I was much happier with this than “Dogs Of Damnation”, the song it replaced for the Belvoir show. We never really got “Whitlam’s ghost” the way we wanted it, but I think it’s the right idea – every Labor government since 1975 has been haunted by Whitlam in one way or another – and it set up “On The Floor” much more successfully. Still, it’s so similar to “Dogs” that the instrumental track is almost totally comprised of shifted snippets from the “Dogs” demo.
The Beginning Is The EndGARETH EVANS:
Now you’ve made it to the top
And the Bodgie is dislodged
Say a prayer for him and look
At the punches that you took
At the bullets that you dodged
As you walk up to the door
As you slowly turn the key
You will walk out on a limb
Where the bell that tolls for him
Is the one that tolls for thee
My friend, the beginning is the end
From the entrance to the bow
Your time starts now
My friend, the beginning is the end
Even now it lurks behind that door…
PAUL KEATING:
Gareth, Gareth, tell me more.
EVANS:
There’s a spirit in the Lodge
Chills the marrow in your bones
And the ghostly voice you hear
It’ll fill you full of fear
Even more than Alan Jones
You can hear it every night
Hear it echo in the halls
It’s the company you keep
When Annita’s fast asleep
And from deep inside the walls it calls…
THE GHOST OF GOUGH WHITLAM:
My friend, the beginning is the end
So you think you know the way
Well may you say
My friend, the beginning is the end
So do not go gentle from that stage…
Maintain your rage!
WHITLAM AND EVANS:
Maintain your rage!
ALL
Maintain your rage!
Maintain your rage!
Maintain your rage!