Koala And River Boy Are Reimagining His Dad’s Iconic Tune, ‘Give Me A Home Among The Gumtrees’
On top of his formidable talent, Johnson is uniquely qualified for the job.
For every home among the gum trees.
Back in 1974, ‘Give Me A Home Among The Gumtrees’ captured what the typical Aussie home looked like. You know: a clothesline out the back, verandah out the front, a sheep or two and a kangaroo.
Forty-six years later, ‘Give Me A Home Among The Gumtrees’ is a beloved Aussie classic – but some of our homes look a little different. So, to pay tribute to a vital piece of Australiana and update it for 2020, furniture heroes Koala have been rewriting the lyrics to ‘Home Among The Gumtrees’. But they’re not going it alone.
For this very special task, Koala have recruited Australian artist River Boy, AKA Narayana Johnson.
Johnson began his music career as half of Willow Beats, a duo who made lush, bass-heavy beats like the cult favourite ‘Merewif’. But in recent years, Johnson has stepped out as a solo artist, creating songs that weave natural and electronic sounds. His music draws on his childhood spent roaming the creeks, forests and mountains of NSW’s Northern Rivers region.
As well as his formidable talent, Johnson is uniquely qualified for the job of rewriting ‘Home Among The Gumtrees’: he is the son of one of the songwriters of the original track. His dad, Wally Johnson, co-wrote the song with his mate Bob Brown next to a campfire all those years ago, and the rest, they say, is history.
“[The song] holds a lot of cultural weight in this country, and particularly for our family, so it’s an important song to us,” Johnson told Junkee. “I was feeling a bit of pressure, but at the end of the day, my dad wrote the song and it’s a bit silly and cheeky and I’m trying to remember that as I make this song – it’s got to be really fun and it’s got to feel good.”
To ensure the lyrics reflect a wide variety of Australian experiences, Koala have hit up a few other local legends to help with the rewrite – including Masterchef alumni Adam Liaw and cricketer Steve Smith.
Some of the new lyrics to ‘Home Among The Gumtrees’ reference oh-so-Aussie sights like surfboards on the roof racks, tramlines and backyard brews. Check it out now.
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(Images courtesy of Koala)
For every home among the gum trees.