HOME
WHEN
ALL IS SAID AND DONE
I
LET THE MUSIC SPEAK
HAPPY
NEW YEAR
FERNANDO
THE
WAY OLD FRIENDS DO
EAGLE
ONE
MAN ONE WOMAN
OUR
LAST SUMMER
RED/FRIDA
**********
ODYSSEY
2005
THE
MUCKY DUCKS
HARRY DRAKE
WEBSITE
OPINION
YOUR
COMMENTS
CONTACTS
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... WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE ...
MERCENARIES
MAYHEM AND MUSIC
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When a person or group creates
a great volume of music, there is a tendency for people
to relate certain songs with events in their lives.
THAT IS NOT THE CASE HERE. The people
reflected in the book 'The Mucky Ducks' never noticed
the similarities with ABBA music of the time and what
was happening around them.
This book, which has gained a strong cult following,
was originally released as fiction as a protection
for the people it portrayed. Now, it has been recognised
by many for the truth that it is. It was impossible
for a book that gave the opportunity for hundreds
of people to recognise themselves and events, to remain
as fiction and that's not really a bad thing; the
Ducks never got any applause for their work but they
did give their lives in helping to make the oceans
safer for mariners and merchant ships.
The strange, very abstract, link between the Ducks
and ABBA is greatly strengthened by the fact that
the woman they called Anna Minet in the book (not
her real name) was a double for Frida Lyngstad, on
its own this would only be a big coincidence, coupled
with the music, it becomes quite spooky. No doubt
this similarity is what has got people looking for
links and making the connections. |
THE BOOK
This book was presented to our
small book club by one of our members, so that we
could give our views. I must confess that I was surprised
at the choice as 80% of our members are women and
this seemed an unlikely choice for something we would
enjoy. By the end of the reading we were well and
truly hooked, this story dragged us into the pages
and it was a great disappointment when there were
no more pages to turn. At first it had been released
as fiction to protect, even with assumed names, the
people within it, but later and with the passing of
time and the fact that all bar two are no longer with
us, it can fly under the banner of truth that it is.
I am not sure how to categorize this book or even
if it should have a label put on it. Yes, it is an
adventure story telling of brutal events but it is
also a huge love story that tends to ignore morality
in favour of emotion. It's a book for men and women
and it does have one further twist to it .... |
THE CLUB
The club was formed to give this
book a home, it certainly deserves that. The thing
that gave the club direction was when one of our members
who is an ABBA fan (but not the fanatical type) pointed
out the parallels between many ABBA songs and events
in the book. We decided to base the format of the
website on these parallels as they are quite staggering,
it was almost as if somebody on high was guiding the
music of one to the actions of others. As with anything
it was a theory that needed to be tested and to do
this we made contact with a lady named Linda in America
as she had read the book and actually knows Harry
Drake. We asked for her comments about the music/events
similarities. As a non ABBA fan she didn't know the
music until we sent the links but this is what she
came back with. Please believe me when I say that
comments were without prompting by anybody at the
club. |
LINDA'S COMMENTS
To be honest I have never listened
to ABBA before this website. I do however love the
Mucky Ducks book and Harry as well. I have spent my
morning listening to the songs and re-reading the
chapters and crying real tears. It brings to life
the love Harry and Red shared as well as the heartbreak
they both felt when she left. I have gone thru every
emotion I think there is to feel this morning. I felt
the love, the fear, the laughter, the heartache, the
sheer determination of a few good men to go outside
the box to do what is needed to help make the world
a safer place. |
 When all is said
and done - Listening to this song
was especially hard for me. It brought Harry and Red
to life in front of me. I could see them walking in
the cold that day. I felt the heartbreak as if it was
my own. 'Don't go' are two words I will never be afraid
to say now because of this.
I let the music speak
- How much fun it must have been to be there dancing
to the zorba song. I couldn't picture the Harry I know
dancing and laughing this way until reading the words.
The song brought it to life in front of me.
Happy New Year
- I can see Red by Harrys bedside willing him to come
back to her. I believe it was thru her strong will and
their even stronger love for each other that brought
him back to us.
Fernando
- This song brought to life the mischief of the boy
men on their quest for diamonds. What a fun story. It
made me laugh.
The way old friends
do - This song fits Harrys sentimental
side so well. On the outside he is so tough but his
inside is where the real man is. This song means more
than just Red. Its the whole crew of Mucky ducks. They
stood together as one and faced it together. I hope
one day I will be considered an old friend too, I know
we have faced a few things together.
Eagle
- I love this song. If the Mucky Ducks became a movie
this would have to be the opening song. They swooped
down, did what they needed to do and then were gone
in an instant. They are larger than life to me. Just
like an Eagle.
One man one woman
- With this song I can see the love story they created.
The joy, the love, the playfulness, the argueing, the
fear felt by both everytime he had to leave and the
sheer determination to live as one in a life so different
from the rest of the world.
Our last summer
- I think that song fits with everyone who knows and
loves Harry. I have only been his friend but in the
short time I have known him he has made a lasting impression
on me. I have always wanted to live an adventure and
thru him I have. I can get lost inside his book and
stories and be there right along beside him. |
Many thanks to Linda for taking the time to
give us her comments, it's appreciated by all at the
club |
A LETTER FROM SWEDEN
10 Mar 2008: This letter was only very recently
received. Harry had briefly told of meeting a fan in
a bar, now we know the rest.
Dear Angela & all at the ‘When
All Is Said And Done’ website.
I have a very broad base of literature
and am a graduate in the classics with honors in poetry.
Music is also one of my pastimes and here too I like
to think I have a very broad taste. I discovered the
book ‘The Mucky Ducks’ while undertaking some post
graduate work in Sydney Australia, it was loaned to
me by a friend , another Swede, who had read and loved
it.
To me the book is a test of faith, I could not read
it without thinking that there must have been something
intangible and unknowable that stretched between Harry
and the Mucky Ducks across the world to Sweden and
the music that was being created by ABBA, a group
I very much admire and often listen to even though
I was about 2 years old when they became big.
It would be easy to dismiss the book as fiction, as
they wanted it to be thought, but I took it a step
further and via the publishers contacted Harry Drake.
We actually met in a small bar in Brisbane in March
2007 and spent almost three hours talking. This was
a great strain on Harry, as you know he is no longer
well and tires easily but that hadn’t slowed him down
or taken that something from the eyes that tells you
that you are in the company of somebody different
and with a ‘life’ behind them.
All the scars are there just as the book describes
and when he talks gently about his ‘Red’ even the
outside world seems to become quiet out of respect
for the wonderful stories being told.
Back here in Stockholm and a year later I still relive
that meeting; it has become central to the way I now
look at the world. It’s a shame he never got to tell
Frida about ‘Red’, I think it would have been good
for both of them.
I like to think that that invisible link still stretches
between Harry and my country, for some reason that
would give me a lot of comfort.
For the record, if I were female, which I am not,
and not gay, I think I would have to include the song
'My Love My Life' even though Agnetha sang it, this
would have been Red's last farewell. My
Love My Life
Bless Harry and The Muck Ducks
Goran
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...
MAMA MIA - ABBA MEET UP AGAIN FOR THE MOVIE - SONG BY MERYL
STREEP - OH HOW THE YEARS HAVE FLOWN ...
Copyright
(c) 2007 The Mucky Ducks Fan Club |
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