Jacob Vincent Honours the ANZACs With “What Would I Say”

ANZAC Day is a day for reflection, whether you gather with others at our dawn services or pubs or take a moment for yourself away from the nine-to-five grind. Whatever you’re doing this public holiday, make sure you take a few minutes to listen to “What Would I Say.” Jacob Vincent co-wrote this beautiful new single with poet Colin Defries, who he met at a DAG Sheep Station songwriting retreat.

“He presented a poem at a co-write on Easter Sunday,” Jacob recalled. “The first few chords I picked along felt good and we spent the afternoon figuring out a chorus and refining the lyric to fit my voice and style. We both believe it’s really important to understand the legacy of the ANZACs, the conditions they endured & sacrifices they made.”

Multi-award-winning producer Shane Nicholson helped bring the song to life in his Sound Hole Studios.
“It’s been really amazing to work with Shane, I’ve admired his work from a young age,” Jacob added. “He brought some great ideas to the song and I couldn’t be happier with how he realised my vision for the track.”

The music video, created by Jay Seeney of Blacklist Productions, is the perfect accompaniment for the song.

“We filmed early one morning amidst Tamworth Country Music Festival earlier this year,” Jacob said. “He was able to work through archival footage from WW1 to help tell the story of the fighting in Gallipoli.”

Jacob will play the Story Bridge Hotel in Meeanjin/Brisbane tonight alongside Dan Munn.

Image used with permission from Wildheart Publicity

Remembering the Fallen with Mick Thomas

I don’t think it’s right to just let ANZAC Day go by without acknowledging it. It’s not just another day. It’s a day for us all to pause and remember those who lost our life fighting for the freedom that we take for granted, and the ones who came back but were never the same.

I’ve done it in the past by posting “I Was Only 19” and “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”. This year I needed to dig a little deeper, and it saw me discovering this song, “Gallipoli Rosemary” by Mick Thomas. The Weddings Parties Anything singer has always had such a gift for songwriting. This song might never have achieved mainstream attention but it’s still strong, imbued with the emotion fitting for a track recorded on ANZAC Day a couple of years.

Lest we forget.

Lest We Forget

It’s ANZAC Day, a time when we’re all stopping to reflect on the men and women who so bravely serve in the armed forces so that we can enjoy one of the best qualities of life in the Western world. It’s not just about those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice, but the people who continue to bravely battle for freedom, who leave their partners, children, and parents behind so that the rest of us can enjoy the day to day privileges of being Australian.

This isn’t the time or place to get into an argument about whether it’s right that we continue to lose lives in Afghanistan, or send soldiers to wars that don’t seem like ours. It’s just a time to sit, contemplate, and give thanks.

In my opinion 1927 were one of the most underrated bands of the 80s and 90s. “Compulsory Hero” was one of those underappreciated songs that certainly holds up. Today its lyrics have some extra resonance. So listen, take it in, and take a moment to think of the soldiers. Lest we forget.