Tell Me Why: The Story of My Life and My Music
By Archie Roach
Simon & Schuster
2019
Tell Me Why is the powerful memoir of a stolen child and the story of musician Archie Roach’s extraordinary journey to become a legendary Australian singer-songwriter. The rather depressing journey through a lost identity ends up providing an identity with real strength.
The first half of the book is harrowing reading as it describes Archie’s street years of drinking in parks and pubs. Drinking consumed years of his life and took a huge toll. Stints in hospital and prison were followed by a suicide attempt at the end of one bender. He survived a stroke and had half a lung removed due to cancer.
The second half of the book describes Archie’s emergence as the indigenous voice of the Stolen Generations. Shy Archie Roach was always uncomfortable being a spokesperson. “I was reluctant, I think, to put myself out there and have that sort of scrutiny,” he confessed. “It frightened me a bit.” His partner Ruby told him, “It’s not all about you, Archie Roach. How many blackfellas you reckon get to record an album?” The book is also a love story for his Ruby, who died in 2010.
Roach’s signature song, Took the Children Away, starts with the words, “This story’s right, this story’s true. I would not tell lies to you.” When it was first played live, in Sydney at a Bicentennial protest in 1988, the crowd wept. It could be argued that it was this song that woke white Australia up to the injustices of the Stolen Generations. The mainstreaming of indigenous voices like Archie Roach in popular culture played a central role in the struggle for rights and freedoms. “My songs weren’t calling for revolution; they were calling for recognition and truth, and that itself was an act of defiance. We are here.”
Tell Me Why is an emotional read about family, community, and music, and Archie’s warm and powerful voice threads the story together. All Australian History teachers should read this memoir. It is hard to fully understand the impacts of the Stolen Generations and the indigenous struggle for rights and freedoms without understanding the music and story of Archie Roach. It is a great book written by a great Australian.