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Margaret Bradford with Hoya - Mum Shirl

from Inspirational Women by Hoya by Sonya Bradford with Hoya

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about

Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people should be aware that this CD/song contains images and names of deceased persons.


Mum Shirl.. 1924-1998  a hero and a saint. A Wiradjuri woman…for 30 years the well known Sydney Aboriginal woman, Mum Shirl, (Shirley Smith) worked tirelessly as a volunteer caring for and feeding the hungry, homeless and destitute on the streets. She regularly visited prison inmates giving them hope and was never paid for all this work, not even a HANDOUT. All they gave her were fancy medals and expensive receptions.
Ref. Shirley Smith, with the Assistance of Bobbi Sykes, MumShirl: An Autobiography,

lyrics

Mum Shirl Margaret Bradford

Mum Shirl! What a girl! What an inspiration to her race.
In her crowded kitchen cooking for the hungry.
Listening to the lonely, sheltering the homeless.
In a house she’s paying off on her pension.

But who gets the handouts now. The survivor in an urban ghetto?
Yes. Who gets the handouts now?
Not Shirl. What a girl!

Mum Shirl! What a girl! Reared thirteen children on her own.
Two of them are hers, but unloved unemployed kids of every race and colour.
Know they’ll get a feed and shelter and a bed at Shirl’s place.

But who gets the handouts now. She’s not after publicity or honour.
Yes. Who gets the handouts now?
Not Shirl. What a girl!

Mum Shirl! What a girl! She visits all the Murrays in gaols.
From Grafton to Glenn Innes, Bathurst down to Goulburn.
No discriminating. They know they can trust her.
Gives them strength to face the world.

But who gets the handouts now. She’s been doing this now for thirty years.
Yes. Who gets the handouts now?
Not Shirl. What a girl!

Mum Shirl! What a girl! Spirit never daunted she fights on.
Her body’s wearing out. She’s not getting any younger.
Big boys want to meet her cause she’s known round the country.
No one else could do what Shirl’s done.

But who gets the handouts now. Will receptions and medals really help her.
Yes. Who gets the handouts now? Not Shirl. What a girl!

credits

from Inspirational Women by Hoya, track released September 15, 2021
Mum Shirl the song was composed by Margaret Bradford and recorded by the group Hoya.
HOYA is a 5 piece ensemble which includes Margaret Bradford on lead vocals, bowed psaltery and whistle, Sonya Bradford on lead vocals and harmonies, bass guitar and keyboard, Gwyn Cleeves on harmonies and guitar, Marcus Holden on violin, dobro, keyboard, cello, guitars, and Ian Knight on mandolin and harmonies, Marcus Holden on violin, cello, dobro, guitars, keyboards
Produced in Bloody Dog Studios Sydney.

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Margaret Bradford Sydney, Australia

Margaret's CD, inspirational women, is fittingly called HOYA- after the perennial green vine which she inherited from her grandmother. Like the Hoya plant, women’s stories grow and survive, we endure, and our struggles and responses intertwine and recur in each generation. Excellent musicians, on guitar, fiddle, mandolin & piano create a delightful river of sound under Margaret's songs ... more

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