Cattle and Cane
Encyclopedia
"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock
band The Go-Betweens
, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood
. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records
in February 1983 and reached #4 on the UK Independent Chart. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI
. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited.
Vocalist and bass guitarist, Grant McLennan
, wrote the lyrics for his mother as an autobiographical description of his return home to a Queensland farm when a boy. He used Nick Cave
's acoustic guitar while staying at Cave's London apartment. Vocalist and guitarist, Robert Forster
co-wrote the song. Drummer Lindy Morrison
also supplied backing vocals. The single and album both failed to appear on the relevant Australian Kent Music Report
Top 50 charts. In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane" was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
of all time.
in October 1982 at I.C.C. Studios
in Eastbourne
, United Kingdom with John Brand producing. Formed in Brisbane in 1977, the band signed with Missing Link Records
in 1981 with the line-up of Robert Forster
on vocals, lead guitar and rhythm guitar; Grant McLennan
on vocals, bass guitar and guitars; and Lindy Morrison
on drums and backing vocals. Their debut album, Send Me a Lullaby
, was released as an eight-track in Australia in November. It was expanded with four bonus tracks when released in UK on Rough Trade Records
in February 1982.
The Go-Betweens released, "Cattle and Cane" in late February 1983, ahead of their second album, Before Hollywood
which appeared in May. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI
. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited. The B-side on the Stunn recordings was "Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea" with newly joined bass guitarist Robert Vickers on-board, which freed McLennan for lead guitar work. The group recorded a video for the single in May, six weeks after its UK release. It was filmed in an antique shop in Fulham
, with Vickers miming playing the bass guitar, in order to portray group solidarity, even though he didn't play on the actual recording.
's acoustic guitar in Cave's London apartment, in 1982, whilst Cave was comatose due to substance use.
In 1983, McLennan described writing the song:
Top 50 charts. However, "Cattle and Cane"'s popularity saw it reach No. 96 on Australian radio station, Triple J
's Hottest 100 in 1991
and was selected by NME
writers in their '100 Best Indie Singles Ever' in 1992.
In Allmusic's review of Before Hollywood, Ned Raggett
described the single:
Fellow Australian musician, Paul Kelly
recalled hearing the song for the first time while driving in Melbourne:
In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane" was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
of all time.
"Cattle and Cane" was covered by British indie rock
group The Wedding Present
as a b-side to their 1992 single "Blue Eyes" and by Jimmy Little
on his ARIA award winning 1999 album, The Messenger.
Australian release
Additional musicians
Production details
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood
Before Hollywood
Before Hollywood was released in May 1983 in the UK on Rough Trade Records, an independent music label. It was The Go-Betweens' second album. The LP was produced by John Brand and recorded at I.C.C. Studios in Eastbourne, England...
. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
in February 1983 and reached #4 on the UK Independent Chart. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited.
Vocalist and bass guitarist, Grant McLennan
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
, wrote the lyrics for his mother as an autobiographical description of his return home to a Queensland farm when a boy. He used Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
's acoustic guitar while staying at Cave's London apartment. Vocalist and guitarist, Robert Forster
Robert Forster (musician)
Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
co-wrote the song. Drummer Lindy Morrison
Lindy Morrison
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
also supplied backing vocals. The single and album both failed to appear on the relevant Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Top 50 charts. In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane" was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...
of all time.
Background
"Cattle and Cane" was recorded by Australian rock band The Go-BetweensThe Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
in October 1982 at I.C.C. Studios
ICC Records
ICC Records is the record label owned by ICC Media Group and is a UK charitable-status Christian record production and distribution company based in Eastbourne, East Sussex....
in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, United Kingdom with John Brand producing. Formed in Brisbane in 1977, the band signed with Missing Link Records
Missing Link Records
Missing Link Records is a record store in Melbourne, Australia. The shop first opened in 1971, but was then called Archie and Jughead's, named after the comic. The shop's co-founders, David Pepperell and Keith Glass, established the shop as a much-needed rock record shop...
in 1981 with the line-up of Robert Forster
Robert Forster (musician)
Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
on vocals, lead guitar and rhythm guitar; Grant McLennan
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
on vocals, bass guitar and guitars; and Lindy Morrison
Lindy Morrison
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
on drums and backing vocals. Their debut album, Send Me a Lullaby
Send Me A Lullaby
-The Go-Betweens:* Robert Forster - vocals, rhythm guitar* Grant McLennan - vocals, bass guitar, lead guitar* Lindy Morrison - drums, vocals-Additional personnel:* Nick Cave - vocals...
, was released as an eight-track in Australia in November. It was expanded with four bonus tracks when released in UK on Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
in February 1982.
The Go-Betweens released, "Cattle and Cane" in late February 1983, ahead of their second album, Before Hollywood
Before Hollywood
Before Hollywood was released in May 1983 in the UK on Rough Trade Records, an independent music label. It was The Go-Betweens' second album. The LP was produced by John Brand and recorded at I.C.C. Studios in Eastbourne, England...
which appeared in May. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited. The B-side on the Stunn recordings was "Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea" with newly joined bass guitarist Robert Vickers on-board, which freed McLennan for lead guitar work. The group recorded a video for the single in May, six weeks after its UK release. It was filmed in an antique shop in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, with Vickers miming playing the bass guitar, in order to portray group solidarity, even though he didn't play on the actual recording.
Song development
"Cattle and Cane" is an autobiographical story of McLennan as a schoolboy embarked on a journey home, evoking memories of a "house of tin and timber", the train edging him closer to the past "through fields of cattle, through fields of cane". McLennan wrote it while using Nick CaveNick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
's acoustic guitar in Cave's London apartment, in 1982, whilst Cave was comatose due to substance use.
In 1983, McLennan described writing the song:
Reception and influence
"Cattle and Cane" reached No. 4 on the UK Independent Charts in 1983. The single and album both failed to appear on the relevant Australian Kent Music ReportKent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Top 50 charts. However, "Cattle and Cane"'s popularity saw it reach No. 96 on Australian radio station, Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's Hottest 100 in 1991
Triple J Hottest 100, 1991
The 1991 Triple J Hottest 100 was the third yearly poll of the most popular songs, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. From 1989 to 1991, listeners could vote for songs released in any year....
and was selected by NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
writers in their '100 Best Indie Singles Ever' in 1992.
In Allmusic's review of Before Hollywood, Ned Raggett
Ned Raggett
Ned Raggett is a library assistant, freelance writer and music journalist. His work has been published in Allmusic, the OC Weekly, Plan B, Metal Edge and The Quietus, while pieces have also appeared in Dream, Arthur, as well as Stylus, The Broken Face, Fake Jazz, Freaky Trigger, Careless Talk...
described the single:
Fellow Australian musician, Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
recalled hearing the song for the first time while driving in Melbourne:
In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane" was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...
of all time.
"Cattle and Cane" was covered by British indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present are a British indie rock group based in Leeds, England, formed in 1985 from the ashes of the Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four to more varied forms...
as a b-side to their 1992 single "Blue Eyes" and by Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little
Jimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...
on his ARIA award winning 1999 album, The Messenger.
Track listing
UK release- "Cattle and Cane" (McLennan, Forster) – 4:12
- "Heaven Says" (McLennan, Forster) – 4:06
Australian release
- "Cattle and Cane" (McLennan, Forster) – 4:12
- "Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea" – 3:24
Personnel
The Go-Betweens members- Robert ForsterRobert Forster (musician)Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
– vocals, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Grant McLennanGrant McLennanGrant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
– vocals, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitars - Lindy MorrisonLindy MorrisonBelinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocals - Robert Vickers – bass guitar on "Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea"
Additional musicians
- Bernard Clarke – organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Production details
- Producer – John Brand
- Engineer – John Brand, Tony CohenTony CohenTony Cohen is an acclaimed Australian record producer and sound engineer based in Melbourne, best known for his work with The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in the 1980s...
- Mastering – Ian Cooper
- Tape transfer – Ingo Vauk
- Studio – I.C.C. StudiosICC RecordsICC Records is the record label owned by ICC Media Group and is a UK charitable-status Christian record production and distribution company based in Eastbourne, East Sussex....
, EastbourneEastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, England
Releases
| Format | Country | Label | Catalogue No. | Year |
| 7" single | UK | Rough Trade | RT 124 | February 1983 |
| 7" single | AUS | Rough Trade | RTANZ 007 (Promotional release) |
1983 |
| 7" single | AUS | Stunn | BFA 952 | 1983 |