Study questions on Paul Kelly Lyrics
Family life / relationships / human frailty…
Post, 1985 – the term “post” has a few layers of meaning for Kelly in this album –
post Kelly’s childhood and youth in Adelaide, post his life in Melbourne,
particularly post his involvement with the Melbourne drug culture, post the death of
his musician friend, Paul Hewson who died of a heroin overdose. “post could also
mean like a marker, pointing to a new direction, also a way to post his account of
the world.
(From St Kilda to Kings Cross is from the Post Album)
Adelaide pg10
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What image is conjured up by the still blooming wisteria?
How does Kelly re create the impression of himself as a child in the first stanza?
Kelly’s father died of Parkinson’s Disease when Kelly was 13. Did he anticipate
his father’s death?
Why would he have felt nothing as he rang the church bells?
How do we know he really grieved for this father?
The third and final stanza indicate the boy has grown to young adulthood. What
suggests his confidence about his environment?
Note the repetition of the same lines at the end of the second and third stanza but
with a slight alteration. What does this alteration reveal? Why does he feel this
way?
From the album Under the Sun (1987) – the single hits were “To Her Door” and
“Dumb Things” – both story songs with big hearts and themes, but handled subtly
Dumb Things pg 49
“Dumb Things” - was a big hit and has since become one of Kelly’s classics. The
lyrics are a celebration of ordinary dumbness. It is an amusing song and the humour is
part of the point – it is funny how we act stupidly and then feel bad about it; yet it is
something everyone does. Kelly even laughs at himself “I thought that I just had to
sing.”
 What does it mean to see the knives out and to hear the train coming? What figure
of speech is being used here? Why was the narrator dumb?
 Why do you thing the same dumb things are repeated throughout the song?
 Explain the reference to the melted wax to “fix my wings”. What does this tell us
about dumbness?
 Do you think Kelly is just describing the silly things only one person does?
 Because this song adopts a humorous approach, encouraging us to laugh at the
dumb things people do, is there a constructive message here?
To Her Door pg 57
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What do the first four lines tell us about this family? How does the fast pace of the
song reflect the story being told?
How is this also a political song?
Why does the wife leave? How do we know she is totally fed up? How does the
direct speech reinforce this impression?
What alliteration do you notice in the 2nd stanza and what impact does this have
on the storytelling? (The Buttery is a drug and alcohol rehab centre in northern
NSW)
In the second stanza, what details of the narration contribute to the “ordinariness”
of this situation.(Olympic is a busline)
In the 3rd stanza, how does the man’s physical state reflect his mental state?
The narration now gives the man’s perspective – what is he thinking of, how is he
feeling?
How do we know he is now in Melbourne?
Album - So Much Water so Close to Home (1988) Songs that tell a story feature
prominently in this album
Sweet Guy pg72
The narrator, a female, reflects on the violent nature of her relationship and broods
over the Jekyll and Hyde transformation of her partner from someone loving and
attentive into a violent man. Typical of the “battered woman syndrome”, she adopts a
victim’s view claiming that it is her problem, and is happy to forgive the man after
he’s bashed her.
 Significance of the opening howl?
 What do the first few lines of the song tell us about this relationship?
 Comment on the alliteration of bed / black / boiling
 What is the indicator in the first stanza that all is not right with this relationship?
 What is the effect of “…stitched by strangers”?
 What is ironic about the use of the words “touch” and “tender” in the second last
stanza?
 What is the continued pattern of this relationship that the song shows us?
 How would you describe the sound of this song – ie instrumentation, pace,
volume – does it change during the song?
Careless pg 78
The speaker, perhaps emerging from some sort of depression, apologises to his
partner / friends for not caring enough when they were making such an effort to get
through to him.
 How would you describe the mood of this song?
 What is the significance of all the different ways of counting how one can be
careless towards loved ones?
 Notice the phrasing in the chorus –what is suggested by this fragmented phrasing?
 What are the similes the narrator uses to describe his state of mind?
 What is suggested by the speaker’s realisation that he has been distant and self
absorbed?
Everything’s Turning to White p81
Inspired by the short story, “So much water so close to home”, by American author
Raymond Carver, the song is narrated by a woman thinking of her husband’s recent
fishing trip. She is chilled by his attitude to the discovery of a woman’s body. The
story haunts her, making her feel differently towards her husband. This same story
also forms the basis for the Australian film, “Jyndabine” which also uses the music of
Paul Kelly on its sound track (but not this song)
 What impression do you get of the four friends driving off into the mountains with
their bourbon for a weekend of fishing?
 If there’s so much water, so close to home, why have they driven 100 miles “just
to fish in a stream”? What do you think is his wife’s opinion of this?
 As the men stand above the body of the dead girl, what same thoughts might they
be thinking?
 How do the men rationalise what they do with the body?
 How has the narrator of this song reacted to what her husband and his friends did?
How does she now view her husband?
 Why did she go to the funeral of a stranger and drive past the lake out of town?
 Why does she feel “frozen inside”?
 What different layers of meaning can you find in “There’s so much water so close
to home”?
Album – Deeper Water (1996) discussing the symbolism of deeper water, Kelly said:
“My father taught me to swim. Four of my brothers and sisters were older than me
and three younger. I couldn’t wait to learn so I could join the older ones who would
all rush straight up to the deep end. Deeper water to me meant danger, meant
power, meant growing up” He also said “Everytime you move through the big
rituals in life it’s like a move into deeper water.”
Deeper Water pg 168
 Explain how Kelly uses the metaphor of deep water in this song.
 What different stages of life does this song take us through?
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What does the boy receive from his father?
Comment on the change in the music in between stanza 2 and 3. What contrast is
established?
What stage of life have we moved on to in stanza 3?
By stanza 4 we are no longer literally in the water but Kelly continues to use
imagery of the sea. What is it?
The early death of the man’s wife has left him in sole charge of his little girl.
What circle of life is beginning again?
What do you notice about the music at the beginning of stanza 6?
What rhyming pattern do you observe in this song? Does it in any way reinforce
the message of this song?
How to Make Gravy pg 184
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Joe is writing to his brother Dan. Why can’t he join in the Christmas celebrations
with the rest of the family?
How does the slide guitar accompaniment reflect the mood of the song?
Listen to how Kelly sings “please don’t let them cry for me” How would you
describe the way he sings “please” – what effect is created?
What is indicated about Joe’s state of mind in the structure of long lines?
Comment on the impact of the short line that the first stanza ends with?
What does the absence of any regular rhyming scheme suggest?
Why is it so important for Joe to explain how to make gravy?
Notice the assonance (internal vowel rhyme) in “Dolly” and “sorry” What effect is
created by this?
What does Joe’s request to Dan about Rita reveal?
Album – Words and Music (1998)
The Land of the Little Kings pg 191
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Why is Kelly afraid for his country and worried about his brother?
What effect does using the first person pronoun have on the message of this song?
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What might be the “lies in the name of history”?
How could the neighbourhood be improved?
Where might be the “land of the little kings”?
Who might be the “little kings”
What are the little kings getting away with? Is “murder” too strong a word to
describe their activities?
What dangers are being referred to in stanza 4?
Are we really a “lucky country”?
Why doesn’t justice mean a thing in the land of the little kings?
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