The song “Down Under” was written by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert; it was performed by Men At Work and included on their album “Business as Usual” (1981). It was later released as a single (1982), which became a #1 hit. The popularity of the song was increased with the release of a music video (1983).[1]
The song was very popular, and it became somewhat of an Australian anthem. Although the embedded message may not be obvious, Colin Hay has said that the lyrics and music video included a warning that Australia’s identity was being threatened by over-development and Americanisation.[2]
In a TV interview, Hay said “It wasn’t meant to be particularly a song about waving the flag. It was a lot more of a statement about over-development and the desecration of the country and the loss of spirit for short-term gains and all that kind of stuff. That’s really what the song was about. There was all this kind of symbolism in it, like at the end [of the music video] there was this road-case, which was supposed to symbolise a coffin, which was again supposed to symbolise the death of the country, the death of Australia, because there was something about the end of innocence, or the end of naivety, or something or other, and all of a sudden we’re in the world of real-estate developers and unscrupulous multinationals who are going to, in a sense, destroy the spirit of the country. But it is ultimately a song about celebration though, because it is celebrating this place, because there’s a lot to celebrate about this country, because it truly is an awesome place.”[3]
An early version of “Down Under” had been released in 1980 as a B side to the single “Keypunch Operator”, with the music including what seems to be a Reggae influence. However, the 1980 version was nowhere near as catchy as the 1981 record (although a subjective assessment, it is borne out by the popularity of the version that became a worldwide hit).[4]
In 2009, some 28 years after “Down Under” was released, Larrikin Music sued for copyright infringement, for Men At Work using a background flute riff which was said to be derived from “Kookaburra”, the well-known children’s song written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair (who died in 1988). Although founded by Warren Fahey in 1974, Larrikin Music had been sold to Music Sales Australia in 1988 (and therefore Fahey was not the person who initiated the court action). The judge found in favour of Larrikin Music in this notorious case, awarding to them 5% of all past and present royalties of the “Down Under” song. It should be noted that Larrikin Records (sold by Warren Fahey to Festival Records in 1995) and The Larrikins (a bush band, including Fahey) are not connected to Larrikin Music (sold by Fahey to Music Sales Australia in 1988), even though the three entities share the Larrikin name. In February 2015 Larrikin Music changed its name to Happy As Larry Music.[5]
“Down Under” has been covered by various bands and musicians, and is still popular to this day.
Men At Work – Down Under
1983 music video of “Down Under”, by Men At Work
“Down Under” on Men At Work’s “Business as Usual” album (1981)
“Down Under” performed by Men At Work at the Bushfire Aid concert, 12 February 2009
“Down Under” performed by Men At Work at a concert in Dortmund (Germany)
“Down Under” performed by Men At Work (extended mix, 1986)
The original 1980 version of “Down Under”, by Men At Work
A slower version of “Down Under”, sung by Delta Goodrem
A slower version of “Down Under”, sung by Sabrina Schultz
A slower version of “Down Under”, sung by Nick Cunningham
Cover of “Down Under” by Skytone
Metal cover of “Down Under” by PelleK (Per Fredrik Åsly) (Norway)
Metal cover of “Down Under” by Punk Rock Factory (Wales)
References
[1] “Down Under by Men at Work”, SongFacts (accessed 18 July 2021)
Carl Wiser, “Colin Hay of Men at Work” (interview), SongFacts, 7 November 2003 (accessed 18 July 2021)
Jon Pareles, “Pop from Down Under”, New York Times, 8 May 1983 (accessed 18 July 2021)
Alan Connor, “Vegemite sandwiches, chunder and a “head full of zombie”. What’s going on in Down Under?”, BBC, 1 August 2009
“Men at Work: Down Under: Video: 1983”, IMDB (accessed 18 July 2021)
“Down Under (song)”, Wikipedia (accessed 30 October 2012)
“Men at Work”, Wikipedia (accessed 30 October 2012)
[2] Tom Breihan, “The Number Ones: Men At Work’s “Down Under””, Stereogum, 29 June 2020 [“Colin Hay has said that “Down Under” is an angry song about the creeping Americanization of Australia”] (accessed 18 July 2021)
“An absolute Australian anthem: Some interesting facts about “Down Under” by Men At Work that went No.1 simultaneously on two countries in 1983” (archived), Pop Expresso, 29 January 2021 [“a warning to his fellow Australians that their country’s identity was dying as a result of over-development and Americanization”]
[3] “Men At Work: The story behind the song”, Top 2000 a gogo, YouTube, 4 May 2018 [see 3.45 min.] (accessed 18 July 2021)
[4] Andy Greene, “Flashback: Men at Work’s Early, Reggae-Inspired Version of ‘Down Under’”, Rolling Stone, 11 December 2018 (accessed 18 July 2021)
[5] David Leser, “The biggest hit”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 July 2012 (accessed 30 October 2012)
Alan Howe, “Court ruling broke tragic star’s heart”, Herald Sun, 20 April 2012 (accessed 30 October 2012) (link invalid as at 10 July 2021; however, the article is available on a pay-to-view site)
Larissa Ham and Kim Arlington, “Kookaburra case: publisher hits back at Colin Hay’s ‘greed’ claim”, The Age, 5 February 2010 (accessed 30 October 2012)
“Larrikin Records”, Milesago (accessed 11 March 2013)
“Marion Sinclair – Kookaburra (song)”, Music Minder (accessed 30 October 2012)
“Kookaburra”, Wikipedia (accessed 30 October 2012)
“Larrikin Records”, Wikipedia (accessed 18 July 2021)
“Larrikin Music Publishing Ltd. v. EMI Songs Australia Plty Ltd. (NSW) [2010] FCAFC 47”, Music Copyright Infringement Resource (accessed 18 July 2021)
Piper Alderman, “Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited: kookaburra gets the last laugh”, Lexology, 26 March 2010 (accessed 18 July 2021)
Warren Fahey, “Kookaburra sits on an old gum tree – The Marion Sinclair story”, Warren Fahey’s Australian Folklore Unit, 2010 (accessed 10 July 2021)
“Guide to the papers of Warren Fahey AM ”, Warren Fahey’s Australian Folklore Unit [“Larrikin Records was … sold after 20 years in 1995 (to Festival Records). Larrikin Music Publishing … was sold to Music Sales Australia in 1985.”] (accessed 18 July 2021)
“Larrikin Music and Eric Bogle”, Warren Fahey’s Australian Folklore Unit [“in 1988, Larrikin Music was sold to Music Sales Australia”] (accessed 18 July 2021)
Warren Fahey, “Larrikin Records and Larrikin Music founder speaks out”, Australian Folk Songs [“Warren Fahey sold Larrikin Music to Music Sales Corporation in 1988 and, in 1995; Larrikin Records was sold to Festival Music”] (accessed 18 July 2021)
“The Larrikins – pioneer bush band”, Warren Fahey’s Australian Folklore Unit (accessed 18 July 2021)
“Historical details for ABN 63 003 839 432”, Australian Business Register (Australian Government) [Larrikin Music Publishing Pty. Ltd. changed to Happy As Larry Music Publishing Pty. Ltd. on 13 Feb 2015] (accessed 18 July 2021)
Lyrics:
“Men At Work Lyrics: “Down Under””, AZLyrics (accessed 18 July 2021)
Updated 18 July 2021
Hello. Associates have alerted me to the inaccuracies in your Men At Work section. You have Larrikin RECORDS as suing Men At Work – it was Larrikin MUSIC – a company I sold to Music Sales International a decade BEFORE the legal case. I refer you to the article on my site regarding my position in this case. I had NOTHING to do with the unfortunate legal action and never supported it. https://www.warrenfahey.com.au/kookaburra-sits-on-an-old-gum-tree/
What you have written is libellous and causing grief – please amend it and confirm in writing.
Unfortunately for me, I am known for the Larrikin brand as I continued to perform with my performing group, The Larrikins, and, more importantly, continued to operate my Larrikin Record label for the following twenty years. Please action. Warren Fahey
Thank you for pointing out the error. It has now been corrected.
Obviously, no libel was intended against your good name. Indeed, of the three sentences in the original paragraph regarding that unfortunate legal case, one was written specifically to show that you were not involved. Just to make the situation abundantly obvious to readers, an extra section has been added in brackets to that sentence, i.e. “(and therefore Fahey was not the person who initiated the court action)”. Further clarification has also been added.
Thank you very much for notifying us of the error.
P.S. Your link has also been added to the References section of the article.
An update:
Going through the References section of the original article, it appears that the error was made based upon the Milesago article, “Larrikin Records”, where it says “In 1993 Fahey sold Folkways to its present owners, and in 1995, Larrikin to Festival.” Whilst the Milesago article doesn’t say “Larrikin Records to Festival”, that was a credible (although mistaken) inference, although that may not have been the intent of the Milesago author.
http://www.milesago.com/Industry/larrikin.htm