Vagabond: noun; (1) a wanderer, of no fixed abode (2) a person of ill repute

Crew: noun; (1) a group of people working together (2) a gang (not officers)

In the early 1980s, one of Australia’s more entertaining music journalists observed that if Henry Lawson had a bastard grandson, it might well have been me. In the context of much of Lawson’s work, I was flattered. In the context of how Henry lived much of his life, I was distinctly less than flattered. However, that observation sparked in me a dream to record an album of songs drawn from Lawson’s poetry. That spark fanned into a bushfire in late 2004.

This album owes much to David Minear. It took him about six months to persuade me that he was serious about it. Thereafter, we spent many afternoons at his place, having the occasional cool drink and poring through Henry’s poetic works - selecting, rejecting and reciting poems to each other until we’d settled on 15 or 16.

Initially too, it was David’s idea that we invite some of Australia’s notable musicians and singers to contribute to the album. And so the notion of the Vagabond Crew as a community of like-minded musicians took shape - a combination of mates and people we admired for their contribution to Australia’s musical heritage.

Every single member of the Vagabond Crew entered into the spirit of the Lawson project with enthusiasm and a sense that, in working with Lawson, we were dealing with one of Australia’s national treasures. As musicians and writers, we could all empathise with Henry: he didn’t mind a drink and, like us, he lived off the advances he could wring out of his publishers.

The sessions were as much fun as I’ve ever had in my life making a record. You can hear it in the music. Everyone said they’d jump at the opportunity to perform these songs, together, live. For a songwriter, there can be no greater compliment.

Once, as we moved into the control room to listen to what we’d just put down, one of the crew said to me: “I’ve done a lot of recording but this is the first time I keep losing my place because I’m listening to the words”.

I reckon Henry would have been proud to hear that. I like to think he would have shouted the Vagabond Crew a beer - but he probably would have had to borrow the money.

John Schumann
July 2005

The Vagabond Crew

Michael Atkinson, Shannon Bourne, Paul Cartwright, Michael Harris, Rob Hirst, Marcia Howard, Shane Howard, Toby Lang, Mal Logan, Louise McCarthy, Hugh McDonald, Russell Morris, Alan Pigram, Steven Pigram, Mike Rudd, John Schumann, Broderick Smith, Chris Stockley, Kerryn Tolhurst and Mick Wordley.