Stranded

The true punks came from Brisbane in 1977

"Cyclone Warning" live at the Curry Shop,

White sock brigade and cops on the take

“Stranded” captured the glorious fucked up divide

And gave us some kind of home

On tropical nights when tempers invariably frayed

What stopped Don Barry’s bottle from cracking my skull?

I will never know.

The saints of the suburbs of the most vacant country town since the last picture show had to produce something great.

Vale Chris Bailey, it was you and your mates, and the Go Betweens, and all the rest who died back then anonymously at some park near the university, or on the river.

Thank God I had someone to hang on to me.

Working Papers, 2022, 3