Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #35 "Don't Wanna Be the One"

Such a brilliant rock song about Australian life...
Still just as funny to think about the fight breaking out at Newcastle Workers that stopped just before each Security foray into the crowd... where eventually Peter was singing the chorus and pointing at the instigator "I don't wanna be... the one" so he could be collared and removed!!

This far into a list of songs it reminds me I'm not one to have a wish list for upcoming concerts, the "I like their old stuff better than their new stuff" by another name... I'm probably lucky that my absolute favourites will get played between two gigs and I'll be more excited just to be in a space I never expected to experience again... songs about stuff that matters, on the right side of history, creative, poetic, timeless and reminiscent of younger days... I get it, but I'll just be ecstatic it's happening at all. Right back to when Peter left the band [an ending I felt was imminent] when friends asked I said, "no, they're not the farewell tour band" but if some natural disaster of an East Timor Appeal happened, then maybe... even for the Canberra warm ups ahead of the Bushfire Concert it was literally Peter asking out of Parliament House, changing out of the suit and getting into it... on the strength of a jam at his Canberra digs...

Of course I'll have 5 or 6 songs I wanna hear... but I won't be thinking about it in the moment...
I may even finish this list with my dream setlist, but for me, academic only!!! I do think a few new songs will emerge and some gigs will happen next year, maybe in the second half... but hey, enjoy!!!
In terms of standing there listening to a brilliant blistering 2hr set but instead being focused on what's not being played... "I don't wanna be the one..."

"Don't Wanna Be the One"
I'm an innocent victim, I'm just like you
We end up in home units with a brick wall view
I can't believe the perfect families on my colour TV
If I don't make it to the top it'll never bother me
And I don't want to be the one
I don't want to be the one
I'm an innocent bystander caught in the path
Waiting out the back while the corporate attack
Assaults the senses with relentless scenes of passion and delight
I cut up all the options and went running for my life

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #34 "King of the Mountain"

Hat tip to Powderworker Richard for the pics from one who was there...

The ideal pairing with Blue Sky Mine and another of my fav. tracks live...
The lyrics speak of Far North Queensland and although 'King of the Mountain' is a Festival involving horse riding it does get a run in connection with motor racing legend Peter Brock and it kinda works,. Jim Moginie used it himself in soundtracking the TV two nighter last year dramatising Brock's life and story...

All that aside it's one of those songs if you stop and really listen at a gig you'll hear almost the entire crowd singing along to every word [with some unusual versions where the lyrics haven't necessarily been clear]. There's only one clip to use, the EXXon protest clip the Oils made juxtaposed with their own filming alongside...

"King of the Mountain"
Walking through the high dry grass, pushing my way through slow
Yellow belly black snake, sleeping on a red rock
Waiting for the stranger to go
Sugar train stops at the crossing, cane cockies cursing below
Bad storm coming, better run to the top of the mountain

Mountain in the shadow of light, rain in the valley below
Well you can say you're Peter, say you're Paul
Don't put me up on your bedroom wall, call me the king of the mountain
Blacksmith fires up the bellows, cane cutters burning the load
Workers of the world, run to the top of the mountain

Mountain in the

I can't take my hands from my face, there are some things we can't replace

Mountain in the

Over liquid tarmac wastelands of cactus and heat
Down cobblestone alleyways of washing day sheets
Up ghost prairie mountains of sunset and space
Down the road at a familiar place, across the wilderness
Out further than the bush I will follow you

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #33 "Blue Sky Mine"

Classic Oils own clip!!!
   I remember wondering how the Oils could follow up Diesel & Dust, such a unique record, let alone world wide smash hit!! Then came this album and to me it was a different sound, more lush and commercial [but in a good catchy way] and some brilliant tunes. Many long time Oils fans don't rate this record and prefer early albums and EPs... I love this album and this song, even after the D-Gen parody "Who's Gonna Shave Me."
   The Oils decision to not relentlessly tour the world with this album but instead to take a year off and stay at home [families, tiredness etc] is well documented. Would they have been as big as U2 if they had... don't know, but ti was typical them to focus on the music and let the image and fame look after itself!! The other great story is detailed in the 20,000 Watt sleeve with Tim Winton talking Oils fandom and the WA pub eavesdrop from local miners, no Oils fans normally, reckoning at least those '^&%kickers' got that right...

"Blue Sky Mine"
Hey, hey-hey hey
There'll be food on the table tonight
Hey, hey, hey hey
There'll be pay in your pocket tonight
My gut is wrenched out it is crunched up and broken
A life that is led is no more than a token
Who'll strike the flint upon the stone and tell me why
If I yell out at night there's a reply of bruised silence
The screen is no comfort I can't speak my sentence
They blew the lights at heaven's gate and I don't know why
But if I work all day at the blue sky mine
(There'll be food on the table tonight)
Still I walk up and down on the blue sky mine
(There'll be pay in your pocket tonight)
The candy store paupers lie to the share holders
They're crossing their fingers they pay the truth makers
The balance sheet is breaking up the sky
So I'm caught at the junction still waiting for medicine
The sweat of my brow keeps on feeding the engine
Hope the crumbs in my pocket can keep me for another night
And if the blue sky mining company won't come to my rescue
If the sugar refining company won't save me
Who's gonna save me?
But if I work all day...
And some have sailed from a distant shore
And the company takes what the company wants
And nothing's as precious, as a hole in the ground
Who's gonna save me?
I pray that sense and reason brings us in
Who's gonna save me?
We've got nothing to fear
In the end the rain comes down
Washes clean, the streets of a blue sky town

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #32 "Dreamworld"

I couldn't help but choose this Marrickville Bowlo mobile phone cam version... such typical energy, even after all this time!!! This is no nostalgia tour...

#32 and now really counting... a couple of bigger venues coming up to show our UK/Europe and US 'powdies' just how crazy it's gonna get!!!

   When my youngest daughter was still being driven around in the car in a booster seat 7-10 years ago this was her song of request on the iPod plugged into the car stereo... "... the breakfast creek hotel is up for sale..." would be sung from the back of the car as we drove around trying to get her to have a nap. Here it rounds out a segment of the setlist of D&D classics... I share it today on #stopadani day in the wake of the Oils Reef Benefit gig last night with a small crowd in Cairns ahead of their bigger venue concert...
   It's a song about the 'cost' of development and the need to get out and experience and enjoy the wide open expanses of Australia's bush, space to breathe and connect with the creation and the 'dreaming' or ongoing natural story of the land as opposed to over developed urban wastelands...
   IT's just a great singalong song of warning, lament and protest!!
"Your dreamworld is just about to fall..."

"Dreamworld"
The Breakfast Creek hotel is up for sale,
The last square mile of terra firma gavelled in the mail,
So farewell to the Norfolk Island pines,
No amount of make believe can help this heart of mine.
End, your dreamworld is just about to end.
Fall, your dreamworld is just about to fall,
Your dreamworld will fall.
So shut that buckle and turn that key again,
Take me to a place they say the dreaming never ends,
Open wide drive that mystery road,
Walk through eden´s garden and then wonder as you go.
Sign says honeymoon to rent
Cloud-land into dreamland turns,
The sun comes up and we all learn
Those wheels must turn.

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #31 "Bullroarer"

   I love this clip because I was there and because it's so reminiscent of the same song at Newcastle Workers many times. The recording generates the unique sound of the piece of wood swung around in a circle as used in indigenous culture for a variety of purposes... I assume by now the Oils have sorted out another potential source of offence to the central Australian indigenous community it's from. I particularly remember learning about them in primary school so I'm not sure how 'secret' or tied to ceremony they are... This song is a great compliment to the others from Diesel & Dust that hang together as a brilliant trip to the red centre and it's communities...

"Bullroarer"
In the desert in the dry
Before the breaking of the rain
The temperature in the shade
Had reached a hundred and ten again
In the desert in the dry
On the overland telegraph line
Don't take the law into your own hands
Don't go looking for a fight
I've heard the bullroarers
In the desert in the dry
Sun sits so high
Long day's mile and the
Radio crackles and the bones bleached white
It's a knock-em-down storm
See the tin roof shake
Wild dog howls and the long grass
Whistles and the tall trees break
I've seen the wild horses
I've heard the bullroarers
I've seen the wild horses
Shifting sands and broken plans
Lead me on to my homeland

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #30 "Truganini"

  

From 1993's "Earth and Sun and Moon" this song quickly became a set list standard! 

   It galvanises the crowd but also show the common links between 10,9,8... Diesel & Dust and the later Oils inspired passions. For me it's a song reflecting on the identity of our unique country and it empathises with all who struggle. In my circles it's the song that inspires me to speak about the scar on the soul of this country, our failure to embrace indigenous culture, story and people fully, that prevents us from being fully who we can be...

   Truganini was a Tasmanian aboriginal woman and like Albert Namatjira their stories may be known, but their culture, community and lives were impacted by European settlement in Australia. Peter Garrett apologised to the small remaining indigenous community in Tassie that the single liner note names the widely held view that she was the last surviving indigenous person following the genocide in that place...

   In a sense this song asks "what for?" This harsh land of drought, struggle, the 'treadmill' and all of life's challenges is seen as still being focused on our white UK heritage while failing to fully embrace rich indigenous cultures and life or in forging a prosperous future for all... who are we?

   It's timing fits the failed 1991 Referendum on Australia becoming a Republic with an Australian Head of State thanks to the lack of bipartisan support for any one model of choosing the Governor General. Rugby fans will know of the banter between the Queen and John Eales as she presents him with the 1991 Rugby World Cup... her congratulations were met with the response that apparently she had a win recently as well... 

   I've always been amazed at the lack of controversy as the audience joins in the shouts for flag burning and the more nuanced hope that Truganini and Namatjira's lives might be appropriately mourned and celebrated and the whole story told... maybe some are hearing the solidarity in the struggle no matter the circumstances. The shoulder to the grindstone image is solidly picked up in the Oils own clip for the song!! They are likely to play it at Hope Estate and also at the Domain in Sydney in the shadows of the Governor's residence and Macquarie St...

   

"Truganini"

There's a road train going nowhere
Roads are cut, lines are down
We'll be staying at the Roma Bar
Till that monsoon passes on

The backbone of this country's broken
The land is cracked and the land is sore
Farmers are hanging on by their fingertips
We cursed and stumbled across that shore

I hear much support for the monarchy
I hear the Union Jack's to remain
I see Namatjira in custody
I see Truganini's in chains

And the world it won't stand still...

Blue collar work it don't get you nowhere
You just go round and round in debt
Somebody's got you on that treadmill, mate
And I hope you're not beaten yet

I hear much support for the monarchy
I see the Union Jack in flames, let it burn
I see Namatjira with dignity
I see Truganini's in chains

Gruen on Bank ATM Fees

   Loved episode 4 of this series of Gruen on ABC TV in Oz!! The show is always an insightful exploration of advertising and consumerism more broadly with a focus on Shopkins [an aussie success story] but of more interest to me was the Sunday announcement of Comm Bank removing fees for use of ATMs by non customers! The other big three followed suit...
   Crafting this as a exercise in listening and a great thing for customers seems to ignore 20 years of annoyance and feedback from said non customers. The truth would be somewhere between avoiding a royal commission and the shift in behaviour to supermarket cash out and pay wave... providing profits for EFTPOS and rendering bank ATMs less useful. This move will make them more useful and place less pressure on banks to have their own 'brand' present in the lineup!! In my own little local shopping centre it's been 70m from 2-3 ATMs and simply seeking cash out at IGA... both are now options with the newsagent half way between. It'll also be good for health as the cake shop is closer to IGA!! I assume though that fees will rise for places like pubs or small shops to host machines... Note: image is not my local shops, but it typical of larger centres...

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #29 "Warakurna"

Check this song version from the anti-logging protests in Canada in 1993!!

We are in that part of the set where 'Diesel and Dust' features and sets the tone. If I close my eyes I can still see myself sitting in the share house on the lounge listening to this CD for the very first time. I was scanning the lyrics, amazed at it's clarity and themes as this campfire songbook unfolded and invited me on the journey through the outback and into the story and struggle of our indigenous brothers and sisters!! Later reading Andrew McMillan's "Strict Rules" the story of this album would be clear. There are lines in these songs that conjure immediate images, like...

"In Redfern as there is in Alice..."

"Some folks live in water tanks

Some folks live in red brick flats..."

I remember thinking how gutsy it was to name these issues around European impact on indigenous culture but also the need that one way or another change is needed and however flawed, it's images and advocacy like this that led to focus on the "Close the Gap" types of programs...

It begins with the ethos or value that "There is enough for everyone..." a clear message to dominant culture that our attitude, laws and responses need to be challenged and changed!!

Many a concert as the music goes acoustic all you can hear is a room full of very bloke voices singing out every line... "Diesel and dust is what we breathe..." it always makes me feel very Australian and brings back vivid images of the red dust of WA...

"Warakurna"
There is enough for everyone
In Redfern as there is in Alice
This is not the Buckingham Palace
This the crown land
This is the brown land
This is not our land
Some folks live in water tanks
Some folks live in red brick flats
There is enough, the law is carved in granite
It's been shaped by wind and rain
White law could be wrong
Black law could be strong
Warakurna, cars will roll
Don't drink by the water hole
Court fines on the shopfront wall
Beat the grog and save your soul
Some people laugh, some never learn
This land must change or land must burn
Some people sleep, some people yearn
This land must change or land must burn
Diesel and dust is what we breathe
This land don't change and we don't leave
Some people live, some never die
This land…

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #28 "The Deadheart"

It's not a contest for which song today as Midnight Oil follow their Kintore school gig with a continuation of the 'Great Circle' in Alice Springs and by all grainy mobile phone videos, reports and setlist grabbers versions, it rocked!! Why not, songs with spirit inspired by the red dust, in that dust!!

It looked like a concert for the fans and the 'powderworkers' were out in force!! I knew a few in the crowd... some in the front row and a few at the back... no doubt. It looked like a lot of fun!!  That includes appropriate respect for traditional owners and support of local and other musicians and singers as this tour is doing...

I've written plenty about this song in the past and the chant that begins as punters recognise the jamming that leads into it and invites a whole of crowd participation... how great to be able to sing about "The Deadheart" in The Deadheart!! I am not certain non members will be able to see this one clip I picked out for fandom, a glimpse and because I potentially know at least two of those backs of heads in the front!! Maybe you'll see it here
With thanks to Alexander Kesselaar for sharing the highlight!!!

The song was a crowd favourite from the very first play but has only become more and more that moment in a gig when everyone is engaged, whether wondering how everyone knew to start that chant or joining in on it!!!

For the semi interested playing along and wondering what I'm doing with these posts, it's all controversial and provocative because not all Aussies would agree with it's premise, sentiment or what this song calls for... I wholeheartedly stand by and support what it's saying despite finding it challenging as I am complicit in the problem to the extent I need to do more to support and advocate for it's key message... that indigenous lives, story, culture, language and future all matter and need to be not just protected but redressed, redeemed, recognised and compensated as well as celebrating dot art we need real reconciliation and an ongoing relationship that restores indigenous sovereignty in whatever ways we can today!!

This clip for Bushfire Benefit!!

"The Deadheart"
do do do do do do do do...
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
Know your custom don't speak your tongue
White man came took everyone

We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
White man listen to the songs we sing
White man came took everything

We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken...
do do do do do do do do...

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #27 "Beds are Burning"

Back from holiday and working out of my planned order...
From the Sydney Olympics Closing Ceremony "Sorry Suits" [October 1st 2000] to gigs all over the place this song is a special part of the Oils story. Inspired by their relationship with Australia's indigenous people and central Australia I'm so proud such a band and a song exists... It costs us very little to offer Acknowledgment  of Indigenous connections with the land wherever we gather for events/community but it speaks volumes for those who go further and build genuine relationships with those who hold custodianship of the land where they are...

"Last night Midnight Oil played a special gig at the Walungurru School in Kintore with local group, The Running Water Band. The small desert town is located about 10 hours drive west of Alice Springs. While the show had not been announced formally, word had spread through surrounding remote communities via the bush telegraph since local elders had invited the Oils to return. 
This part of Australia has held a special place in the hearts of the band since they first played here with Warumpi Band back in 1986 on the tour which inspired "Diesel & Dust" and lead to Kintore being namechecked in the lyrics of "Beds Are Burning". The highlight of last night's gig was an impromptu mid-song performance of "Wipeout" in which kids from the local school were invited onstage to help with the drum solos. The Australian leg of "The Great Circle 2017" formally commences tonight in Alice Springs." 
Midnight Oil

"Beds are Burning"
Out where the river broke
The bloodwood and the desert oak
Holden wrecks and boiling diesels
Steam in forty five degrees
The time has come
To say fair's fair
To pay the rent
To pay our share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It belongs to them
Let's give it back
How can we dance
When our earth is turning
How do we sleep
While our beds are burning
How can we dance
When our earth is turning
How do we sleep
While our beds are burning
The time has come
To say fair's fair
To pay the rent
Now to pay our share
Four wheels scare the cockatoos
From Kintore East to Yuendemu
The western desert lives and breathes
In forty five degrees
The time has come
To say fair's fair
To pay the rent
To pay our share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It belongs to them
Let's give it back
How can…

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #26 "Luritja Way"

Back from holidays and trying to stay awake for a bit longer!!
The album that grows on you, inspired by the novel "Capricornia" by Xavier Herbert, contains this track that was a staple live track in those solid final Oils years first time around...

Described as a project with some songs the Oils had worked on for years, it felt to me like a final chance to finish them and get them out there... I really liked it but felt the end was close!!!

Anyhow, who ever truly thought they'd be back... not a band fit for the baby boomer 'Day on the Green' nostalgia tours, the Oils would always need something like an ambitious world tour or another huge national disaster or indigenous cause to fire them up!!! The Great Circle perhaps...

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #25 'Koala Sprint'

Audio link from Tanelhorn here
I had the chance to attend but chose not to and always mostly regretted it. Struggling at Uni, hated camping, lonely and yet could have discovered the Oils much earlier!!!

Lyrics posted later

See you Monday Aussie time with post relevant to Alice Springs!!!

Pumphouse: Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #24 "Progress"

Pumphouse: Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #24 "Progress": In honor of last day in NYC here is the Exxon clip... Sorry I can't see embed code on phone viewing but watch it here I remember my...

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #24 "Progress"

In honor of last day in NYC here is the Exxon clip...

Sorry I can't see embed code on phone viewing but watch it here

I remember my first ever listen to this frantic EP and excitement about a band whose songs were about justice, warnings and stuff that really mattered!!

I'd studied 'manhattanisation' in youth culture and used this song to talk about bigger values!!!

Might be on a break out of wifi for a week... will catch up!!

"Progress"

Say yes to a real life ambition,

say yes to our hopes and our plans
Forget about your indecision, 

let's get the beast off our land
A tree that can grow no longer, 

a beach that has got no sand
I would pay out a king's ransom, 

if we could just understand
Got your last meal, filled up with pesticide
Hamburger chain third world infanticide
Got robot car your jobs will disappear
It's the politics of a brand new year
Manhattanization is coming, 

open your eyes if you dare
Carry us on to the crossroads, 

come to your senses and care
16 million, I can't hear you at all*.  *23 million

Some say that's progress
I say that's cruel

You may be safe in your hemisphere
But there's so much junk in the stratosphere
We got our eyes on the firmament, 

hands on the armaments
Heads full of arguments, 

and words for our monuments
I won't deny it, can we survive?

Some say that's progress
I say that's cruel.....

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #23 "Sometimes"

"Sometimes"
I know that the sunset empire shudders and shakes
I know there's a floodgate and a raging river
I say the silence of the ribbons of iron and steel
I say hear the punch drunk huddle drive hammer and steel
Sometimes you're beaten to the call
Sometimes you're taken to the wall
But you don't give in
I know that the cannibals wear smart suits and ties
I know they arm wrestle on the altar
I say don't leave your heart in a hard place
Sometimes you're shaken to the core
Sometimes the face is gonna fall
But you don't give in

One of my absolute favourite Oils tracks EVER...
A bit soft I guess, but it often makes me cry at a concert in he way it captures the emotion of struggle and I can almost visualise the faces of those I know 'doing it tough'...
I too have had moments where this song has encouraged "But you don't give in"

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #22 "No Time for Games"

This Capitol Theatre clip is another showing the power of the Oils and the energy they draw from a  crowd. "NO Time for Games" seemed to 'strike a chord' with throngs of young people and young adults in many a darkened venue I've been to over the years. It echoes the Oils early sound, it rocks but it also demonstrates the Oils musicianship. Finally, it's the kind of song that highlights  the uniqueness Pete brings to the band!!

"No Time for Games"
The raising of children, the rearing of young
Used to be simple but look what it's become
The choice of career, the proper vocation
Out of your hands, all for the needs of the nation
No inhibitions with the modern child
Wasted lessons or pleasure or pain
Easy to follow your natural instinct
Easy to follow, much too hard to learn
Useless expressions and sporting aggression
Don't waste my time, I can't wait for the end of the session
What…

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #21 "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers"

"Jimmy Sharman's Boxers"
From the red dust north of Dalmore Downs
Sharman's tents roll into town
Twelve will face the auctioneer
Sharman's Boxers stand their ground
Their days are darker than your nights
But they won't be the first to fall
Children broken from their dreams
But they won't be the first to fall
Fighting in the spotlight
Eye's turn blacker than their skin
For Jimmy Sharman's boxers
It's no better if you win
Standing in the darkness
Lined up waiting for the bell
The days are wasted drinking
At the first and last hotel
Why are we fighting for this?
Why are you paying for this?
You pay to see me fall like shrapnel
To the floor
What is the reason for this?
There is a reason for this?
What is the reason they keep coming back for more?
The blows now bring him to his knees
But still the crowd calls out for more
The drums are burning in his ears
The man keeps counting out the score

Why are we fighting for this? Why are you paying for this?
Great questions about entertainment v exploitation, talent v stereotyping

It's a haunting reflection on the costs to the participants of this kind of 'entertainment troupe'
Powderworkers will be familiar with the brilliant t-shirt doing the rounds!!

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #20 "One Country"

Brilliant band clip for an inspired and reflective song that would be a great candidate for national anthem!! Before data projectors it was a feature clip at my wedding, courtesy of a huge TV perched precariously atop the piano!! Ken Duncan's photos aren't bad either!!

It's a rallying call designed to inspire action for the 'common good'

“One Country” Midnight Oil
Who'd like to change the world
Who wants to shoot the curl
Who gets to work for bread
Who wants to get ahead

Who hands out equal rights
who starts and ends that fight
And not rant and rave
Or end up a slave

Who can make hard won gains
Fall like the summer rain
Now every man must be
What his life can be
So don't call me the tune, I will walk away

Who wants to please everyone
Who says it all can be done
Still sit up on that fence
No-one I've heard of yet

Don't call me baby
Don't talk in maybes
Don't talk like has-beens
Sing it like it should be

Who laughs at their nagging doubts
Lying on a neon shroud, running around
Just got to touch someone
I want to be

So don't call me the tune, I will walk away

One country one
Country one country

Who wants to sit around
Turn it up, turn it down
Only a man can be
What his life can be

One vision
One people
One landmass
We are defenceless
We have a lifeline

One ocean
One policy
Seabed lies
One passion
One movement
One instant
One difference
One lifetime
One understanding

One country
One understanding

Transgression
Redemption
One island
One placemat
One firmament
One element
One moment
One fusion
Yes, and one time

Midnight Oil 'Some a Day' #19 "In the Valley"

"In the Valley"
My grandfather went down with the MonteVideo
The rising sun sent him floating to his rest
And his wife fled south to Sydney seeking out safe harbor
A North Shore matron she became with some paying guests
My father went down with the curse of big cities
Traffic tolls and deadlines took him to his peace
Now Bob Dyer glued us to our seats
And lawns were always Victa neat
Whilst Menzies fawned at royal fleet do you remember?
In the valley I walk, I took some comfort there
In the valley I walk, cold comfort I can hear you talk
In the valley I walk, who will take me there?
When my mother went down it was a stiff arm from Hades
Life surprises and tears you like the southerly
She always welcomed the spring always welcomed the stranger
I don't…

What Pete describes as 'this song about my family' shot in a community they enjoy visiting and felt like staying with. A raw song where after exposing the tough stories of losing his mother and father, Pete tossed in not only the idea of hope, but mentions a few

I hope virtue brings it's own reward
And I hope the pen is mightier than any sword
I hope the kids all take it slow
And I hope my country claims it's own

Outstanding...

Not sure if I'll keep up the pace on holidays for two weeks but we'll see

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #18 "Earth and Sun and Moon"

"Earth and Sun and Moon"
In the morning we will wake up and take to the air
Look back at the planet - I'm glued to my chair
Southern half is burning as we climb through the cky
Sea birds softly falling, smoke way up high
There's the contours of the mountains, the deserts and plains
And a hurricane is blowing, and it turns once again
Now there's oil spills in the water where Columbus once sailed
And there's history and mystery and it's rolling away
I wish you could see this great mystery
Earth and sun and moon, human tribe, thin blue line
Earth and sun and moon will survive
Sediment is flowing from river to sea
Now where are the mighty nations, no lines to be seen
An axe…

It took me a few days of listening to really hook into this album but I loved it...
A sprawling sound exploring the environment, vision and love
A couple of the songs hang together for a concert segment and bring in synth and variety without it being over produced!!

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #17 "When the Generals Talk"

I know many will want to choose the Oils on the Water version, but I wasn't there and this one gives me the chance to shout out to friends who came to Canberra for this miracle show, brought about by tragedy and carried out with the surreal presence of several Labor 'pollies', like Julia Gillard, who came to experience this great joy with the rest of us!! Hat tip to Lubo front and centre complete with outsretched arm and head wobble [I hope enjoys Alice Springs in 2 fish weeks!!! We preferred to eat food before we queued up... sadly!!

I was comfortable back about ten deep from the stage and just loved listening to the musicianship and passion that night. I think Pete really missed busting out to these tunes!!

I guess for me this is 1984... the doomsday clock is close to midnight so the genuine threat of nuclear war was palpable through the ongoing 'Cold War.' This is also the era that gives rise to Gordon Gekko and films like "Wall St" so the Generals were global companies, not just despots... on that score countries like Chile would 'get' this song!!

"When the Generals Talk"
Up there on the platform
He is speaking to the people
The people are responding
With clapping and a'cheering
But the meaning of the message
Not revealed to those assembled
They're taken for a ride
Taken In his stride
When the Generals talk
You better listen to him
When the Generals talk
You better do what he say
There's a rumor in the ranking
Someone's talking insurrection
So the General has a purge
Cause he wants to win elections
With the certain satisfaction
That the people are appeased
Long live the revolution
The General's very pleased
Sitting on the fence both ears to the ground
The fat cats still push the thin cats around

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #16 "Short Memory"

27min 28 from this "Real Thing" gig with about 300-400 people at Newtown Theatre!!
It was a great night... thanks to family grabbing tix we saw what would end up being the most amazing of my four 'Real Thing' concerts... history, justice, politics, human rights and protest all wrapped in this determined song... something to get behind and not let happen again!!
Wonder if the punter who interrupted Peter at this gig and took the stage between bands as if he was a roadie is out there somewhere today? And no, I'm not talking about me...

"Short Memory"
Conquistador of Mexico, the Zulu and the Navaho
The Belgians in the Congo short memory
Plantation in Virginia, the Raj in British India
The deadline in South Africa short memory
The story of El Salvador, the silence of Hiroshima
Destruction of Cambodia short memory
Short memory, must have a, short memory
The sight of hotels by the Nile, the designated Hilton style
With running water specially bought short memory
A smallish man Afghanistan, a watch dog in a nervous land
They're only there to lend a hand short memory
Wake up in sweat at dead of night
And in the tents new rifles hey short memory
If you read the history books you'll see the same things happen again and again
Repeat repeat short memory they've all got it
When are we going to play it again
Got a short, got a short, got a short, got a short
They've got a short must have a short they've got a short aah
Short memory, they've got a.....

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #15 "Outside World"

One of many surprises from Selina's at Coogee and on through including London!!

"Outside World"
There's a wind on the eastern side
Ghost gums dance in the moonlit night
Mopoke mourns the racketeers
The bosses they can sense your mood
All in place to a hand that rules
They all want to deal you out
I can see the outside world
Everything's inviting in the outside world
Leaving all my problems in the outside world
It's the summer of another year
A little world weary a little more to fear
Hold those cards tight to your chest
Maybe someday you could be a man
Living quietly in a caravan
Not the Lismore road tonight

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #14 "Wedding Cake Island"

Take a break with this instrumental from the Oils, well...
“there's lines of swell down at Byron Pass mate”

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #13 "Tin Legs and Tin Mines"

"Tin Legs and Tin Mines"
I'm gonna wait for the moment to come
I'm gonna wait till we all stop from running
Boxed in like candles, polar bear pride
Turning to terror as the script is read out
Unwilling actors, accomplished protractors will shout
I'm gonna wait till we reach the sky
Tin legs and tin mines, anyone cries
Cry in the hope that there'll be tomorrow
Waiting around there must be a time
Time to start thinking and working it out
Come with me now, come with me now, we'll be laughing
Who's running the world today?
I'm gonna…

Brilliant change of pace song live in a frantic gig... Jim's piano track, Garrett talk/singing and the haunting sound of this ballad calling for hope...

"Who's running your world today?"
A timeless relevant track and question...

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #12 "Best of Both Worlds"

"Best if Both Worlds"
You say times are tough
We've got the best of both worlds here
Things are rough
We've got the best of both worlds here
Times are tough
We've got the best of both worlds

The real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here
The old world is not as safe with the new world closing in
The great south land can be as great as the one it could have been
The one it could have been

The real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here
The small world is not as strong and the testing ground is near
The old world is not as strong as the one we could have seen
The great south land can be as great as the one it could have been
The one it could have been
We've got the best of both worlds...

Ringtone, email tagline quote, absolutely one of my fav. all time Oils tracks...
"the real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here"

It's got that hopeful sense of calling for us to be better, to notice, to care and to recognise some are doing it tough...

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #11 "Read About It"

"Read About It"
The rich get richer
The poor get the picture
The bombs never hit you when you're down so low

Some got pollution
Some revolution
There must be some solution but I just don't know

The bosses want decisions
The workers need ambitions
There won't be no collisions whey they move so slow

Nothing ever happens
Nothing ever matters
No one ever tells me so what am I to know

You wouldn't read about it
Read about it
Just another incredible scene
There's no doubt about it

The hammer and sickle
The news is at a trickle
The commisars are fickle but the stockpile grows

Bombers keeping coming
Engines softly humming
The stars and stripes are running for their own big show

Another little flare up
Storm brewed in a tea cup
Imagine any mix up and the lot would go

Nothing ever happens
Nothing ever matters
No one ever tells me so what I am to know

You wouldn't read about it
Read about it
One unjust, ridiculous steal
Ain't no doubt about it
You wouldn't read about it
Read about it
Just another particular deal
There's no doubt about it

"The rich get richer, the poor get the picture" is a timeless hook to the theme of this song. It's a protest song and the likes of Rupert Murdoch are in mind. It wasn't #fakenews back then, it was and is editorial policy and a reflection of the dominant values that widen the poverty gap!! I love the many different ways the 'in the know' crowd wait for the bars of rest on the song, even Robbie Buck was caught out back announcing on JJJ one day before the song had finished!! This song never sounded better than from the front 4 rows deep in the throng at the old Newcastle Workers Club!!

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #10 "Power and the Passion"

So this from the last time I saw the Oils live, in Canberra... there are so many great versions of this including the original clip by the band. It's because it's a song you remember every time you hear it... so Sydney, so Oils, so much energy and always part of a ramp it up section of their setlist... the long version on the "On Country" CD single is outstanding also and it's great to see Rob First still playing the water tank Charlie McMahon found on the roadside in Northern Australia and brought back in 1987!! Can't wait to hear about underarms and football clubs once more!!

"Power and the Passion"
People, wasting away in paradise
Going backward, once in a while
Moving ahead, falling behind
What do you believe, what do you believe
What do you believe is true
Nothing they say makes a difference this way
Nothing they say will do
Take all the trouble that you can afford
At least you won't have time to be bored
Oh the power and the passion, oh the temper of the time
Oh the power and the passion
Sometimes you've got to take the hardest line
Sun burnt faces around, with skin so brown
Smiling zinc cream and crowds, Sundays the beach never a cloud
Breathing eucalypti, pushing panel vans
Stuff and munch junk food
Laughing at the truth, 'cause Gough was tough till he hit the rough
Uncle Sam and John were quite enough
Too much of sunshine too much of sky
It's enough to make you want to cry
Oh the power
I see buildings, clothing the sky, in paradise
Sydney, nights are warm
Daytime telly, blue rinse dawn
Dad's so bad he lives in the pub, it's a underarms and football clubs
Flat chat, Pine Gap, in every home a Big Mac
And no one goes outback, that's that
You take what you get and get what you please
It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees
Oh the power...

"You're the Best Thing About Me" U2

Interesting, upbeat, Oliver Jeffers work is clever, "Ordinary Love" part 2

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #9 "Armistice Day"

Sydney's Capitol Theatre and the legendary show...
Demonstrating Pete didn't just pick up a megaphone for Redneck years later!!

"Armistice Day"
You're watching people fighting, you're watching people losing
On Armistice Day

The watchers do the wincing, reporters so convincing
But the TV never lies
I went looking for a war, but the only guns I saw
Never used in anger

You're watching people fight, say they fight, oh say they lose
On Armistice Day

The fixers do the fixing, the locals do the lynching
The papers deny
I went looking for a headline, got talking to the backline
They'd never seen the action...

I look forward to hearing this live in the Domain on Armistice Day 2017!!
A song about the futility of war, observance at such a distance from the reasons, sacrifice and the reality of war and the co-option of troops and whole countries, seemingly without learning the lessons. This song is connected to later tracks and the family histories of the band as well as their passion for our country and it's story... I can remember when this song and others were released, wishing I'd had access to them in 1978 trying to write an ANZAC Day 5min speech for High School and frantically looking for the right piece of prose to express solidarity and frustration... sadly, we haven't seen "The Last of the Diggers"!!