Editing Music of Australia (section)

==Folk music==
{{main|Australian folk music}}
[[File:The Old Bush Songs by Banio Paterson.jpg|thumb|150px|Cover to [[Banjo Paterson]]'s seminal 1905 collection of bush ballads, titled ''The Old Bush Songs'']]

For much of its history, Australia's bush music belonged to an oral and folkloric tradition, and was only later published in print in volumes such as [[Banjo Paterson]]'s ''Old Bush Songs'', in the 1890s. The distinctive themes and origins of Australia's "bush music" or "[[bush band]] music" can be traced to the songs sung by the convicts who were sent to Australia during the early period of the British colonisation, beginning in 1788. Early Australian ballads sing of the harsh ways of life of the epoch and of such people and events as [[bushranger]]s, [[swagmen]], [[Drover (Australian)|drovers]], [[Stockman (Australia)|stockmen]] and [[sheep shearer|shearer]]s. Convict and bushranger verses often railed against government tyranny. Classic bush songs on such themes include: "[[The Wild Colonial Boy]]", "[[Click Go the Shears]]", "The Drover's Dream", "The Queensland Drover", "The Dying Stockman" and "[[Moreton Bay (song)|Moreton Bay]]".<ref name="ReferenceA">[http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/bush/ Bush songs and music – Australia's Culture Portal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406104520/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/bush/ |date=6 April 2011 }}. Cultureandrecreation.gov.au. Retrieved on 2011-04-14.</ref>

Later themes which endure to the present include the experiences of war, of droughts and flooding rains, of [[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginality]] and of the railways and trucking routes which link Australia's vast distances. Isolation and loneliness of life in the [[Australian bush]] have been another theme. "[[Waltzing Matilda]]", often regarded as Australia's unofficial [[national anthem]], is a quintessential Australian folk song, influenced by Celtic folk ballads. Country and folk artists such as [[Tex Morton]], [[Slim Dusty]], [[Rolf Harris]], [[The Bushwackers (band)|the Bushwackers]], [[John Williamson (singer)|John Williamson]], and [[John Schumann]] of the band [[Redgum]] have continued to record and popularise the old bush ballads of Australia through the 20th and into the 21st century – and contemporary artists including [[Sara Storer]] and [[Lee Kernaghan]] draw heavily on this heritage.

Australia has a unique tradition of folk music, with origins in both the indigenous music traditions of the original Australian inhabitants, as well as the introduced folk music (including [[sea shanties]]) of 18th and 19th century Europe. [[Celts|Celtic]], [[English people|English]], [[Germans|German]] and [[Scandinavian folklore|Scandinavian]] folk traditions predominated in this first wave of European immigrant music. The Australian tradition is, in this sense, related to the traditions of other countries with similar ethnic, historical and political origins, such as [[New Zealand]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]]. The Australian indigenous tradition brought to this mix of novel elements, including new instruments, some of which are now internationally familiar, such as the [[didgeridoo]] of Northern Australia. A number of British singers have spent periods in Australia and have included Australian material in their repertoires, e.g. [[A. L. Lloyd]], Martin Wyndham-Read and [[Eric Bogle]].

===Folk revival===
[[File:FIL 2016 - Eric Bogle 3149.jpg|thumb|[[Eric Bogle]]]]

Notable Australian exponents of the folk revival movement included both European immigrants such as [[Eric Bogle]], noted for his sad lament to the [[battle of Gallipoli]] "[[And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda]]", and more contemporary artists such as [[Archie Roach]] and [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|Paul Kelly]]. Kelly's lyrics capture the vastness of the culture and landscape of Australia by chronicling life about him for over 30 years. David Fricke from Rolling Stone calls Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise." In the 1970s, Australian Folk Rock brought both familiar and less familiar traditional songs, as well as new compositions, to live venues and the airwaves. Notable artists include [[The Bushwackers (band)|the Bushwackers]] and [[Redgum]]. Redgum are known for their 1983 anti-war protest song "[[I Was Only Nineteen]]", which peaked at No. 1 on the National singles charts. The 1990s brought Australian indigenous folk rock to the world, led by bands including [[Yothu Yindi]]. Australia's long and continuous folk tradition continues strongly to this day, with elements of folk music still present in many contemporary artists including those generally thought of as [[Rock music|Rock]], [[Heavy metal music|Heavy Metal]] and [[Alternative Music]].