Eric Bogle

Infobox musical artist
Name = Eric Bogle


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Background = solo_singer
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Born = birth date and age|1944|9|23
Peebles, Scotland
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Genre = Folk music
Occupation = Singer-songwriter
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URL = http://ericbogle.net

Eric Bogle (born 23 September, 1944 in Peebles, Scotland) is a folk singer-songwriter. He emigrated to Australia in 1969 and currently resides near Adelaide, South Australia. Several of his most famous songs tell of the futility or loss of war. Prominent among these is "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", written in 1972. The lyrics tell of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) experience fighting in the Battle of Gallipoli. It has also been interpreted as a reaction to the Vietnam War. Another of his best-known songs, "No Man's Land", is also World War I-themed. This song is commonly known as "The Green Fields of France", a title it was first given by The Fureys, and which has subsequently been used in a lot of further cover versions. The song refers to the traditional Scottish song "Flowers of the Forest" being played over the grave of a World War I soldier.

Another notable song on a similar theme, but with a more contemporary setting, is the Troubles-inspired "My Youngest Son Came Home Today", with its tale of a young man killed during factional fighting in Northern Ireland. Cleverly, this song can be interpreted equally well as being about a protestant loyalist or a catholic republican death.

Bogle's songs cover a wide range of subjects and themes, including comedic songs ("The Aussie Bar-B-Q"), satires ("I Hate Wogs") protest songs and serious songs about the human condition such as "Now I'm Easy". His song "Safe in the Harbour" is an homage to Stan Rogers. "Katie and the Dreamtime Land" is a tribute to American folk singer Kate Wolf, who died from leukemia in 1986. Other well-known songs, with lighter subject matter, include two homages to departed pets, "Little Gomez" and "Nobody's Moggy Now", and an acknowledgment of his folk music fans with, "Do You Sing Any Dylan?".

Many of his songs have been covered by other artists, including June Tabor, The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Clancy Brothers, John McDermott, Liam Clancy, Mike Harding, The Pogues, De Dannan, Dropkick Murphys, Billy Bragg, and John Williamson.

In 2000, a five-CD Eric Bogle collection was released called "Singing The Spirit Home". In 2006, Bogle undertook a lengthy UK tour with musician John Munro.

External links

* [http://www.ericbogle.net Official site]
*MusicBrainz artist|id=ede97bcb-181b-4a3a-a939-b2c544193b5f