The Corrugated Nation

[Maureen K Clifford]

The wet weather is getting to me - I have sheets of unused corrugated iron under the house left over from the roof repair and they are in the way of my water sweeping removal. The roads are corrugated, the flood photos show just corrugated iron rooves peeping above the water, I am going pruny from too much water......hate rain, so did this with a video clip today.

THE CORRUGATED NATION


The corrugated congregation stands and bows their heads in prayer
in the red roofed rusty church. They worship there.
You can see these folks are workers, never shirkers, it’s ingrained
in their psyche – these folks born on red soil plains
And they all roll with the punches and they take what is dished out,
they are great to have as neighbours of that fact there is no doubt.
They are good men in a stoush, and they shout when it’s their shout.
These are the heart of this corrugated nation.

They travel miles and miles each year on corrugated roads,
taking cattle to the markets and returning with a load
of corn and hay and fodder, and sometimes tractor tyres.
New chains to fit on bulldozers to pull out trucks now mired
axle deep in red mud – sticky; where the floods have rushed on through
making the fencing pretty tricky – but what’s a man to do?
These are Aussies tough and hardy, ridgey didge and real true blue,
their tired faces lined with countless corrugations.

The last year has been a hard one but they’ve weathered quite a few.
Come to think of it the last decade hasn’t been flash – that’s true
But when you live in this country you take the good with the bad,
and the old house was still standing – Lucky for it’s all they had.
For years it’s weathered every storm and even survived flood
standing out there on the red soil plains – now just a sea of mud.
For this land they’d toiled and sweated and at times even shed blood
and all around them where they stood were corrugations.

They had corrugated roofing iron and corrugated walls,
corrugations in the paddocks where the contours rise and fall,
corrugations on the dirt road, where the bull dust blew away,
corrugations in the creek crossing where flood waters had played.
There were wrinkles in their faces, also crinkles in their skin
and the wear lines in their RM boots and jeans were looking thin,
but each corrugation had been earned and had been theirs to win
and I reckon they deserve congratulations.

So raise you glass and drink a toast – come on Aussies you can boast
though she send us drought and flood and conflagration.
We might rust and we might bend, but we’re undaunted to the end
holding on as tough as nails in corrugations.

Maureen Clifford © 01/11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rCYtV7XYY

[Heather]

Nice one Maureen. The music goes really well with the clip. Where do you get all the photos from? They are great!

Heather

[Maureen K Clifford]

Glad you liked it Heather, The opening shot with the stagecoach is my ex partner driving and one towards the end is him again but this time as a passenger, taken on the Yuleba to Surat anniversary run a few years ago. The shots of the property from the top of the hill with the sheep, the shearing sheds, hay shed and yards and the cattle in the paddock are at Springdale - my previous home. The good looking fellow standing in front of the assorted liqueur bottles at the Texas Motel Bar is the owner and an old mate. Others I have just picked up around the ridges some from Google or they have been sent to me by friends who thought I might use them - I have got a pretty good collection now.

The shot of the old tin church at Lightning Ridge was taken by Rossco a friend on another site I am on. It was actually the original inspiration for this piece some time ago. But today I got really bored so finished it.

Cheers

Maureen

[Zondrae]

Goodonya Maureen,

You are certainly doing your bit to put rhyme and metre verse 'out there' for the world to hear and see. Well done. Do you have any idea how old the photo of the Church is? or which field it was/is on?
My only comment on the clip is the same as the last one of yours I commented on (so perhaps it is just me) I think the background music could be a little softer. You don't want your poem to be overwhelmed by the music, even though the music itself is delightful.

I haven't forgotten my poem for the proposed ABPA fundraiser CD. I have had a try at recording it. Sounded better than I thought. I have a lot on at the moment. so I had better get to some of it.

[David J Delaney]

Yes! nice one Maureen, I enjoyed the clip though, I can't hear it at work I'll have to wait till I get home.

I was amoung the last to travel the Roma/ Surat road while most of it was still bulldust. Memories eh!

[Neville Briggs]

I enjoyed the liittle video Maureen. Some great photos.

Neville

[Maureen K Clifford]

Thanks Zondrae, Dave and Neville.

Yes don't forget your clips folks for our CD I think Bill is champing at the bit for a new project. I reckon once Tamworth is under our belt we need to get a bit serious about it if we want to see it fly.

Cheers

Maureen

[Maureen K Clifford]

Never thought for a minute when I put this together that some of the corrugated roofs peeping through the floodwaters would be my own neighbours but they are/were. My son sent me this link which you see in close up any house in any street in Ipswich and where the floodwaters came too.

A retirement village diagonally across the river from me appears to have been completely flooded.

My place is the one with the telegraph pole lying on the ground outside it - forgotten by Energex when they replaced power poles 10 days ago imagine the damage that would have done

http://www.nearmap.com/?ll=-27.600344,1 ... d=20110113

I think I might become a Kylie Minogue fan. I should be so lucky - lucky,lucky,lucky

Cheers

Maureen