To start with, the Paul Kelly that Mark ‘Howie’ Howard chats to about his top five Australian tracks is the legendary singer / songwriter, not the equally legendary former Sydney Swans captain, Brownlow medalist and ‘Captain Courageous’ whose statue stands mid punt outside of the SCG. Although, considering that The Howie Games is generally a sports podcast, you could be understood for mixing up your Kelly gang.

The third episode of the series sees Howie and The Chief, Jason Dunstall are joined by Paul Kelly to discuss not only his Big Five, but also, finally, sharing what the ‘buttery’ was that I had always assumed was a misheard song lyric in Paul’s seminal track ‘To Her Door’.

Paul Kelly: “AKKA DACCA was one of those bands touring in the 80s with my band, the three things that we could all sort of agree on to play, the Beach Boys, George Jones, the country singer, and ACDC, and of course. That song, It’s A Long Way To The Top, like every band on the road, that’s the theme song, so I thought I’ve just come off tour, so I thought it’d be a good one to chuck in.”

I just love Bon Scott. I mean that that period of ACDC is probably the early period up to 79’ when he died as sort of very, you know, smart lyricist, and always had that sort of sense of it was the serious songs and the gritty songs, but there’s always that little knowingness about him, that sort of little cheek, that little sense of humor.”

Jason would go on to ask Paul if To Her Door was based on a true story or made up.

Paul said:

“It’s a made-up story, but I was reading an author at the time, American short story author called Raymond Carver, and that was an influence on the songs I was writing, where you sort of tell a story, but often his stories would finish just at the point where about something was about to happen, so I wrote this song where the song ends at the point where something’s about to happen, he’s getting, he gets home, he makes his way back home, he’s done his time, he’s cleaned himself up, getting back home to his wife and children, but we don’t know what’s going to happen, or the song ends with him in a taxi on the way to the house.” 

Howie: “She went to her brother’s, got a little bar work, he went to the buttery, stayed about a year. What’s the buttery?”

Paul Kelly: “It’s a rehab place up near Lismore in the northern rivers of drug and alcohol addiction”

So now we know! For Paul Kelly’s other four best Australian tracks, you can listen to the episode here.