Botany Bay to Tucson ?
By Warren Pease
We used to always group sing whilst traveling … it was our custom … and made the miles fly by …
In the late 50's and early 60's … Grandma had a wonderful and popular diner in Arizona called the "Saguaro Corners Cafe”.
It was across the entrance to the Saguaro National Monument – 16 miles outside Tucson proper … and was located where the paved road ended. This was the intersection of Pantano Road.
It was a crossroads – go straight for the Rocking K Ranch, and farther out 8 miles to the infamous Colossal Cave … or … Turn right to see the mighty Pantano Wash a half mile away.
The Pantano Wash was a wonder of geology!
It was over a quarter mile wide where the gravel road dipped down into it – for about about 75 feet ,a steep down slope – then across a quarter mile of river bed gravel road, and up a steep 75 foot up slope and out – a daunting- and sometimes deadly – run if there was ever rain in the distance !
It was always astounding to watch the water rushing thru the wash after a rain. The power of the water running full after a storm would roll boulders the size of cars as is if they were marbles – but I digress …
Saguaro Corners Cafe had a Gas Station, that I mostly tended as a teenager; full service – 'Fill'er up Ma’am? - check the water, oil, and tires ? ' . It was the only filling, and service station for 20 miles in any direction.
Grandma was famous for her pies and baked goodies .. but folks came for miles just to get her Chili … !
It was quite often that the local folks would stop by just to eat chili, and get gas ! ;)
“… and how about some pie today? “
We lived in Los Angeles at the time, and often would venture the 15 ish hour drive to Tucson for long weekends, and holidays .. we loved to stop at the original McDonald’s in San Bernardino and get 15 cent hamburgers. We would get a couple dollars worth .. and they would last us till we got to Grandmas in Tucson.
We rarely sang “99 bottle of ___ on the wall” .. but sometimes we would sing long old English ballads with many many verses .. and it was fun to chime in with various obscure old verses as it went along …
The old Appalachian folk song – “Barbr'y Allen” was a favorite – with about 30 or 40 verses ... and “Can she bake a cherry pie,? Billy Boy, Billy Boy “. the same long saga of courtship and jealousy - both of these songs were usually good for a few hundred miles alone ! :D
We had learned to sing Botany Bay in 4th and 5th grades, … so we had a lot of fun rewriting; making up and adding many ad hoc verses as we traveled .. each gag verse being 'verse' than the previous !! lol .. we would laugh and sing – what fun, what memories ! :D
The way we had learned to sing Botany Bay the chorus went --
"It's not the leaving of of old England we care about ...
... nor the sailing for lands far away ...
... it's the blooming monotony that wears us out ..
.. and the prospects of Botany Bay !"
Sadly, many many riotous and clever verses, and turns of word, are forever lost to time and memory … but our rollicking versions – sung with gusto and verve – would go something like this …
It's not leaving Los Angeles we care about
or driving the desert all day
But great biscuits, pie, and chili
and the prospect of Grandma's Cafe
It's not leaving old Tucson we care about
or driving all nite and all day
Nor tedium, boredom, or bother
It's about getting back home to L. A. !!
There was friendly competition, and bragging rights awarded for those who had the 'worst verses' ?
* * *
Foot note
Botany Bay was a prison settlement in Australia – Prisoners were sent from UK to Australia to start fresh and colonize … “Botany Bay” is a popular and classic Australian folk song. The catchy lyrics have kept it popular for many years .
https://alldownunder.com/australian-music-songs/botany-bay.htm
