Thistle in the Heart — Eric Bogle and James MacArthur
Years ago, Lame Dog had the pleasure of seeing the Australian songwriter Eric Bogle in concert. Bogle performed many of his fine songs, but not the one that first made the Dog prick up his ears. That can be heard in the clip below. Bogle supplied the melody and the chorus. The remainder is credited to a poem by James MacArthur.
I always assumed that MacArthur was a minor nineteenth century literary figure. In fact, he died in 1981 and, as far as I know, never published a word. (more…)