Good things…nor more than that…precious things come in small packages. This is true of National treasure uncle Johnny Huckle. A small package with a big set of lungs and the heart of a prophet.
When the diminutive Johnny takes to the stage, the power that erupts from his Spirit would make you think that he was a lion. His visionary lyrics call to Australia as it awakens from the slumber of denial of its past.
Johnny is a proud Wiradjuri man who has walked first hand the road of suffering that has overtaken our sovereign first peoples. He wears a heart of understanding and forgiveness on his sleeve. This heart of release permeates his songs. Listen deeply to the words that inhabit his compositions. The Spirit will quicken the profound truths that are nestled within the melodies. “We must remember”, says Johnny, “but we must not look back”. This simple comment surpasses all the combined rhetoric currently in the National think tank. It is the mark of the prophetic poet to show us where we have come from, where we are now and light the way ahead.
Johnny’s lyrics call both adult and child to a place of hope without despair, without guile, without fear, without blame, without anger and above all without racism. They tumble from a mouth with a ready smile, a laugh and a joke. So you come just as you are to listen with the ear of your heart. Johnny will always leave you better than he found you. It is a complete privilege to know him.
By Hazel Davies, Making Peas/ce Australia