Comments on: Song of the Cane Toad

Song of the Cane Toad

Astro Zombie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:03:55 -0800

Part of my Old Songs project, where I record song I wrote years or even decades ago. This song tells of the disasterous introduction of the Hawaiian Can Toad to Australia, for some reason.

Well, obviously there was a time when I felt a need to sing about Bufo marinus, for some reason. That time was about 1988, if I recall right, and I had stumbled across a book that told the story of the Cane Toad's disasterous introduction to Australia. Back in those days, it seems, I just went ahead and wrote songs about whatever the hell I was reading at the time, and, looking back on the songs that emerged as a result, this actually seems a pretty good approach. Apparently, I also thought a Roger Miller-styled uptempo country number would be the best way to tell this story. I'm not sure I was wrong, either -- Australian pop songs like "Pub With No Beer" and "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" always sort of sounded like Roger Miller ditties to me. Anyway, the lyrics actually are a pretty good representation of the experiences of Australians dealing with an imported and biodiversity-destroying alien species of enormous and mildly hallucinogenic toads. "SONG OF THE CANE TOAD" LYRICS: There was money in sugar so it was farmed in Brisbane But the Grey Back Beetle could eat a thousand ton of cane We picked beetles off of cane stalk till our buckets overlowed Then we brought out to Queensland the Hawaiian Cane Toad Mr. Bell said the toad would eat grub off the plant But the Greyback can fly and the Bufo toad can't And they're useless anyway because they won't go near the cane And there's poison in their neck that drives a biting dog insane The toads have been known to steal and swallow smokes Which they snatch from the hands of New South Wales folks And they're mean and they're hungry and they're always in the road From the Gold Coast to the Round House it's the Hawaiian Cane Toad

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:11:14 -0800

Bo-d'li-d'lay-d'li-d'lo, I saw the funny documentary a little while ago. (Cool ditty!)

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:15:01 -0800

Nice one, AZ. This is very charming! Gotta love a line like "And there's poison in their neck that drives a biting dog insane".

And I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but I'm really glad to hear you sing in a style that doesn't channel Tom Waits.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:40:34 -0800

My boss' home town is Grodonvale, up in Far North QLD, where the Cane Toad was introduced (so not Brisbane). They actually have a Cane Toad Museum up there, one of those quirky things that small towns do to attract tourists. It's nothing fancy... essentially it's just a shack with a stone cane toad statue in it.

They're a major pest, to be sure, but they have a larger purpose in that they make great fodder for amusing CGI videos.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:16:19 -0800

When I play some of my mp3s, it sounds like Tom Waits to me too, but when I sing it, in my head, it sounds like Jimmy Durante.

I'm not a trained singer, so, in the way that Robert Mitchum had only two styles of acting, on a horse and off, I only have two styles of singing: barking and warbling. This one is a warble with a bit of Hillbilly thrown in.

Thanks for everyone's comments. I really appreciate them.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:09:30 -0800

By the way, I meant to add that this is a nice enough song, but I have one minor niggle... one an American can be excused from not knowing. Brisbane is actually pronounced as 'Briz-bin', so it doesn't naturally rhyme with 'cane'.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:22:38 -0800

Brisbane is actually pronounced as 'Briz-bin', so it doesn't naturally rhyme with 'cane'.

In all fairness, it should be noted that historically, words have very often been knowingly mispronounced in song, in order to fit a rhyme scheme. I think that may be particularly true in the case of place names. AZ might've been taking a little of that time-honored poetic licence.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:52:08 -0800

I suspect Australians don't sing with a faux-southern American accent either.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:52:34 -0800

But, then, I've never been.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:45:11 -0800

Yeah, look, no offence intended. I really do like the song... it's nice, so take heart! The pronounciation thing was just a minor little thing I thought I'd mention.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:11:10 -0800

Actually, I appreciate you mentioning it. I'm always interested in the way things are pronounced in various places. When I lived in New Orleans, I spent a lot of time memorizing the strange NOLA pronunciation of various streets.

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:12:34 -0800

I'm not a trained singer, so, in the way that Robert Mitchum had only two styles of acting, on a horse and off

Which of those styles did his calypso singing fit? I hope it was "on a horse."