John Schumann, The Waifs and producer Shane Nicholson discuss re-recording Redgum's I Was Only 19 on the 40th anniversary of the track.
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00:00 [Music]
00:06 You write this stuff and you never know where it's going to go or what it's going to do.
00:12 You know, there are lots of people who think that I Was Only 19 is the only song I ever wrote.
00:17 You know, and not unreasonably, but if it was the only song I ever wrote, and it's not,
00:25 I'd still be very, very proud. I don't mind having that on my tombstone.
00:29 I mean, this is one of the greatest songs ever written.
00:33 [Laughs]
00:36 Shane being mates with Josh, he suggested The Waifs and I went, "Absolutely fantastic."
00:41 I remember first hearing I Was Only 19 when I was a high school student,
00:45 and I'd just started playing music and I got a gig in the school band to play I Was Only 19
00:51 at the Anzac Day service. I just remember being struck at that young age by what a powerful song it was.
00:56 I think I'd heard the song around the campfire a million times.
01:01 Growing up on a salmon fishing camp with a lot of war vets, the guys that came back from Vietnam,
01:09 and Vicki and I were learning to play guitar and they'd say, "Play that, play that," you know,
01:14 and we'd play that song and they'd all cry.
01:17 My sister Donna brought back a Red Gum album from Bali, a pirated version.
01:24 [Laughs]
01:26 Sorry, I did.
01:28 And we shared a bedroom so she would play it and I think she was probably learning to sing it,
01:33 and I wanted to copy everything Donna did so I learned to.
01:37 I was listening to Red Gum as a kid, like I grew up listening to it.
01:40 I was playing air guitar to Red Gum in the mirror, which I still remember vividly.
01:45 It's not just a collection of words and music, it's like a really heavy story.
01:52 And then John floated the idea of The Waste being involved.
01:55 There was no hesitation at all, it was absolutely, I think I answered on behalf of the girls without even consulting them.
02:00 I thought, "Why me, why us?"
02:04 And John actually, I called him straight away, I got his phone number and he said,
02:08 "Oh, I couldn't think of anyone bloody better."
02:11 And I just thought, "Phew."
02:15 I mean, it's a big one, it's a real honour.
02:19 They'll bring a new dimension to it, I absolutely know that.
02:22 You know, Shane's produced the track obviously.
02:25 I was surprised how keen he was actually, I expected him to tell me to piss off, but no, he loved it.
02:31 My missus, who is not short of an opinion, listened to it and she started to cry.
02:38 She said that was absolutely fantastic.
02:40 The wave sound and the song, which is very iconic, it's very iconically Australian,
02:45 we're kind of, I guess we're known for a bit of that flavour as well, so it felt like a great fit.
02:50 My voice and John's voice is very much in the same timber.
02:55 She's got such a distinctive voice, a bit like mine.
02:58 Taking on the role of Denny, John's told me that she was about 14 when she stood on the side of the road
03:06 and watched her brother march away to war.
03:12 So how do I feel about that? Just take a look at me!
03:16 Look, there's a lot of stuff that the Waves will bring to the version, obviously along with Shane,
03:21 but I think what will nail it to the wall is Donna's first verse.
03:27 Gravelly vocal with female vocals, everything about it just seemed to kind of make sense.
03:32 There's a lot of grit and a lot of angst and a lot of weight in it as well,
03:36 so I think in particularly the electric guitar tracks that I added to it, I wanted to kind of get a sense of that.
03:41 I'm really hoping I can fit some harmonica on this track.
03:45 It's actually got some sort of weird ass minor chords that throw me a little bit,
03:50 but I'm going to try and squeeze some licks in there.
03:53 I was never not going to put banjo on it. I put banjo on everything. Banjo belongs on everything.
03:59 I think once this song goes out into the world, hopefully it's just going to give it a whole other new life.
04:04 I mean, I guess it's still existing on its first life. It's a song that never dies.
04:08 It's always relevant and it's always just part of the fabric of Australian music and culture.
04:14 It describes a really important part of world history and Australian history,
04:18 so I think it's important for generations to sort of know that history.
04:25 I think the Commando Welfare Trust, we're really happy that the royalties are going to that organisation
04:29 because they do a very important work. I mean, regardless of where you sit on the issue of war,
04:36 the fact is wars happen, people serve and there's just tragedies all around there.
04:42 The Commando Welfare Trust, they provide support for a lot of those families, widows and children.
04:48 Things like the school camp, things like the footy uniform, things like the music lessons,
04:53 things that those kids wouldn't ordinarily get to go on because Dad's not there to earn the money.
05:01 Once the song is released and out there, I'm sure that the Waves would include it in our set.
05:05 I mean, it's one of those songs that you could put it in any live set in this country and it'd go down well.
05:11 If John's at a gig, I'm going to lasso the guy and he's coming on stage to sing it with us.
05:16 My God, he could never be at a Waves show without coming up and singing and sharing this song.
05:24 I'd love to do it with the Waves. I mean, we've just got to make sure that the planets align and all the shit gets in a pile.
05:32 Absolutely, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Absolutely.
05:35 And I really like the man. We've met him on FaceTime and that, and then here he just seems like an old uncle already.
05:45 [Music]
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