What Australia Means to Russell Crowe

In a special section iof Australia's Daily Telegraph, Russell talks about his immigration to Australia and what his adopted country means to him. His narrative reveals the beautiful story behind the Russell Crowe/Alan Doyle song "Land of the Second Chance". Crowe fans won't want to miss it. Here's a brief excerpt:

What Australia Means to Russell Crowe

You see, I'm an immigrant too. I understand the feeling and have experienced the gratitude of being blessed and accepted by a country that I wasn't born in.

I call Australia: "The land of the second chance", and that's what I called the song we wrote for Mario.

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Land of the Second Chance (Crowe/Doyle 2005)


He didn’t say her name; he described her with a tear
In 1952 he left that girl and made his way down here
And the ocean raged around him, cleansed his soul and sharpened his aim
He was coming down to Queensland to cut the Sugarcane

Chorus

Burning Field
Bow my head and bend my back and I will kneel
I’ll give the angels thanks
For bringing me here and guiding my hand in this land
The Land of the Second Chance

In ’53 he bought a car with the proceeds of the season
He travelled three States, coast and bush wandering without a reason
He was driving away her memory, driving himself insane
Then he drove back up to Queensland to cut the Sugarcane

Chorus

Burning Field
Bow my head and bend my back and I will kneel
I’ll give the angels thanks
For bringing me here and guiding my hand in this land
The Land of the Second Chance

Troppo is not tropical it’s Italian for crazy in the heat
He got arranged to a Spanish girl but she didn’t like his canecutter’s teeth
That season he tripled his workload to prove he was worthy of her hand
When he got back up to Rockhampton, she’d taken off with a handsome man
Five or six years on a gambler’s drunk, he woke up in Sydney one morning
A thousand miles south of his last night out so he took it as the angels warning
That car got him a job fitting aluminium window frames
Floating above the big city, far away from the Sugarcane

Chorus

Burning Field
Bow my head and bend my back and I will kneel
I’ll give the angels thanks
For bringing me here and guiding my hand in this land
The Land of the Second Chance

Bridge

Forty-five years of married life,
Children and children’s children
He can still point to where he fitted the glass
And smiles when you recognise the buildings

Most of his mates have seen the pearly gates but there’s a few that have survived.
They sit here and drink espresso
Like it’s Florence – “Firenze, prima della guerra” (Florence, before the war)

Back in 1935
On a front table at Bill and Toni’s he told me his story on Stanley Street
A little hard to understand that day Mario got brand new teeth
Fifty-three years he’s been here and he says he’s never looked back
A fortunate find for a lucky guy
The Land of the Second Chance

Chorus

Burning Field
Bow my head and bend my back and I will kneel
I’ll give the angels thanks
For bringing me here and guiding my hand in this land
The Land of the Second Chance
The Land of the Second Chance
The Land of the Second Chance