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1.
Mothers of the nation by Rosie McDonald & Cliona Molins Mothers of the Nation, pay respect Mothers of the Nation, your strength has brought us here Mothers of the Nation, pioneers , weave the nations cloth Mothers of the Nation, wise women of this land Mothers of the Nation , elder women, women sing our song Ooh … Mothers of the Nation , Black and White Written out of history Mothers of the nation, Hold your heads high Mothers of the nation ,Elders yarn, her story of strength and fight to carve out a life in this land Chorus There’s no roads, no statues named for them Pioneers in land old and new Those of you who arrived under sail and those whose land we stole Mothers of the nation , pay respect Unsung unpaid Mothers of the nation ,heartbeat of our land Mothers of the nation ,convict girls descendants we are now 1 in 7 of us here. Chorus Grandmothers of the nation , pay respect Your strength brought us here Mothers of the nation ,Goldfields, earth and bush Mothers of the nation ,show resistance to the harsh rule By your guidance and strength we are here Chorus Mothers of Nation Pay respect Mothers of the nation, Wise women of our land Mothers of the nation, we will sing your song Mothers of the nation, weave the nations cloth Mothers of the nation heartbeat of our land Mothers of the nation …….Pay respect
2.
Banish my Misfortune From Cork to Port Jackson in 1818 on a convict ship ,with m'baby Aileen Sent for the crime of stealing lace to sell for food ,We were starving in place Wee ones born ,Banshee women wailed County Down to Kilkenny and Cork we hailed old ties are broken, banished from home sweet County Clare is a dream to me now On St Bridget's day 1821, 109 women & 71 young, marched down to the factory , troops by our side stone walls so high , and a harsh life inside no bed of my own to care for my child Aileen now 3, by 4 she’ll be gone sent to orphanage over the wall punished for my crime, no fault of her own Chorus We weave the lines of cloth together Life, land & blood our songs entwine This harsh land our fate no more returning transported from from the green fields of home. Refrain The bonnet I wear small help from the cold Tunic and petticoat rough on my skin The straw hat I wear small shade from the sun God please save me banish my misfortune To Parramatta factory, to weave, spin and work lay out the linen for the fine folk We live together, work together cook clean and sew, face joy, loss and pain many secrets kept here We’ll sing together, weave ,tell old tales and new in the heat of the sun ,the sky topaz blue Oh i wish my dear Sean was here by my side to steal me away to start a new life Chorus refrain Shorn is my mane, my beautiful red hair Mammy told me it would be my fortune Shorn is my mane my red tempered mane God please save me Banish my misfortune Banish misfortune - Lilting/tune I’ll weave the lines of cloth Life, land & blood our songs entwine This harsh land my fate no more returning transported here to weave a new life
3.
Little Parramatta Mary Hundred days at sea, I held you, Mary ‘Nursed you well tho, many babes were lost Here at the Female Factory you learned to dance with me But at 4 - they took you from my arms I’m staying good, so I can see you, Mary Without you, the work is hard and the night’s are long. Chorus I’ll get you from the orphan school, my Mary Prison’s not for you - my innocent child But the walls are high up here in Parramatta Your mother’s heart is broke, till I hold you tight Alice Leonard had her cunning plan She climbed that 9 foot wall many times, But they caught her - with a peach from Matron’s garden Now she’s locked in 3rd, - picking oakum since last week Sure I’ll sow their clothes, till me fingers bleed, me darlin Cause I’m staying good so I can see you soon. Chorus They paraded us in the yard to get a man But no settler’ll take a mother as their bride They sent me up Maitland with a master, Who was cruel and he wanted me for his bed But I didn’t ‘get caught’ with a baby like poor Sarah Who’s hair was cropped though it was her master’s sin Oh ‘Transported for Life’ I was - for the sin - of stealing a sheep ….As the ship left my Irish home….how could say “Goodbye” You’re all I’ve left of me family here And I won’t be far from you no more So I’m back in 1st with me Parramatta Factory sisters, Got me brown serge dress, I’m getting me ticket of leave I’ll find you in the orphanage by the river Together you and I - are family Chorus
4.
Shower of Stones by Cliona Molins and Rosie McDonald You’ve cut all our rations, bead, sugar & meat We are starved and thirsty ,working through this heat Are we worth less than men, in over-crowded cells So we are piling up stones, for the next riot day Your cruelty is punishing, we make all your rope We’re tougher than many ,but we’re losing our hope In overcrowded cells, where the cold wind whistles in So we are piling up stones, for the next riot day You’d shame us by burning cropped locks of our hair Now someone is earning by selling our share We know who’s pocketing and the monitress agrees So we are piling up stones, on this riot day Ann Jarvis , the traitor she cut off our hair and earned remission for 2 months from here We all stand out ground ” Don’t cut our hair” So we are piling up stones, on this riot day Cruel Rev Marsden lashed two girls in chains for “polluting our ears’ he sourly exclaimed Instead of Pastoral care he profits from our work So we pelted them with stones on this riot day Climbing like cats on the roof of 3rd class With stones in our pinnies, pockets and bonnets The fear in Marsden’s eyes gave strength to our cause So we threw showers of stones on this riot day 40 soldiers and their officers – to keep us in line To come down from this roof we were threatened with time Subdued us by force we had to concede So we threw down our stones, on this riot day we threw showers of stones for cutting our hair we threw showers of stones as fast as we could we threw showers of stones for the cruelty we bore we were strong together on this riot day we were strong together on this riot day we were strong together on this riot day

about

Songs of the Female Convicts of Parramatta

In 2019, Rosie McDonald and Cliona Molins were commissioned write a suite of 4 songs to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Parramatta Female Factory building.

By “Female Factory” we don’t mean ‘factory’ in the normal sense of the word. This Greenway-designed building in the early Colony of Sydney was the blueprint for 13 similar buildings in Australia; a prison and marriage bureau; a place of hardship and loss for over 9,000 female convicts.

When compared to the male population, many of these women were guilty of crimes of survival or 1st offenders and over 60% of them were transported from Ireland.

This commemoration is a highly significant National event given the Factory is the earliest female convict site in Australia. The stories of the women and children go to the heart of the Australian Identity - they are stories of separation and loss and yet stories of hope, resilience and remarkable survival. These songs hope to reveal some of the many hidden and often untold stories of the female convicts from whom an estimated 1 in 7 Australians are descended.

credits

released February 21, 2021

Musicians
Rosie McDonald; (Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitar, Bodhran Track 2, Clapping, Stones)
Cliona Molins; (Harp, Backing Vocals, Bodhran Track 4, Clapping, Stones)
Jacqueline McPhee; (Lead Vocals Track 3, Lilting Violin)
Nigel Lever; (Mandolin, Clapping)
Ann Palumbo; (Double Bass)
Ron James & Joe Vandermeer; (Clapping)

Recording Engineer Bowen Shakallis
Mixing Andy Busuttil, Blue Mountains Sound
Mastering Greg Seiler
Producer Ann Palumbo
Album Artwork Angela Sommers

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Mothers of the Nation Band Sydney, Australia

Inspired by the storytelling tradition and the music of Ireland, Cliona & Rosie (Singer/guitarist in Rosie and Nigel) have collaborated for many years in Sydney band Folklore, and have played many times at the National Folk Festival.
Rosie and Cliona are joined by renowned bluegrass mandolinist Nigel Lever and double bass player Ann Palumbo.
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