The Wind-up Gramophone

When I was a little girl I lived in a house that was typical of a farmhouse style for the mountain areas. The roofline was a particular shape, and typically it had a front room jutting out and a wrap around verandah. It was a small house, nice but not grand. The location was above the floodline of a creek. Most old houses were always out of harm's way like that.

It had a front door leading straight into the loungeroom. The loungeroom wasn't overly big, and had ornate pressed metal ceilings. Mum had a briquette heater first with a mantlepiece. Long windows on two sides, and lino she polished with a machine. We had a 20s style couch and two chairs, a laminex smokers table I suppose you would call it. Possibly one of those darling lamps with a pink skirt, a 60s light fitting, and a polished windup gramophone in the corner. Oh yes, and a TV, in between two bedroom doors. Another door led to the kitchen.

The 60s flouro light fittings I have revisited since my treechange. There are two shops with those fittings here.

When I did my family research I vagely remember being told that the gramophone was a special aquisition of my Great-Grandparents. It was a piece of furniture, and was in very good condition when my Mum had it. It had a grill on the front with flowers in it I think. Sometimes I had a little hour or two by myself where I played some songs.

Last night I was watching CMC, the Country Music Channel. I was at a bit of a loose end. I was watching a show called Australia Only and came across this song by Melissa Bajric called Too Long Between Drinks. I found her online and thought all the songs on her album Small Town Girl were great, as far as I could tell from the snippets of songs. Imagine how I felt when I came across the words to Wind-up Gramophone.

In the tiny craftroom
Of the farmhouse by the creek
Spending hours and hours on my own
Dreaming dreams and singing songs
That I learnt one by one
From the records on my Granny's gramophone
It was ... shining
In a cabinet made of wood

Melissa Bajric Wind-up Gramophone

Apparently it is a song by Joy McKean who is Slim Dusty's widow. I am probably going to buy Melissa Bajric's album this week. It has an old-time dance music feel to it. There is another video clip titled Luckiest Girl. Do you have any gramophone memories?