Review - Anne Kirkpatrick “Many Mothers/Heart of the Land

single on ABC through EMI

Many Mothers was written by Joy McKean to describe the pain of mothers who send their boys off to a war more than 20 years after those mothers’ mothers sent their sons came back from that which was supposed to end them all. With the passage of more time the song has been recreated by Joy’s daughter Anne Kirkpatrick with all the emotion of the original recording and is the first single from Anne’s re-debut at ABC Country “Cry Like A Man”.

The song opens with what appears to be a rock beat but through the track one realises it is actually those drums that are supposed to send soldiers off to fight. The seeming futility of this track is followed by a song about the apparent futility of working the land, but the man about whom Eric Bogle wrote will not be giving up the land at his heart.

Many Mothers/Heart of the Land sets the scene for an emotional return to ABC by Anne, and a collection that Meryl Gross describes as “an absolute joy”. «««

PG (Jacky) Gleeson