Story Behind The Song

Tambourine. Tambourine was written about the exploits of a couple of young people travelling throughout Australia back in the mid 70's, they are driving an old VW Kombi Camper Van, and playing their music wherever the road takes them. The song attempts to describe that time of life, the soul searching, the freedom, and a love affair (in this case the fiddle player, and the tambourine player 'Matilda') They visit famous hippy towns like Byron Bay, and then travel The Great Ocean Road along the south-eastern coast of Australia. The road winds its way through varying terrain along the coast and provides access to "The Twelve Apostles" limestone stack formations that rise from the sea next to the coast. I could not fit "The Twelve Apostles" within the song lyric so I used "The Friends of Jesus" as a synonym to fit the verse. There is a hint of sadness in the last verse when twenty or more years later, the fiddle player re-visits "The Great Ocean Road" and remembers his lost love Matilda who has passed away during that time. This is Tambourine, a story song, and I hope you like it. And a P/S. I sang this song for demo recording purposes only. I do not consider myself a strong singer but I was hoping that someday maybe a good singer might take it on. Gerry.

Song Description

A song about travel, VW Vans, musicians, and a time in the mid 70's.

Lyrics

Tambourine.
A VW Combination took us all across this nation
To destinations we had never seen
I played the country fiddle, the old guitar in the middle
And my baby played the tambourine

In those years of celebration, searching souls of liberation,
We were chasing here and there to find our dreams
Her name it was Matlida, love and laughter it would fill ya
When we watched her play her tambourine

We rolled on into Byron, had some friends we could rely on
Pitched a tent and we all smoked a little weed
I played the country fiddle, the old guitar in the middle
And my baby played the tambourine

We awoke one morning, The Great Ocean Road was calling
And the friends of Jesus we had never seen
So we stood there with devotion, our backs against the ocean
And baby played her tambourine

Many years have rolled on empty, it's been ten but now it's twenty,
Since our old truck gave up around a bend
Now I play no country fiddle, I got no guitar in the middle
We heard she played her tambourine right to the end

So I woke up this morning The Great Ocean Road was calling
It's been many many years since I have been
So I went there and when I got there I took my broken heart and stood there
And I swear I heard a tambourine.