"Down Under" | ||||
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Single by Men at Work | ||||
from the album Business as Usual | ||||
B-side | "Crazy" (AUS/NA) "Helpless Automaton" (EU) | |||
Released | 2 November 1981 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:42 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Composer(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) | Colin Hay | |||
Producer(s) | Peter McIan | |||
Men at Work singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
Music videos | ||||
"Down Under" on YouTube |
"Down Under" is a song recorded by Australian rock band Men at Work. It was originally self-released in 1980 as the B-side to their first local single,"Keypunch Operator",before the band signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. [8] Both early songs were written by the group's co-founders,Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. [9] The early version of "Down Under" has a slightly slower tempo and different arrangement from the later Columbia release. [10] The best-known version was then released on Columbia in 1981 as the second single from Men at Work's debut studio album Business as Usual .
The hit song went to number one in their home country Australia in December 1981,and then topped the New Zealand charts in February 1982. The song topped the Canadian charts in October 1982. [11] In the United States,the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on 6 November 1982 at No. 79,and reached No. 1 in January 1983. Topping the US Billboard chart for four non-consecutive weeks,it eventually sold over two million copies in the US alone. Billboard ranked it at No. 4 for 1983. [12] In the UK,the song topped the charts in January and February 1983:the only Men at Work song to make the UK top 20. [13] The song also went to No. 1 in Denmark,Ireland,Italy and Switzerland,and was a top 10 hit in many other countries.
"Down Under" is perceived as a patriotic song in Australia;it remains popular and is often played at sporting events. [14] [15] [16] In January 2018,as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100",the 'most Australian' songs of all time so far,"Down Under" was ranked number 2 behind Cold Chisel's "Khe Sanh". [17]
The lyrics to "Down Under" depict an Australian man travelling the globe (specifically mentioning Brussels and Bombay),meeting people who are interested in his home country. The story is based in part on singer Colin Hay's own travels abroad,including a prominent reference to a Vegemite sandwich (a popular snack in Australia),which derived from an encounter with a tall baker from Brussels who emigrated from Brunswick,Melbourne. [15] Hay has said the lyric was partly inspired by Barry Humphries' character Barry McKenzie,a comically stereotypical Australian who tours abroad. [18]
Slang and drug terms are featured in the lyrics. It opens with the singer "travelling in a fried-out Kombi,on a hippie trail,head full of zombie". In Australian slang,"fried-out" at that time meant that it is in really poor condition and overheating (as in a short circuit rather than drunk/high),"Kombi" is short for "Kombinationskraftwagen" and refers to the Volkswagen Type 2,and "full of zombie" refers to the use of a type of marijuana. [15] "Hippie trail" refers to a subcultural tourist route popular in the 1960s and 1970s which stretched from Western Europe to South-East Asia. The song also contains the refrain "where beer does flow and men chunder". To "chunder" means to vomit. [15]
Speaking to Songfacts about the overall meaning of the lyric,Hay remarked:
The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the overdevelopment of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It's really more than that. [18]
The music video comically plays out the events of the lyric, showing Hay and other band members riding in a Volkswagen Kombi van, eating muesli with a 'strange lady', eating and drinking in a café, and lying in an opium den. The band are moved along at one point by a man in a shirt and tie who places a 'Sold' sign in the ground. Exterior shots were filmed at the Cronulla sand dunes in Sydney. [19] The band are seen carrying a coffin across the dunes at the end. This, Hay has explained, was a warning to his fellow Australians that their country's identity was dying as a result of overdevelopment and Americanisation. Hay has also stated that the same ominous sentiment lies behind the choral line, "Can't you hear that thunder? You'd better run; you'd better take cover". [15]
Billboard called it a "tongue-in-cheek story song that relies on percussion and vocals more than sax." [20]
The song is a perennial favourite on Australian radio and television, and topped the charts in the US and UK simultaneously in early 1983. [21] It was later used as a theme song by the crew of Australia II in their successful bid to win the America's Cup in 1983. [22] Men at Work played this song in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, alongside other Australian artists. [23]
The song is also the walkout music for Australian former UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski. [24]
In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs from 1926 to 2001, as decided by a hundred-strong industry panel. "Down Under" was ranked as the fourth song on the list. [25]
The song was ranked number 96 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s" in October 2006. [26]
"Down Under" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2007. [27]
"Down Under" was one of the goal songs for Australia during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. [28]
"Down Under" was named the greatest song of all time on Triple M's GOAT 600 countdown in 2024. [29]
In 2007, on the ABC-TV quiz show Spicks and Specks, the question was posed, "What children's song is contained in the song 'Down Under'?" The answer, "Kookaburra", a song whose rights were owned by Larrikin Music, resulted in phone calls and emails to Larrikin the next day. [30] Larrikin Music subsequently decided to take legal action against Hay and Strykert, the song's writers.
Sections of the flute part of the recording of the song were found to be based on "Kookaburra", written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair. In fact, producer Peter McIan remembered the inclusion of the melody being a "musical joke" by flautist Greg Ham – he can even be seen sitting on a gum tree in the song's music video while playing the riff. [31] Sinclair died in 1988 [14] and the rights to "Kookaburra" were deemed to have been transferred to publisher Larrikin Music on 21 March 1990. [32] In the United States, the rights are administered by Music Sales Corporation in New York City.
In June 2009, 28 years after the release of the recording, Larrikin Music sued Men at Work for copyright infringement, alleging that part of the flute riff of "Down Under" was copied from "Kookaburra". The counsel for the band's record label and publishing company (Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Songs Australia) claimed that, based on the agreement under which the song was written, the copyright was actually held by the Girl Guides Association. [33] [34] On 30 July, Justice Peter Jacobson of the Federal Court of Australia made a preliminary ruling that Larrikin did own copyright on the song, but the issue of whether or not Hay and Strykert had plagiarised the riff was set aside to be determined at a later date. [35]
On 4 February 2010, Jacobson ruled that Larrikin's copyright had been infringed because "Down Under" reproduced "a substantial part of 'Kookaburra'". [36]
When asked how much Larrikin would be seeking in damages, Larrikin's lawyer Adam Simpson replied: "anything from what we've claimed, which is between 40 and 60 per cent, and what they suggest, which is considerably less." [37] [38] [39] In court, Larrikin's principal Norman Lurie gave the opinion that, had the parties negotiated a licence at the outset as willing parties, the royalties would have been between 25 and 50 per cent. [40] On 6 July 2010, Jacobson handed down a decision that Larrikin receive 5% of royalties from 2002. [40] [41] In October 2011, the band lost its final court bid when the High Court of Australia refused to hear an appeal. [42]
Until this high-profile case, the standing of "Kookaburra" as a traditional song, combined with the lack of visible policing of the song's rights by its composer, had led to the general public perception that the song was within the public domain. [43] [44]
The revelation of the copyright status of "Kookaburra", and more so the pursuit of royalties from it, has generated a negative response among sections of the Australian public. [45] [46] [47] [48] In response to unsourced speculation of a Welsh connection, Rhidian Griffiths pointed out that the Welsh words to the tune were published in 1989, and musicologist Phyllis Kinney stated neither the song's metre nor its lines were typical Welsh. [44]
Colin Hay has since suggested that the deaths of his father, Jim, in 2010, and Men at Work flute player Greg Ham, in 2012, were directly linked to the stress of the court case. [49]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [78] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [79] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [80] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Germany (BVMI) [81] | Gold | 250,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [82] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [83] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [84] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [85] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
An acoustic version of the song was recorded for Colin Hay's eighth studio album Man @ Work , which was released in 2003.
A new version of the song was produced by Colin Hay, coinciding with the thirtieth anniversary of the original's release. [86] Requested by Telstra for use in an Australian advertising campaign during the 2012 Summer Olympics period, the song was available through iTunes on 31 July 2012. [87]
In the new version, Hay intentionally changed the flute part that caused the copyright lawsuit. [88]
"Down Under" | ||||
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Single by Luude featuring Colin Hay | ||||
Released | 19 November 2021 [89] | |||
Genre | Drum and bass | |||
Length | 2:38 | |||
Label | Sweat It Out | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Luude | |||
Luude featuring Colin Hay singles chronology | ||||
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In 2021, Australian producer Luude (real name Christian Benson, from the Tasmanian electronic dance music duo Choomba), [90] [91] remixed "Down Under" as a drum and bass track, with Colin Hay re-recording the vocals for the track's release on the Sweat It Out record label. [92] [93] In January 2022, the drum and bass version of "Down Under" debuted at number 32 on the Official UK Singles Chart Top 40 [94] and at number 48 in Australia. [95] The single climbed into both countries' Top 10 a month later. [95] [94] In New Zealand, the record climbed to number one on the Official Singles Chart, and by 6 February 2022 had spent four weeks at number one. [96] On 22 January 2022, the Luude version of "Down Under" was ranked at number 65 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2021. [97]
At the 2022 ARIA Music Awards, the song was nominated for Song of the Year, Best Dance/Electronic Release and Best Video and Luude was nominated for Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist. [98]
Chart (2021–2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [95] | 10 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [89] | 4 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [99] | 25 |
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100) [100] | 43 |
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [101] | 38 |
Germany (GfK) [102] | 9 |
Global 200 ( Billboard ) [103] | 105 |
Hungary (Single Top 40) [104] | 40 |
Ireland (IRMA) [105] | 13 |
Lithuania (AGATA) [106] | 17 |
Netherlands (Single Tip) [107] | 7 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [96] | 1 |
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) [108] | 49 |
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) [109] | 37 |
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100) [110] | 38 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [111] | 54 |
UK Singles (OCC) [112] | 5 |
UK Dance (OCC) [113] | 3 |
UK Indie (OCC) [114] | 1 |
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs ( Billboard ) [115] | 20 |
Chart (2022) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [116] | 28 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [117] | 17 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [118] | 67 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [119] | 46 |
Lithuania (AGATA) [120] | 93 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [121] | 4 |
UK Singles (OCC) [122] | 23 |
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard) [123] | 86 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [124] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [125] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [126] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Down Under (Under One Sun)" | ||||
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Single by King Stingray | ||||
Released | 19 October 2022 | |||
Length | 3:22 | |||
Label | Cooking Vinyl Australia | |||
King Stingray singles chronology | ||||
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Australian rock band King Stingray released a version on 19 October 2022 [127] and featured on the soundtrack of the Tourism Australia short film, Come and Say G'day. "Down Under" is the band's first release since their self-titled debut studio album, which was released in August 2022. [128]
For their iteration, King Stingray had discussions with Colin Hay and recorded their version in a combination of English and their local Indigenous language, Yolŋu Matha, and comes with the subtitle "Under One Sun". [129]
King Stingray performed the song with Colin Hay at the APRA Music Awards of 2023. [130]
Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", "Overkill", and "It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Colin Hay, who performs on lead vocals and guitar. After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–1979, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums. They were soon joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone and keyboards, and John Rees on bass guitar, with Strykert switching back to lead guitar. The group was managed by Russell Depeller, a friend of Hay, whom he met at La Trobe University. This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid-1980s.
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music has been used frequently by actor and director Zach Braff in his work, which helped a career rebirth in the mid-2000s. Hay is a member of the band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
Business as Usual is the debut studio album by Australian new wave band Men at Work, which was released in November 1981 in Australia, and April 1982 in the United States. It spent nine weeks at the top of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart from December 1981 through to March 1982. The Australian version had a black and white cover design; overseas releases had a similar design, but in a black and yellow colour scheme. Business as Usual was one of the most successful albums internationally by an Australian group. It spent an unprecedented 15 weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 from late 1982 to early 1983; and five weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom Albums Chart in early 1983. Business as Usual was also one of the highest selling Australian albums in the early 1980s, with 6 million copies shipped in the US.
Cargo is the second studio album by the Australian pop rock band Men at Work, which was released in April 1983. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 on the United States Billboard 200, and No. 8 on the United Kingdom Albums Chart. Four singles were released from the album, with "Overkill" being an international top 10 hit in Canada, Ireland, Norway, and US Billboard Hot 100. This was the last Men at Work album to feature the original lineup.
"Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written as the theme song for the 1982 film Rocky III and released that year as a single from Survivor's third album, Eye of the Tiger.
"Big City Life" is a song by English electronic music duo Mattafix. With a chorus sung in Jamaican Patois, "Big City Life" was released in August 2005 as the second single from Mattafix's debut album, Signs of a Struggle (2005). The single topped the charts in Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and Switzerland, and it peaked at number 15 in the duo's native United Kingdom. The song's music video was directed by Scott Franklin.
"Kookaburra" is an Australian nursery rhyme and round about the laughing kookaburra. It was written by Marion Sinclair in 1932.
"Who Can It Be Now?" is a song by Australian band Men at Work. It was released in Australia in 1981, prior to the recording of their 1981 debut album Business as Usual, on which the track was later included.
"Be Good Johnny" is a song recorded by the Australian band Men at Work, released in April 1982 as the third and final single from their debut album, Business as Usual.
Gregory Norman Ham was an Australian musician, best known as a member of the 1980s band Men at Work. He played saxophone, flute, organ, piano, and synthesizer.
"Overkill" is a song by Australian pop rock band Men at Work. It was released in March 1983 as the second single from their second studio album Cargo. Written by lead singer Colin Hay, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; No. 5 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart; and top 10 in Canada, Ireland, and Norway. The song was a departure from the group's style of reggae-influenced pop rock, featuring a melancholic feel musically and lyrically.
"Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" is a song by the Australian musical group Men at Work. The song was written by Men at Work singer/guitarist Colin Hay, and the recording was produced by Peter McIan. It was released in October 1982 in Australia as the lead single from their second album Cargo; in the United States it was the band's third single from that album.
"It's a Mistake" is a song by the Australian band Men at Work. The song was written by lead singer and guitarist Colin Hay and the recording was produced by Peter McIan. It was released in June 1983, as the third single from their album Cargo and peaked at #34 in Australia. In the US, it entered the charts at #42 on July 2, 1983, and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1983 becoming the band's fourth and final top 10 hit. It was performed live on Saturday Night Live on 22 October 1983.
Larrikin Records is a record company founded in 1974 by Warren Fahey. Larrikin started as an independent label and was sold in 1995 to Festival Records.
"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 13, 2002, as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries.
"Dance Monkey" is a song by Australian singer Tones and I, released on 10 May 2019 as the second single from Tones and I's debut EP, The Kids Are Coming. The song was produced and mixed by Konstantin Kersting.
"Anyone" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released through Def Jam Recordings as the third single from his sixth studio album, Justice, on January 1, 2021. Bieber wrote the song with producers Jon Bellion, Andrew Watt, and the Monsters & Strangerz production trio, alongside Michael Pollack and Raul Cubina. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, "Anyone" received a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Choomba is an Australian electronic dance music duo consisting of cousins, record producer Christian Benson and Timothy Benson. The project formed in 2019. They received full rotation on Triple J with their song "La Luh". The pair have played Wildlands Festival, Spilt Milk and The Grass Is Greener. They hosted the electronic music program The Nudge on Triple J from August 2021 until their departure in March 2022.
The discography of Colin Hay, a Scottish-born Australian singer, consists of fifteen studio albums, two video albums and twenty-nine singles. Before his solo career commenced in 1986, Hay was the lead vocalist of the band Men at Work.
Christian Benson, known professionally as Luude, is an Australian electronic dance music producer. He is best known for his 2021 cover of "Down Under".
Men at Work did happy-go-lucky pub-rock singalongs like "Down Under," one of the year's first Number One hits.
second American number one early in 1983 and it became the band's first British hit single; the song reached number one in both countries simultaneously.
claiming Larrikin doesn't actually have copyright to Kookaburra – the Girl Guides do.
Larrikin is entitled to recover damages
to pay Larrikin 5 per cent of royalties from the song dating back to 2002 and on royalties from future earnings
From: Paul Burke ... illustrates the stupidity and tragedy of copyright. ... From: bodgie ... down to two rather stubborn music industry companies ... only ones making money out of this fight are the lawyers. Damn them all. Warren Fahey
For some, Larrikin's suit will be seen as a brazen and opportunistic attempt
number of Australians, including Westwood, found this a bit much.