NEW  ZEALAND
FO LK * SONG

My Old Man's an All Black
Gerry Merito 1960

Maori songs - Kiwi songs - Home

Oh, my old man's an All Black,
He wears the silver fern,
But his mates just couldn't take him
So he's out now for a turn.

Da-dit-dit-da da-dit-dit-da da-dit-dit-da-da-da

Well, Dad's played rugby all his life
And it's very plain to see
He's trying very hard
to make an All Black out of me:

"Son don't you worry if you get punched
When you're down in a scrum,
Just you wait 'til there's a ruck
And you can fix the guilty one!"

Oh, my old man's an All Black,
He wears the silver fern,
But his mates just couldn't take him
So he's out now for a turn.

Da-dit-dit-da da-dit-dit-da da-dit-dit-da-da-da
So he's out---- now----- for a turn------ !

Der ditdit Da, Der ditdit Da, Dee ditdit Da da Da

So he's out-- now-- for-- a-- turn!
Gerry Merito wrote this as a bitter-sweet parody of My Old Man's a Dustman, a song by Lonnie Donegan's skiffle-group that was very popular at the time. My Old Man's a Dustman, he wears a dustman's hat
He wears gor-blimy trousers, and lives in a Council flat.

Jerry was a member of the very popular group of all-Maori group, 'The Howard Morrison Quartet.' He wrote this in 1960, when Maori All Black players were not allowed to go with the 1960 All Black team to tour racially segregated South Africa.

The version above is a brief fragment of the original, and it has survived in the oral tradition of 'Rugby Dos.' The emphasis has shifted from being out of the team due to Maori ethnicity, to being out for rough play.

The song was recorded in the Pukekohe Town Hall on a little tape recorder beside the stage, and a plastic microphone. The worst recorded song of the many recordings they did, but it sold the most copies. It inclued many comic asides such as "Fi Fi Fo Fum, there's no Horis in this scrum."


Years later, in 1981, when the South African rugby team, the Springboks, came here to tour New Zealand, tens of thousands of anti-aparteid protesters took Merito's advice to 'fix the guity one!'

There were huge riots everywhere the Springboks went. In 56 days there were 205 demonstrations in 28 centres, involving more than 150,000 New Zealanders. This civil unrest marked the end of rugby as a monolithic male sport in New Zealand.

Included amongst the 1981 protestors was this young Maori boy, photographed by Ans Westra in Wellington after a demonstration at the All Black test match against the touring South African team.

Mouse this image to see Geoff Macley's image, taken earlier on the same day.


The Ballad Writer's Toolbox

Why is a good topical ballad like a good game of football ?

Your mind is satisfied by its orderly structure.
Your emotions are aroused by its unexpected variations.
And you can identify with the heroic efforts of one person.

Can you re-write a well-known song to make a topical ballad with these qualities ?

Maori songs - Kiwi songs - Home