"Black Fella/White Fella +The Deadheart" Warumpi Band + Midnight Oil

   This song was written by Neil Murray for the 'Warumps' and in this clip it shows how the song was used as the 'changeover' between they and the Oils on their 1987 tour through the top end... the tour which was only a few weeks long but as Rob Hirst said "once this place grips you it won't let go" and so it shaped the band and it's music for over twenty years of reflection, advocacy and art. Happy 'Australia Day' Weekend.
   Yes people get worked up about indigenous references to 'Survival Day,' or Anglo advocacy for the idea, but objections to this demonstrate a lack of empathy and/or a need to be right, ahead of a need to build relationships. I'm grateful for every great thing that it means to live in this country and to be Australian, yet the scar on this nations soul can be healed through reconciliation and a genuine and sustained effort to build on the gentle and creative spirit of the complex and rich cultures that make up our entire history. May it be so...
   'Recognition' in Australia's Constitution would continue a worthwhile path that should lead to restoration and compensation. It's the kind of regard and working relationship reflected in the artistic side of the Sydney Olympics but with a more far reaching impact and more at stake...
   I'd rather effect on this than whether our national flag should be available at the $2 shop on satin boxers, budgie smugglers, a singlet, bikini, hat and thongs...