um dia lindo de verão um sol ícaro nadando no assoalho de madeira portas e janelas escancaradas a brisa como um fantasma na cortina balançando je ne veux pas chanter cette chanson pour toi je ne veux pas du tout chanter cette chanson nous tous au sein entre kunanyi et timtumili minunya sé de qué lado estoy le rideau en flanelle nipaluna moonah le rideau en flanelle o inglês imperfeito é o inglês mais bonito um coração partido é um coração perfeito mostra que você foi capaz de sentir somente os mortos são incapazes de sentir sortez, sortez de ma tete vous qui dites que je ne suis pas assez bon pas assez bon pour vous, pour eux nous sommes tous pareils, marchant de la viande sé de qué lado estoy le rideau en flanelle nipaluna moonah le rideau en flanelle | it’s a beautiful summer’s day an icarus sun swims in the timber floor all the doors and windows are open the breeze a ghost in the swaying curtain i don’t want to sing this song for you i don’t want to sing this song at all all of us in the bosom between kunanyi and the river derwent i’m on the other side the flanellette curtain hobart moonah the flanellette curtain broken english is beautiful english a broken heart is a beautiful heart a reminder that you can still feel only the dead feel nothing get out, get out of my head you who say I’m not good enough not good enough for you, for them we are all the same, walking meat i’m on the other side the flanellette curtain hobart moonah the flanellette curtain |
brazilian portuguese translation, mirelle pontes
french translation adjustments, will seager
palawa kani, a tasmanian aboriginal language, uses no upper-case letters
this song has been written for the moonah arts centre. in lieu of the taste of the world festival which was cancelled due to covid restrictions, the centre invited musicians who were to perform to instead be videoed performing, and the videos to be put online. as a result, musicians were required to use material for which they owned the copyright, or had permission to perform from copyright owners. the songs i usually play are all copyrighted, i hate asking people for things, so i have written a song in the style and languages i perform in
the flannelette curtain is both a tongue-in-cheek and derogatory term for the line separating the hobart suburbs from the northern suburbs, a line formed by the creek running from its mouth between cornelian bay and lutana, up through new town and moonah to creek road where it runs through lenah valley all the way up kunanyi
the flannelette shirt has traditionally been a sign of the working class, lower class, or unemployed. some middle and upper class hobartians will joke of how they made sure they bought their house away from the flannelette curtain, or that they don’t travel beyond it. more broadly, lutruwita (tasmania) is the ass end of australia, australia the ass end of earth, earth a speck in an outer band of one mediocre spiral galaxy amongst billions. the joke is on all of us. where do comparisons stop – we’re all insignificant
the song also describes a mood. flannelette shirts keep out the cold, give comfort, often have bright colours. sometimes we want to dress down, rebel a bit, joke around, and be tougher, more honest
there’s a sadness in our failure to recognise beauty in its many forms and locations. many europeans failed to recognise this country’s beauty when they arrived two centuries ago, failed to see the beauty and wisdom in the indigenous peoples. in palawa kani, timtumili minunya is the river derwent, moonah means gum tree, lutana means moon, lenah means kangaroo