The Rough Diamonds
~First visit to Tamworth - Hats Off, 2007~
We
came to Tamworth to try our luck,
On
the street by the name of Peel.
We
found a nice corner to set up on,
And
our story is unreal!
Standing
on the pavement
The
wind was blowin’ a gale,
Singin’
songs with guitars in hand
Outside
Adairs where they had a sale.
It
was pretty chilly out on the path
We
wondered how long we could cope
Then
a journo approached and a bloke took our pic
We
made the paper, here’s what they wrote:
“Buskers
brave the cold on the boulevarde of dreams,
The
Rough Diamonds on their first trip to Tamworth
Want
to be better known in the music scene”.
The
story began on the front page
We
could hardly believe our eyes
Then
turn to page two, the pic wasn’t too hot
But
the words made the old man cry!
So
with our chests full of pride
We
hit the street to busk
We
wanted to set up and begin
In
time for the morning rush.
We
were just about to start singin’
When
a bloke came to chat
He
was stayin’ at the pub
Right
next door where we were at.
Trevor
Monds was his name,
A
fellow muso in his prime
We
talked about guitars and songs
And
our love of JW to pass the time.
Michael,
the living poet
Came
by to say g’day
He
said he’d done pretty well
Busking
down the street yesterday.
Next
thing a funny old fella
With
a jump in his stride
Came
out of the pub
And
asked us to come inside.
He
said, “You girls are too bloody good
To
be out in the street…
Come
in out of the cold,
There’s more folks for you to meet!
Inside
the Tudor Hotel
To
the front bar we saw
There
were mikes and speakers
And
leads on the floor.
Mick
James was the old bloke
Who’d
brought us inside.
He’s
a character alright
In
his hat that once would’ve been white!
With
a joke and a song
While
he played his bush bass
Along
with Scrubby, Col and Jim
They
really livened up the place.
Then
Mick called out…
“It’s
time for the girls
Bring
The Rough Diamonds up here,
Let’s
give them a whirl”.
So
we took to the stage
In
the Tudor Hotel.
What
an awesome experience,
And
we hit it off well.
And
the crowd grew and grew
They
opened the front windows
And
the street filled up too!
Singin’
covers of artists
That
we really admire.
But
it was performing our own songs
That
brought out our fire.
The
crowd roared and cheered
That
made us feel great.
We
gave our card to Irene
So
she’ll call us back in ’08!
We
met so many people
In
the Tudor front bar
Blakey,
Rhonda, Jim & Cheryl
And
others that had come from afar!
They’ve
all touched our hearts
And
we want them to know
We’ll
be back in January
And
hope they’ll all be at our show.
We
came to Tamworth
With
a demo CD in hand
To
book gigs and meet folks
For when we come back in Jan!
©2007 written by C van der Kamp