Overview
Eric Bogle (b. Sep 23, 1944) is an Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25 to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle’s songs have covered a variety of topics and have been performed by many artists. Eric Bogle is the author of the well-regarded and much-covered song, Safe in the Harbour.
Bogle taught himself to play guitar and joined a skiffle and rock band. He was the leader of Eric and the Informers in Scotland. His early influences were Lonnie Donegan, Elvis Presley and Ewan MacColl. He turned to folk music prior to emigrating to Australia – his first written songs concerned his parents. One of these, “Leaving Nancy”, which sang of the day he left home for Australia, being the last time he saw his mother Nancy, was often covered, most notably by the Dubliners and the Fureys. When living in Canberra he joined the local folk music scene and performed occasionally.
Bogle’s songs cover a wide range of subjects and themes, including comedic songs (“The Aussie Bar-B-Q”), songs of real life emotion “Daniel Smiling “, The Enigma” , “One Small Star” and “ Now I’m Easy”. Few would tackle a subject such as Cerebral Palsy, yet Eric knew the daughter of his friend Ray Smith and wrote “Rosie”, a most endearing song where many find that they join in the chorus .His song “Safe in the Harbour” is an homage to Stan Rogers. “Katie and the Dreamtime Land” is a tribute to American folk singer Kate Wolf, who died from leukemia in 1986. Other well-known songs, with lighter subject matter, include two homages to departed pets, “Little Gomez” and “Nobody’s Moggy Now” and an acknowledgment of his folk music fans with “Do You Sing Any Dylan?”.