Jimmy Little - Yorta Yorta Man
Channel: Marra Dreaming
Date: 2020-08-31

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following program may contain images and voices of deceased persons.

Lyrics
I was born on the banks of the Murray,
Yorta Yorta is my mothers tribal clan.
I'm her son but my fathers name I carry,
As I walk through this great and ancient land.
My father taught me all the things I needed,
Like identity and dignity with love.
From his tribal southern coastal ways of living,
Wallaga Lake and Waradah Mountain high above.
I'm a Koori and I come from Cummeragunja,
Where my people and my Dreaming all began.
Someday I know I'll be returning,
Like the legend of my tribal boomerang.
My tribal ways are strong and not forgotten,
And my city ways of living, well, they may be grand.
But you know, ,, I can pack it up, and yes, ,, leave it all behind me,
And go back to my Yorta Yorta band.
The nature of the bush in all it's beauty,
Gives me strength in my will to understand.
That no matter where I go, my river people,
Will be waiting for this Yorta yorta man.
I'm a Koori and I come from Cummeragunja,
Where my people and my Dreaming all began.
Someday I know, I'll be returning,
Like the legend of my tribal boomerang.
(Fade)
Like the legend of my tribal boomerang.
Like the legend of my tribal boomerang.

Biography:
James Oswald Little was born on 1 March 1937, a member of the Yorta Yorta people with his mother, Frances, a Yorta Yorta woman and his father, James Little Sr, from the Yuin people. Little's totem is the long-necked turtle. Jimmy Little Sr. was a tap dancer, comedian, musician and singer who led his own vaudeville troupe along the Murray River during the 1930s and 1940s. His mother was a singer and yodeller who had joined Jimmy Sr.'s troupe.

Little grew up, the eldest of seven children, on the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve on the Murray River in New South Wales, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Echuca in Victoria. Little later recalled his upbringing, "[my parents] taught me well about the value of life, freedom, love, respect, all those basic things that we need. As Vaudevillians, I loved them. It was part of my dream to follow in the footsteps of Mum and Dad. And I'm so proud that I was able to do that". He became a devout non-denominational Christian. He is an uncle of writer, soprano, and composer Deborah Cheetham and older brother of the late Aboriginal author and singer-songwriter Betty Little. In February 1939, about 200 to 300 members of the mission participated in the Cummeragunja walk-off – in protest at the low standard living conditions. The Little family moved to his father's tribal land (near Wallaga Lake) and lived for some years on the New South Wales south coast at Nowra and Moruya.

Not long after moving, Frances died from a tetanus infection after cutting her finger on an oyster shell. At the age of 13 Little was given a guitar and within a year he was playing at local concerts. When 16 years old he travelled to Sydney to perform on a radio programme, Australia's Amateur Hour. In 1955 Little left home to live in Sydney and pursue a career in country music, he was influenced by Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Jim Reeves. His mellow style earned him the nicknames of "the Balladeer", "Gentleman Jim" and "the Honey Voice".

In 1958 Little married fellow singer, Marjorie Rose Peters and they had one child, Frances Claire Peters-Little (born ca. March 1958), who is a documentary film-maker, writer and historian. In 1990 Little was diagnosed with kidney disease, "Unfortunately, I didn't get check-ups often enough or soon enough to realise the possibility that my kidneys could fail".In 2002 he was diagnosed with kidney failure and was placed on dialysis and, in 2004, had a kidney transplant. As a result of immunosuppressants Little developed type 2 diabetes. He also developed a heart condition. Marjorie Rose Little died on 25 July 2011, aged 74, in Dubbo – she had been under medical care since early that year for an unspecified illness.  On 2 April 2012 Little died at his home in Dubbo, aged 75 years. He is survived by his daughter, Frances, and his grandson, James Henry Little. In 2005 Little told Peter Thompson, on the ABC-TV program Talking Heads, how he would like to be remembered, "I just want people to remember me as a nice person who was fair-minded and had a bit of talent that put it to good use.