DESCRIPTION:
Mockingbird Hill
A song from Alanna and Alicia's brand new acoustic album 'Songs I'm Singing With Me', launched at the National Folk Festival, Canberra, April 2017.

Buy the album here:
https://alannaandalicia.bandcamp.com
Song written by John Beavis
Recorded at Thirty Mill Studios by Colin Wynne
Video by Miguel Rios
Vocals - Alanna and Alicia
Guitar - Damien Neil
Violin - Silas Palmer
Double Bass - Liz Frencham
Mandolin - Matiss Schubert
Drums - JoJo Smith

'Songs I'm Singing With Me' begins with a knock on the door of our Bendigo home in 1984. A man in a red beret, carrying a scuffed guitar case and a bottle of wine introduced himself as John Beavis - to the surprise of our parents, who'd seen him performing at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and had been singing his songs in folk clubs and coffee lounges for months. And so began a lifelong friendship.

John Beavis has a poet’s heart, a bird's eye, a wry smile, and a swinging, finger-picking guitar style. As children, we would fall asleep by the fire as he sang with our parents. The harmonies soaked into our bones. John showed us that through the craft of songwriting you could tell your own story, and that folk music didn't have to be written by Dylan or Joni. Once, he gave us a guitar, insisting he must pass the torch to a new generation of songwriters. We grew up on his songs. We grew into his songs. We’re still learning what they mean.

John’s songs were not as widely heard as deserved due to his ongoing battle with mental illness. But these songs would perhaps not be so delicate and insightful were it not for what John calls his 'tragic magic'. His songs are still some of the best we know. You won't find his music online or in record stores; we rescued his songs from an old warped cassette tape of a live recording from the '80s.

We have created our interpretations of John's songs. For some it will be a chance to remember, for others to discover. We began with these songs. We always return to these songs. These are the songs we’re singing with us.

Alanna and Alicia xx
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