Timothy Carroll

I recently stumbled upon an artist, that believe it or not, has been right under my nose here in Brisbane.
Timothy Carroll's debut album 'For Bread and Circuses' has been getting a thrashing from my iPod for the last month or so. Listening to his songs for me, has been almost like playing pass-the-parcel, under each layer for me there has been a new surprise awaiting discovery.




At first I was mesmerized by the calm folk-feel to his music, and his soft, unobtrusive vocals. After listening to the album on repeat for this past month, I've begun to really take away so much more from his poetic lyrics, that flow without seeming forced. His songs touch on so many subjects, from dissolved romance to the destruction of the Indeginous Australian culture and the displacement of those affected.

The song that I find myself seeking out is 'To Frozen Lakes', it seems to gently pull you into a daydream of sorts, once it ends you find yourself almost having to bring your floating thoughts back into the room.

At uni last semester the sociology component of my subject saw me focusing on the plight of the Indigenous Australian, and finding that a figure within the Aboriginal community who has had such a profound impact on the progression of the fight for equal rights was actually a family friend and colleauge of my father. He was one of the only two Aboriginals to participate in the instigation of the Freedom Rides in Australia.

I didn't have a clue that he was so politcally active until I began researcing for assignments and stumbled upon his name associated with a report on the Freedom Rides. I called my dad when I found the article to make sure it was the same man I was thinking of, and dad confirmed it for me.

After discussions with alot of people in regards to the past, present and future of Indigenous Australians, I found that so many people are so uneducated and ignorant as to the consequences that the past is having, and will continue to have on the Aboriginal people.

I seem to have gone off on a tangent, but I can link this aside to a track from Timothy Carroll's album, 'Forgotten Tongues', which I think is so simple, yet entirely capable of telling a story that so many people have failed to communicate.

Forgotten Tongues


She sings her songs,
in forgotten tongues,
for her stolen sons and daughters.
While the thieves that stole her name,
drunk upon the spoils,
accuse her of the same,
and scatter worthless coins.

In the grain of the wood,
I saw what I wanted to see.
Through the lines on your face,
I saw the woman you used to be.
And while the echoes of the crimes
still whisper out in this city.
Now the holder of your songs stands singing in
our streets.

This city of new,
you know she moans and sighs,
with a thousand eyes,
On you.

She’s aching in her bones,
for the stories that she holds.
She’s desperate not to trust,
but careful not to crush.

In the grain of the wood,
I saw what I wanted to see.
Through the lines on your face,
I saw the woman you used to be.
And while the echoes of the crimes
still whisper out in this city.
Now the holder of your songs stands singing in
our streets.

Learn the words you used to loathe,
the words they use as chains.
sign your name in the paper cage,
you know they’ll never change.

In the grain of the wood,
I saw what I wanted to see.
Through the
lines on your face,
I saw the woman you used to be.
And while the echoes of
the crimes still whisper out in this city.
Now the holder of your songs stands
singing in our streets.



Tim will be performing in the Brisbane Festival. Ticktes are a measley $10! So if you're even mildly interested, I would reccommend going along!