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Brodie Buttons, “The Sun Song,” // GemsOnVHS™

GemsOnVHS | January 12, 2026



This is the 4th and final tune from my time in the rainforest of eastern Australia with the nonchalant, dare I say happy-go-lucky perpetual jungle dweller Brodie Buttons, his family and his friends. I say, with no reservations, Brodie is one of the best songwriters i’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. His book of songs, which he broke open to recite lyrics from at times around the fire, was dogeared, messy and disheveled. Filled to the brim with clever words and stories plucked from his lived experience. There’s no pretentiousness in his work, and it lacks the self seriousness and self pity so rampant in most “folk music”. In Brodie’s songs, I find a stoic this-is-how-life-is delivery, with a fiery determination to live it, face it, regardless.

He also writes about his community, real experiences and tales of the times. This song is one example, written after the horrific drought that struck Australia, and the firestorm that consumed it, the likes of which hadn’t been experienced in living memory. He balances the tragedy of the climate with the simple fact that we need the light of the Sun, like we need the air we breath, just like the generations after us will and the ones before.

I would just like to highlight the beautiful writing in this verse;

”
As the sun sets over Hobart,
Martin Bryant cries and cries,
as a sliver of sun falls cross the bunk,
of the cell in which he lies.
He’s thinkin of his mother’s tears,
the blue eggs of magpies,
as the same sun sets on everyone,
and kisses the day goodnight.
As the same sun sets on everyone,
and kisses the day goodnight.
”

I’m someone who, for better or worse, has to listen to a lot of songs, in the heart of the “musical industry” in Nashville. So listening to someone like Brodie and his friends, sharing songs around a campfire, doing it for the love of life, fills my cup to the brim. Trekking out in mud and wet to find him, deep in the bush, was worth every moment. The last words of the video, “I guess that’s all we have time for,” is both a tragedy and a simple fact of it all. Until we meet again Brodie, in this life or next!

We’re releasing some of the Brodie field recordings on Spotify, right now you can listen to his hit single “King Brown” on there;
https://open.spotify.com/album/0g4pN6BLxr2nJfYll9UaoH?si=M71ktcLuRD6qc0kK3DUjxQ

That’s Bobby Dazzla on the fiddle, a wonderful fellow.

Find more of Brodie here;
https://www.instagram.com/boringbuttons/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/265un0cpWpLGGd78qIWVwR?si=TWFXOHs3TySjzSmrBKGhGw

Our undying love and gratitude go to our executive producers for making this project possible: Brad Sirois, Mitchell Davis, Keith McQuillan, David Jameson, Lisa Galvan, Irvin Maddox, Josh Collins, Brady Jones, Julie Nestoroff, VJ Arizpe, Mr. Free, and Rusty Shackleford.

Consider becoming a Patreon contributor to help sustain this project. For the price of a cup of coffee every month, you let us continue finding and filming amazing artists.
https://www.patreon.com/gemsonvhs

GemsOnVHS is a long running series of intimate, off-stage performances by songwriters we love.
We’re on instagram (@gemsonvhs or @anthonysimpkins)
Like us on FB too! (http://www.facebook.com/gemsonvhs)
www.gemsonvhs.com

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Written by GemsOnVHS

Comments

This post currently has 23 comments.

  3. @aftermath66699

    January 12, 2026 at 8:43 am

    If
    I was australian I'd call
    Brodie a national treasure
    But i ain't from there
    So i guess i ll just enjoy him n his collective
    Til we all die
    Thanks brodie for all of it
    Everything
    Sincerely
    the
    Ghost on the shore

  4. @cedarriver

    January 12, 2026 at 8:43 am

    He has something special that makes me just wanna listen what he has to say. Lovely song, like the way he writes!
    Chords and lyrics below!

    Verses D / A7 / G / D A7 / G / D / A7 / G D
    Outro D / A7 / G / D A7 / G / D / A7 / G D

    [Verse 1]
    As the sun rose over mankind
    When the world was fresh and new
    The horned one pan danced through the bush
    To the click of his cloven hooves
    His merry reels ran through the hills
    To make the peasants sing
    As they looked all up to a burning sun
    And thanked her for everything

    [erse 2]
    Well, the sunshine's high up in the sky
    Over Australia's golden plains
    She's rose and set since time began
    She grows hotter every day
    The life she gives turns bittersweet
    As her dosage grows too great
    And the fires rise up and fill the air
    With the bushe's burning haze

    [Verse 3]
    As I go to work
    The garden in my backyard grows and grows
    The sunflowers stand up proud and true
    And the roots curl in their toes
    Their golden faces fixed to east
    To greet the morning dawn
    As my firstborn sun stirs in his sleep
    And wakes up with a yawn

    [Verse 4]
    As the sun sets over Hobart
    Martin Bryant cries and cries
    As a sliver of sun falls cross the bunk
    Of the cell in which he lies
    He's thinkin of his mother's tears
    The blue eggs of magpies
    As the same sun sets on everyone
    And kisses the day goodnight
    As the same sun sets on everyone
    And kisses the day goodnight

    [Outro]

  12. @sethmountain

    January 12, 2026 at 8:43 am

    Another god-level folk song from Brodie, and another unforgettable video. Wow. Thank you, Anthony and GEMS, for using your magic, time, and skills to get Brodie and some of his catalogue out to the world beyond his world. Hope he keeps writing songs like this and that he increasingly gets the recognition and respect and support across the globe that he deserves. What a gem!

  13. @Henry_Blackspurs

    January 12, 2026 at 8:43 am

    Brodie is the type of musician that finishes a tune and leaves you wanting more. shame that the final tune from the Australian set. here's hoping more is coming in years to come.

Comments are closed.

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