Whistleblowers get a raw deal in Australia. They risk their health, careers and reputations to bring the rest of us the truth about Australia bugging East Timor during critical oil and gas negotiations, about SAS war crimes in Afghanistan, about US gunship murders of civilians in the Middle East. Like the other songs here, over three takes we wrangled The Strongest Memory into shape. Hamish plays his best ‘Ringo’ circa 1964 here, all swept-open hats plus a kit-thrashing conclusion. Jim added tension with waves of left/right electric, then sang lots of high vocal harmonies. And like all the songs, the tracks were worked up live in a warm, wooden-wall studio - live vocal, live drums, live almost everything. Jim insisted upon it.
Lyrics
Revelations, freedom from information
The path we’re on’s the only one that we can imagine
Call us heroes, or you can say we’re traitors
But we will pay for what we say
Named and shamed and incarcerated
Whatever we write
Whatever we print
The faintest ink
Is better than the strongest memory
Whatever you say
Whatever you think
The faintest ink
Is better than the strongest memory
It’s better than the strongest memory
There’s truth and teeth and grief in a word
There’s smoke and dope and dirt in a word
There’s trust and rust and dust in a word
There’s theft and heft and hurt in a word
Whatever we write
Whatever we print
The faintest ink
Is better than the strongest memory
Publications, leading to investigations
Ancient sages from the ages
Silently guide my hands
WikiLeaks partners and all you Julian Assanges
There must be so much heat and noise in your words
To create such a strong reaction
Whatever we write (etc)
It’s better than the strongest memory.