"Our Don Bradman" is a 1930 song by

Jack O'Hagan John Francis "Jack" O'Hagan OBE (29 November 189815 July 1987) was an Australian singer-songwriter and radio personality. Early life O'Hagan was born as John Francis O'Hagan, in Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne. He was the son of Pat O'Hagan ...

about the legendary Australian cricketer Donald Bradman. It was written just before the 1930 Ashes Test Series between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and Australia, which was held in

that year.

Content

The song celebrates Donald Bradman as someone who "has won Australia's very highest praise". It lists his achievements and talents, and declares him the person whom "all Australia raves about", more than "

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records du ...

or little Mickey Mouse".

"Our Don Bradman"
Banyule Primary School The song also mentions other contemporary Australian cricketers, namely

Bill Woodfull William Maldon Woodfull (22 August 1897 – 11 August 1965) was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline ...

Clarrie Grimmett Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper. Early l ...

Bill Ponsford William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill ...

Alan Kippax Alan Falconer Kippax (25 May 1897 – 5 September 1972) was a cricketer for New South Wales (NSW) and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late sta ...

"and the rest", but even though the singer acknowledges that they have "gallantly and nobly done their share" Bradman still "tops them all". The lines "How that Mister Lion, poor fish / must just sit and wish and wish / that our Don had never come across the foam" refer to the lion, one of the symbols of English cricket. The lyrics also mention the British cricketers

Maurice Tate Maurice William Tate (30 May 1895 – 18 May 1956) was an English cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period. He was also the first Sussex cricketer to take a wicket with ...

and

Harold Larwood Harold Larwood, MBE (14 November 1904 – 22 July 1995) was a professional cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team between 1924 and 1938. A right-arm fast bowler who combined unusual speed with grea ...

Public reception

The song was recorded with a vocal by Art Leonard and released in July 1930 by Regal. Some of O'Hagan's verses were omitted. On the B-side was another cricket song, "Our Eleven", written by Jack Lumsdaine. The sheet music was released at the same time, just as Bradman scored a triple-century in a

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

in England, and sold 40,000 copies in a few days. A piano roll was also released that month, recorded by Laurel Pardey. The song quickly became popular and within a few weeks was being performed at community concerts around Australia. When Bradman returned to his home town of

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

in November 1930 after the triumphant tour of England, the band at the civic reception played "Our Don Bradman". The song was voted number one by teenage listeners of radio station 2UW in Sydney in 1967 after it was played as a joke for a listener who had sent it in.

Sources

{{Reflist 1930 songs Songs about Don Bradman Songs about Australia Cricket music Cultural depictions of Don Bradman Songs written by Jack O'Hagan