02/12/2025
How did you do it Jeff? You left this mortal coil. You left us here. You walked out there into the Mississippi and then you were gone aged 30. Did the unrelenting throng, the pulse draw you out? Did you do it on purpose? Did the reeds tangle around your feet? Did the slippery serpent pass through your jacket lining and grab hold of you and pull you under? Did you have a moment of regret and want to turn around, or it was too late? You always were smart and a beautiful talent, what happened? Into the depths of something that grabbed a hold of you and carried you. Not many artists, front line international touring artists, make, some boney arsed kid from Tasmania. a cup of tea at sound check but you did for me. So I don’t forget the kindness and I’ll never forget the tone of your voice, your telecaster through your fender amp. What happened then? Who wrote the song for you? One man’s meet, we sang it through the same microphone, in Greenwich Village, the same view of the Hudson, the same microphone that you used when you wrote Grace and Mojo pin. It was about avenging your death from a man who was jealous of your beauty. Everybody wanted their piece of flesh. You wouldn’t let them have it. You were gone before they wore you down but the memories of you live on, in my mind, and that was the start of my career. The Phoenician Club in Sydney, The Melbourne Atherneum. When you came off stage, and I kissed your forehead, the sweat on my lips from your exertion, your progress and your angelic wisdom, was settled, for everyone to see. I tasted it. I told you to go back out there because we wanted to hear more. Together in the stairwell when the cheering had been tipped into a discarded can, we smoked ciggies and Greg came too, he was my friend. You left me here. What a waste. The grind continues. This mortal coil is full. What a waste. Your flesh rotted in the river, ours just rots day after day on dry land.
This photo of Jeff Buckley was one I found online from the support shows I did with him on his first Australian tour in 1995. The photo of me is overlaid. It was taken at the Continental Cafe in Melbourne in 1996. The year after i supported Jeff Buckley for 3 shows and the year before he died, which was only two years after we met. He was 28 in this photo and I was 20. R.I.P. Jeff.
He was humble and kind. His music is his legacy and speaks for itself. 🪶 This one goes out to Timmy rockgod Lloyd.
