Annie Kia
“Songwriting was something that emerged for me after I was in the Ash Wednesday bushfire 0f 1983. Songs would start to bubble up inside of me. I didn’t know anything really about music until I became a member of the group KALI in late 1985… Inspired by the creative content of this group, I wrote several songs, two of which won prizes at successive Byron Bay Pacific festivals. .. I don’t think of myself as a songwriter, but as a woman, who, when inspired, writes songs. I love the way songs can evoke an emotional response in people”. Annie Kia’s blog explains her current interest in “how we can use networks to protect Nature”.
Listen to Songs By Annie Kia
For Judy Leng Im
By Annie Kia, harmonies by KALI
In 1985, a neighbour of mine, Judy Leng Im, was murdered by her Australian husband. Judy was a Malaysian “mail order” bride, vulnerable in her isolation. I wrote this song for her.
Song Lyrics
1. There were flowers growing on the hillside on the Rocky Creek Road
And colourful birds were flying to green Whian Whian;
The forest she was busy bringing forth trees and hope;
Women were singing in their gardens.
2. They came to their marriage through an ad in the mail;
Did he want a servant now that he was frail?
But far life in this rich country cost her a dear price;
It cost her her family, and it cost her life.
3. How many Asian women are around me today,
Unhappy in their houses and hidden away?
And lonely for their culture so rich and so bright;
Migrants to a man who wants a servant as wife?
Ah ah ah ah, Ah ah ah ah, Ah, ah ah ah ah, Ah ah ah ah, ah
Ah ah ah ah, Ah ah ah ah, Ah, ah ah ah ah, Ah ah ah ah, ah
4. Oh, Judy Leng Im, I’m saddened that I
I did not even know you though you lived so nearby
And on that fateful morning when he ended your life
I was singing in my garden, so filled with delight.
5. There were flowers growing on the hill side on the Rocky Creek Road
And colourful birds were flying to green Whian Whian
The forest she was busy bringing forth trees and hope;
Women were singing in their garden.
L to R: Kath McMillan, Lyndall Katz, Ineke Veerkamp. Front: Annie Kia