving and in the 90’s – the chamber pop group My Friend the Chocolate Cake; both six-piece member groups. Later he embarked on a solo career (but still retaining the Cake on the side) where he delved into his first project – Act of Free Choice (2000). This album was released shortly before I was first introduced to David’s music, when he performed with Archie Roach in Melbourne in 2002

Bridie said in this interview he was craving the means to explore more of his artistic side – and make decisions and follow them through from beginning to end. The principal inspiration for the album (at least its title – Act of Free Choice) was from having spent time in the Pacific in particular Papua New Guinea (just Nth of Australia) and working with George Telek. It relates to the ongoing conflict in Western New Guinea (Papua) between Indonesia and the Free Papua Movement. The Act of Free Choice refers to the controversial plebiscite held in 1969 in which 1,025 people selected by the Indonesian military in Western New Guinea voted unanimously in favor of Indonesian control.

Bridie says (or words to the effect) that Act of Free Choice is a melancholic record that might seem simple at first, but on closer listen, you start to notice the subtle placement of sounds and textures – each rhythm is actually quite layered. There are always these little sonic details tucked in beneath the piano, electric guitars, and cellos. He approached the album as one long, cohesive statement rather than just ten separate songs, aiming to create a sense of space that echoed the vastness and ancient feel of the Australian landscape. Bridie also recalls writing the record during a big road trip through the outback.

The more I listen to The Koran, the Ghan and a Yarn, the more it draws me in. The piano doesn’t just accompany – it lingers, suspended in the soundscape, almost like its own vocalist. Within the broader ambient textures of Act of Free Choice, it becomes both pronounced and mysterious. The harmonies work contextually well together, and as Bridie has suggested, the layering of sound here is intricate and deeply considered. Each sonic element weaves into the next with such subtlety that the piece feels less like a conventional song and more like an atmospheric composition, an evolving painting where everything finds its place in the whole.

Two other songs I highly recommend from Act of Free Choice are Breath and Kerosense, both of which have previously appeared here in this blog.
I hope you enjoy today’s featured track – The Koran, the Ghan and a Yarn. Thanks for reading.

camel dust, foot tracks, flea bitten trains of the desert
sit underneath the palm tree, a fine resting place
arab pioneer bones, Islam remains in the cemetery
a different kind of air, it’s a strange meeting place, strange meeting place
down amongst the ochre all colours and shades
a pit for a painting place deep in the ground
up the Oodnadatta, well you know it’s just a matter of time
up the Oodnadatta, well you know it’s just a matter of time
’til the sky ends
The Koran, The Ghan and a Yarn
The Koran, The Ghan and a Yarn
some sorry place true, some sorry place true
some sorry place true, some sorry place true
the King Black Crow, sweeping low, wind it blows on the gibber plain
massacre a carcass, feasting on the bones and veins
up the Oodnadatta, well you know it’s just a matter of time
up the Oodnadatta, well you know it’s just a matter of time
til the sky ends
The Koran, The Ghan and a Yarn
The Koran, The Ghan and a Yarn

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand