Thursday, 23 November 2006

Ineligible Guy

Ineligible Guy [Don McLean feat. D. Taylor]

The Nathan Fien debacle has been the talk of the Kiwis’ Tri-Nations campaign of 2006. Much has been discussed from both sides, including Selwyn Bennett’s famed “a grandmother and a great-grandmother are the same thing” defence – something akin to that of the Wookiee defence, no doubt. When I sat down with Don McLean the other day, he really felt we needed to write a song about it. Unfortunately, he had lost his guitar tuner, so we had to take his only hit song and rearrange the lyrics…

D. Taylor, backstage, November 2006

To the theme of ‘American Pie’ by Don McLean.

VERSE:

Not so long ago

Nathan Fien put up his hand

To represent the black and white

A relative from Wanganui

Earned the call up from coach Bluey

And management said that was alright

But the rules said something other

The woman wasn’t his grandmother

The NZRL, they knew this

But they failed to construe this

The media, they raised the question

The Kiwis hid their indiscretion

Avoiding a full confession

T'was the day the Kiwis lied

CHORUS:

And I was thinkin’

Why why, the rules Bennett defied?

First he wrote them, then he broke them

Then he openly lied

He risked our title, putting it on the line

Vainly trying to save his own hide

Vainly trying to save his own hide

VERSE:

The Kiwis made a big mistake

While looking for a makeshift rake

And the Queensland-born lad they chose to take

They took the player by his word

And their defence was just absurd

Leaving Kiwi fans in their wake

Now Nathan Fien, he wasn’t valid

His selection made many pallid

The Aussies made a query

And were told “Oh, quite contrary!”

Selwyn Bennett played the fool

Misinterpreting his own rule

The NZRL lost the duel

Our integrity died

CHORUS:

Fat lady singin’

Bye bye, Fien, ineligible guy

Tried to fake it, didn't make it

And it just didn't fly

So we lost our points, and a lot of our pride

While all regrets Bennett denied

All regrets Bennett denied

VERSE:

The RLIF, they went to task

Because they were not afraid to ask

Why management was hiding behind a mask

We were found guilty by the board

And Bennett duly fell on his sword

In last year’s glory we could no longer bask

So they erased the points from our win

And punished us for our foolish sin

They sent Nathan Fien away

The Aussie hooker couldn’t stay

So we were left to fight alone

As Fien and Bennett were disowned

To defend our earned Tri-Nations throne

And roar a strong war cry

CHORUS:

The Kiwis screamin’

“My, my, it’s time to arise

Time for standing, now we’re banding

To the Aussies’ demise

Let’s make them bear the brunt of our mighty ire

Making amends for those up high

Making amends for those up high”

VERSE:

Well Nathan Fien, yeah, he'll be back

Wearing his chosen white and black

And adding starch to our attack

But for now we’ve got to fight this war

And fight like we’ve never fought before

To get international league back on track

They’ll do the talking on the field

Until the victory has been sealed

They’ll fight on with ambition

And beat their foes into submission

And the players I view as the best

Wiki, Jones, and all the rest

Will make the Kangaroos regret

The day the Kiwis lied

CHORUS:

And we were thinkin’

Why why, the rules Bennett defied?

First he wrote them, then he broke them

Then he openly lied

He risked our title, putting it on the line

Vainly trying to save his own hide

Vainly trying to save his own hide

Fat lady singin’

Bye bye, Fien, ineligible guy

Tried to fake it, didn't make it

And it just didn't fly

So we lost our points, and a lot of our pride

While all regrets Bennett denied

All regrets Bennett denied

The Kiwis screamin’

“My, my, it’s time to arise

Time for standing, now we’re banding

To the Aussies’ demise

Let’s make them bear the brunt of our mighty ire

Making amends for those up high

Making amends for those up high”

Copyright 2006 Kickoff Records. Available at all bad music stores, and one or two good ones may have been foolish enough to put it on their shelves, too.

No comments: