Kev Carmody’s songs combine anger, humour, oral history, polemic, poetry and prayer. His body of work, spanning over 40 years, is one of Australia’s great cultural treasures. Cannot Buy My Soul [from Carmody’s second album, Eulogy (For a Black Person)] is a hymn that breathes with steely rage.
PAUL KELLY
Kev Carmody is one of Australia’s pre-eminent wordsmiths whose politically charged, and socially aware lyrics have cemented him as one of our country’s contemporary voices. Of Aboriginal and Irish heritage, both cultures famous for oral histories in song, Kev was born to be a story-teller. His compositions include ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ with Paul Kelly which is based on the story of The Gurindji Strike and Vincent Lingiari in their struggle for indigenous land rights and reconciliation.
Born in 1946, Carmody grew up on a cattle station in the Darling Downs area of south eastern Queensland. His family were drovers and stockmen who lived largely off the land, growing vegetables near the house and hunting. Around the stockmen’s fire he learned his love for storytelling and music. When he was ten, Kev Carmody and his brother were taken from their parents and sent to a ‘Christian’ school. Without completing his senior school years he returned to hard physical rural work for the next seventeen years. READ MORE
KEV’S COUNTRY
His world is centred on his beloved patch of bush in Queensland’s Granite Belt. But Kev Carmody’s influence on Australian music spreads far and wide.
I had to be reminded that Pillars of Society was Kev Carmody’s debut album. It wasn’t like he was young when he made it. Here was a voice with oral history leanings and a street fighter attitude. It had as much to do with the Clash as Bob Dylan, but was way better, because this was an authentic Indigenous voice.
I was a young man when I heard it, and it schooled me. The lyrics are dense, the vocals passionate, he doesn’t waste a word. You can tell he was on a roll when he was writing it. It’d be very interesting to see the reaction if it was released today – it would have been lauded in the same way Briggs is; a refreshing voice that is not to be messed with.
David Bridie Not Drowning, Waving, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, solo artist
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - 10 SONGS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
From the original protest songs of the civil rights movement to the charity singles raising money for those in need, for decades musicians have inspired change through their songs. Here are our top 10 songs (in no particular order) to inspire you to change the world for the better.
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FROM LITTLE THINGS BIG THINGS GROW
An Indigenous rights classic, “From Little Things Big Things Grow” is based on the story of the Gurindji Strike, a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families in August 1966 at Wave Hill cattle station in Kalkarindji, Northern Territory. The strike took place mainly due to work and living conditions but ultimately became about the return of Gurindji peoples’ land.
Watch Archie Roach, Emma Donovan, Blake Scott, Ella Hooper, and Richard Clapton cover the Kev Carmody/Paul Kelly classic song "From Little Things, Big Things Grow" with the RocKwiz Orkestra and Vika and Linda Bull to close the RocKwiz Salutes The Legends of Australia on SBS.
When I was in primary school [in Brisbane], I went to Zillmere state school, and our main theme song was From Little Things Big Things Grow. We sang that every Friday at assembly, which was awesome. Uncle Kev wrote a letter to the school, asking if we wanted to join him at Parliament House to sing it. And so the school choir went to the Parliament House and sang it. It was beautiful. Then, when I was in grade nine, we were doing a project on Indigenous music, and we had to listen to that album because of the lyrics, [which were] gentle but confronting and powerful. To be able to capture that much authenticity in a song is so rare. It was beautiful to see an Aboriginal man capture that – it’s so inspiring as a young Indigenous woman to hear those songs and to be influenced in some ways by the songwriter. His music is healing.
EMILY WURRAMARA
Kev is one of the sweetest, most humble geniuses I know. Paul [Kelly] introduced me to his music years ago, and the first thing I thought when I listened to Pillars of Society was “Whoa, how come I haven’t heard of this guy?” He’s one of the hidden treasures of the Australian music scene. Being a part of his tribute tour was a real career highlight for me.
MISSY HIGGINS