# PAUL KELLY Debuts 2 New Songs As Part Of “People”, Out Feb 24

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/paul-kelly-debuts-2-new-songs-as-part-of-people-out-feb-24/
- Published: 2023-02-14T11:00:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

![](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/97b13bee-
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_“[Paul Kelly] writes some of the most accomplished erotic love songs in pop.” –_**
_Los Angeles Times_**

_“An extraordinary songwriter, with an especially keen eye for lyrical detail.” –_**
_Trouser Press_**

_ “One of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise.” –_**_
Rolling Stone_**

### **PAUL KELLY**⏎ **POPULATES HIS LATEST THEMED RETROSPECTIVE **_**PEOPLE**_**WITH A FASCINATING CAST OF REAL-LIFE CHARACTERS****FROM THE OUTLAW NED KELLY TO FORMER AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER PAUL KEATING**

#### **Due February 24 _via _Gawd Aggie/Cooking Vinyl Records,⏎ this 18-song digital-only release premieres four previously unreleased tracks, including two new Paul Kelly recordings

![Paul Kelly](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/
42b4b572-15c0-fb4e-cfee-d8d9ad9af383.jpeg?resize=285%2C285&ssl=1)

**PAUL KELLY**

**FEBRUARY 9, 2023 (LOS ANGELES) —** Long regarded as one of Australia’s preeminent
musicians, **Paul Kelly **delivers a masterclass on narrative songwriting on _**
PEOPLE **_(**Gawd Aggie/Cooking Vinyl Records; **release date: **February 24, 2023**),
the fourth in his on-going series of themed, career-spanning compilations. This 
18-track set focuses on a wide variety of individuals – star athletes, politicians,
outlaws, artists, and fellow musicians – whom Kelly describes as “truly remarkable.”

Covering the length and breadth of Kelly’s storied career, _People_ draws songs 
not just from his many acclaimed albums but from his work in film and theater as
well. _People_ also debuts a quartet of new tracks: recent live renditions of “**
Our Sunshine**” and “**From Little Things Big Things Grow**” along with the previously
unreleased tunes, “**Light On The Hill**” and “**Laughing Boy**.” The songs on _People
_exemplify Kelly’s diverse range of interests and his deep commitment to exposing
injustice. While the rollicking “Our Sunshine” tells the story of the notorious 
19th century Australian outlaw, **Ned Kelly** (no relation), it also addresses the
hardships that poor Catholics experienced then in Australia. Kelly wrote “Laughing
Boy,” back in 1984 after reading **Brendan Behan**’s controversial autobiography
Borstal Boy, but only recorded it in 2022 after finding a recording of it on an 
old cassette tape. This long-standing conflict between Irish Catholics and English
Protestants also informs “**Arthur McBride**,” a 19th century Irish folk song that
Kelly describes as inhabiting “the borderland between legend and history,” and it
ranks as one of the most darkly comical Christmas songs ever.   

![Paul Kelly](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/f67b4587af2b2ef9aa80ed984/images/
eae49877-299e-201a-5e97-ca7107bca9fc.jpeg?resize=403%2C314&ssl=1)

Paul Kelly
photo credit: Michael Hili

Kelly shines the spotlight on several artists and musicians he admires. “**The Ballad
Of Queenie And Rover**” pays tribute to a pair of his favorite artists, **Queenie
McKenzie and Rover Thomas**, two renowned Aboriginal artists. He wrote “**Charlie
Owen’s Slide Guitar**” about the talented Australian guitarist many years before
they collaborated on his 2016 album _Death’s Dateless Night. _**Charlie Owen**, 
in Kelly’s words, “makes a song sound new every night.” After learning that a note
reading “dear friends and gentle hearts” was found in **Stephen Foster**’s pocket
after he died, Kelly thought a line like that shouldn’t go to waste so he used it
as the opening for “Stephen Foster’s Last Waltz,” which also contains references
to other songs by Foster.
“From Little Things Big Things Grow” is one of several
songs on _People _that tackle racial prejudice and the plight of Aboriginal and 
Indigenous people in Australia. This 2022 live rendition (one of two sparkling tracks
where Kelly duets with singer **Jess Hitchcock**) transforms the 1966 Aboriginal
livestock workers strike into a powerfully moving, Dylan-esque protest song. “**
A Bastard Like Me**,” which Kelly was commissioned to write for a theatrical work,
looks at an infamous institution that housed Indigenous children who were separated
from their families. “**Rally Around The Drum**,” a co-write with the legendary 
Australian musician and Aboriginal activist **Archie Roach**, presents a portrait
of a lowly tent boxer (work both Roach and his father did).  One of the album’s 
harder rocking tracks, “**Pigeon/Jandamarra**,” offers a dramatic retelling of the
late 19th century Indigenous uprising in northwestern Australia.Although many tunes
here deal with Australian history, Paul Kelly’s sublime storytelling skills bring
a universality to the songs. This is particularly evident in the songs about Australian
athletes. You don’t need to know anything about Australian sports to understand 
how talented footballers **Adam Goodes** (“**Every Day My Mother’s Voice**”) and**
Eddie Betts** (“**Every Step Of The Way**”) were or how awful was the racial abuse
they encountered. “**Bradman**” takes a poetic look at the great Australian cricketer**
Sir Donald Bradman**, who, despite his international fame, was a “kid from the sticks.”
Don’t think, however, that _People_ is a heavy history lesson. “**Shane Warne**”
is a hilarious ode about the fabled cricket player and lovable joker (or, in Australian
parlance, a larrikin). If this lively ditty (featuring a clarinet solo!) rings a
bell, then you probably are familiar with Lord Kitchener’s calypso classic, “London
Is The Place For Me.” “Light On The Hill,” one of Kelly’s new recordings for _People_
and a rare cover tune, hails from the musical, _Keating!,_and it delivers a rather
humorous look at Australian politics and former Prime Minister, **Paul Keating**.
While _People_’s songs mainly center on actual people, “**Desdemona**,” “**Josephina**,”
and “**Anastasia Changed Her Mind**” (or as Kelly calls them: “the four-syllabled
A ladies”) are tunes about fictional characters – although Kelly does admit that
Desdemona feels very real to him. In “Desdemona,” he retells Shakespeare’s play 
from a heartbroken Othello’s point-of-view. While the story of “Anastasia Changed
Her Mind” is pure fiction, he has said it has real-life details, including the title
phrase. “Josephina,” meanwhile, is just an irresistibly enchanting song about the
pursuit of love. _People_ is the fourth installment of Paul Kelly’s ongoing series
of digital-only releases based around specific themes. He launched these compilations
in June of 2022 with _Time_, which was followed by _Rivers And Rain_ in July and
_Drinking_ in September. More of these curated retrospectives are slated for the
year ahead. For the past five decades, Paul Kelly has earned worldwide accolades
for his music, but he holds a special place in his native land. Kelly has earned
the prestigious title of Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished
service to the arts and is a member of the Australian Record Industry Association(
ARIA) Hall of Fame. He has written best-selling books, been involved in film and
theater projects, and had a documentary, _Stories of Me_, made on him.  And, of 
course, he continues to make albums, the most recent being an expanded version of_
[Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2022/11/australian-troubadour-paul-kelly-adds-maybe-this-christmas-to-the-digital-release-of-christmas-train/)_.

[⌊Paul Kelly⌉⌊Paul Kelly⌉[

**PAUL KELLY**
**_PEOPLE_**

**PAUL KELLY**
**_PEOPLE_**

Light On The Hill * 
Laughing Boy * Stephen Foster’s Last Waltz  Every Step Of The
Way  Charlie Owen’s Slide Guitar  Bradman The Ballad Of Queenie And Rover  Rally
Round The Drum  A Bastard Like Me  Anastasia Changes Her Mind  Pigeon/Jandamarra
Every Day My Mother’s Voice [Live at Sidney Myer Music Bowl 2019] Desdemona From
Little Things Big Things Grow [Live at Sidney Myer Music Bowl 2022] * Our Sunshine[
Live at Sidney Myer Music Bowl 2022] * Josephina Shane Warne  Arthur McBride

_* Previously unreleased recordings_

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