Songs for a New Country

Songs for a New Country evokes an earlier age, by mixing traditional folk songs with images of New Zealand. Barry Saunders — best known as lead singer of the Warratahs — performs a collection of ballads across Aotearoa, while director John Laing mines the archives for images to bring these settlers tales alive. The result is a kind of folk poetry in motion, where imagery of the early days of European settlement evokes both nostalgia and hardship. The musicians include Warratahs Wayne Mason and Nik Brown. Janet Roddick takes over lead vocals for 'My Man’s Gone', and can be glimpsed joining Saunders for 'Railway Bill'.

I like the softness. It’s funny, the south of any country seems softer than the north. Don’t know what brings that about, and the light changes a lot. I’m a south person really.

– Barry Saunders on travelling around New Zealand, Real Groove, June 1998

Key Cast & Crew

Grant Taylor

Sound Mix

Barry Saunders

Performer

Owen Ferrier-Kerr

Consultant Editor

Dorothee Pinfold

Producer

John Laing

Director, Writer, Editor

James Cowley

Camera