Down Under (song)

"Down Under"
Single by Men at Work
from the album Business as Usual
Format	7"
Recorded	October 1981
Genre	New Wave, pop
Length	3:42
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Colin Hay, Ron Strykert
Men at Work singles chronology
"Who Can It Be Now?" (1981) "Down Under" (1981) "Be Good Johnny" (1982) Audio sample file info · help

"Down Under"
Single by Men at Work
from the album Business as Usual
Format	7" (shaped to resemble the outline of mainland Australia with Australian flag on the label)
Recorded	October 1981
Genre	New Wave, pop
Length	3:42

"Down Under" (also known as "Land Down Under") is a pop song recorded by Men at Work for their debut album Business as Usual (1981). The song went to #1 on American,^[1] British, Canadian and Australian charts.

It was reissued in 1982, and is the only Men at Work song to go to #1 in the United Kingdom, and their only single to make the UK top 20. It has become a popular and patriotic song in Australia.^[2]

Lyrics

The lyrics are about an Australian traveller circling the globe, proud of his nationality, and about his interactions with people he meets on his travels who are interested in his home country.

One of the verses refers to Vegemite sandwiches, among other things; the particular lyric "He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich" has become a well-known phrase.^[3]

Colin Hay told Songfacts: "The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the over-development 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."^[4]

Slang and drug terms are used in the lyrics:

Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippy trail, head full of zombie.

Here "fried-out" means overheated,^[5] Kombi refers to the Volkswagen Type 2 combination van,^[3][5] and having "a head full of zombie" refers to the use of a type of marijuana.^[3][5] Cultural slang is also used: after the second verse the refrain is "where the beer does flow and men chunder"; "chunder" means vomit.^[3]

Cultural significance

The flute part in the song was allegedly based around the tune of "Kookaburra", a well-known Australian children's rhyme.^[6] (See Copyright lawsuit below for more details.) Originally, "Down Under" was released as the B-side to "Keypunch Operator", a rare custom-pressed single by Men at Work; some of the guitar melodies from that version were further developed into flute parts on the later release.^{[citation needed]}

The music video was filmed in a number of places, including Lake Mackenzie on Fraser Island. The video also features several litre-size cans of what appear to be Foster's Lager (although the brand is removed), a beer drunk mainly outside Australia while being marketed as Australian.^{[citation needed]}

The song is a perennial favourite on Australian radio and television, and topped the charts in the U.S. and UK simultaneously in early 1983.^[7] 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.^[8] Men at Work played this song in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, alongside other Australian artists.^[6] It was also often played after Australian athletes had received medals during competition, as they walked around the venue on a parade lap after the medal ceremony.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2001, Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100 strong industry panel, "Down Under" was ranked as the fourth song on the list.^[9]

In October 2006, Triple M had the Essential 2006 Countdown of the most popular songs of all time, voted by the listeners. "Down Under" was the number 3 voted/ranked song.^{[citation needed]}

The song was ranked #96 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s in October 2006.^[10]

The song has been used as the entrance music for various professional Australian sportsmen, including darts player Simon Whitlock, cruiserweight boxer Danny Green (for his fight against Roy Jones, Jr. on 2 December 2009) and snooker player Neil Robertson.^{[citation needed]}

The song was played extensively during the September 2009 One-Day International cricket series between England and Australia, which Australia took by six matches to one.^{[citation needed]}

Other appearances

A version of this song is on the Kangaroo Jack soundtrack. The song was also used in advertisements for the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo, though it never appears in the film itself.^{[citation needed]}

In the Scrubs episode "My Hard Labor", John Dorian daydreams that his pregnant girlfriend gives birth to Colin Hay, who subsequently sings "Down Under". Also, in the episode "My Porcelain God", when Dr. Kelso questions J.D. and Dr. Kevin Casey about strange noises the patients have been hearing, J.D. suggests they may be hearing the song. He sings a small portion of the song and asserts that if that is what the patients were hearing, it wasn't him.^{[citation needed]}

Colin Hay had his version as well as an acoustic version on his album Man @ Work.^{[citation needed]}

This song is played during the end credits of the Paul Hogan movie Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. The song is also partially played in the documentary television series, The Adventure of English, to help illustrate Australia's newfound confidence in its linguistic identity in the late 20th Century.^{[citation needed]}

This song can also be heard in the episode of "The Topaz Connection" in the Knight Rider TV series from 1982, while Michel is driving to Las Vegas.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Australia's national airline Qantas rolled out a TV advertising campaign as "The World's Most Experienced Airline" with a prominent instrumental composition of "Down Under" as the background music.^[11]

The song was also used in the video game Saints Row 2.^[12]

Professional snooker player Neil Robertson, darts player Simon Whitlock and mixed marital artist Kyle Noke use Down Under as their walk-on music.

Australian pitcher Josh Spence used the song as his entrance music when he pitched at Arizona State University in 2009.

Cover versions

Another version of the song was released in 1999 by the punk rock band Pennywise, as a bonus track on the album Straight Ahead. While Pennywise is an American band, they frequently tour Australia, and often play the song at live shows as a tribute to their many Australian fans.^{[citation needed]}

UK punk-pop band Cranial Screwtop recorded a version of the song for their 2006 album, "Too Fast for Technology".

British ska punk band spunge also covered the song on their 2004 covers album That Should Cover It! and regularly perform the song at live shows.

The punk rock band Funeral Dress also had a version of the song on its album A Way of Life.

During the 1980s Yossi and Avi Piamenta recorded traditional Jewish wedding lyrics to the tune of the song. The name of this song is Asher Bara Sasson ve'Simcha. It is often played at Orthodox Jewish weddings and celebrations. Whilst the composition remains unaffected none of the lyrics relate to the original song.^[13]

In 1985 Lithuanian rock band Antis made a cover of the song, which became one of their most well known hits. It was called "Zombiai" (the Lithuanian word for zombies). This Lithuanian version had unique lyrics which represented ironic attitude towards Soviet regime (Lithuania was part of Soviet Union at the time), but some parts remain very similar. "Gyvenk kaip galima švariau, Pikti kenkėjai budi tundroj. Paklausyk, paklausyk ar girdi - Zombiai atrieda, atidunda." which means "Live as clean as possible, Angry pests are on the watch in tundra, Listen to, listen to, do you hear - Zombies roll in and thunder".^[14]

A Finnish cover version titled "Tervetuloa Länteen, Andrej" (Welcome to west, Andrej) of the song was released by Vilperin Perikunta in 1992. The original story of the song was changed to tell a tale of Andrej, a Russian proletarian who travels to Finland to search for a job and better life in a welfare state. In the chorus Finland is described as "road to the top of heaven" and "road to freedom" for a Russian. In this cover version the flute parts were played with violin and a banjo lick was added to the background.^[15]

In 2001, a performance of the song by the Red Army Choir was released on the CD Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge. The song was performed in the manner of a Russian folk song and featured clapping, and accordion. The song is also featured in the 2008 game Saints Row 2.^[16]

This song was partly sung by Peter Griffin from the television show Family Guy in the episode "Long John Peter".

On the television show Yes Dear, Jimmy and his friend Brian refer to the song when being annoyed that Greg thinks the lyric is, "Vegemite sandwich" when they think it is, "dynamite, sum-bitch".

Washington based band 'The Sunbeams' recorded their own take on the song.

In 2009 the song resurfaced on the TV show Australia's Got Talent where Jay Parrino aka 'JP the one man band' used a looping pedal to create a unique rendition of the song, which even Colin Hay himself heralded as the "best version of the song he'd ever heard".^[17]

The B Foundation, a surf-rock/reggae band from Los Angeles, covered the song in their album, Souvenirs, Novelties, and Party Tricks.

Copyright lawsuit

The flute part of the recording of the song is allegedly based on the children's rhyme "Kookaburra", written by Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition in 1935. Sinclair died in 1988^[2] and the rights to the Kookaburra song were deemed to have been transferred to publisher Larrikin Music on 21 March 1990.^[18] 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.^[19][20] 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.^[21]

On 4 February 2010, Justice Jacobson ruled that Larrikin's copyright had been infringed because "Down Under" reproduced "a substantial part of Kookaburra".^[22]

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."^[23][24][25] 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.^[26] On 6 July 2010, Justice Jacobson handed down a decision that Larrikin receive 5% of royalties from 2002.^[26][27] In October, 2011 the band lost its final court bid when the high court of Australia refused to hear an appeal.^[28]

Until this high-profile case, "Kookaburra"'s standing 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.^[29][30]

The revelation of "Kookaburra"'s copyright status, and more-so the pursuit of royalties from it, has generated a negative response among sections of the Australian public.^{[31][32][33][34]} In response to unsourced speculation of a Welsh connection, Dr 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.^[30]

Since the verdict, Colin Hay has continued to insist that any plagiarism was wholly unintentional. He says that when the song was originally written in 1978, it did not have the musical passage in question, and that it was not until two years later, during a jam rehearsal session, that flautist Greg Ham improvised the riff, perhaps subconsciously recalling "Kookaburra". Hay has also added that Ham and the other members of the band were under the influence of marijuana during that particular rehearsal.

Tracklisting

7": CBS / BA 222891 Australia

1. "Down Under" - 3:44
2. "Crazy" - 2:34

7": CBS / A 2066 Europe

1. "Down Under" - 3:44
2. "Helpless Automaton" - 3:23

Chart positions

Chart[35]	Position
Australian Kent Music Report	1
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Danish Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	9
Irish Singles Chart	1
Netherlands Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	6
Swiss Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 420.
2. ^ ^{a b} "'80s hit Down Under copies kids' song: court". Associated Press. CBC News. 4 February 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2010/02/04/down-under-lawsuit.html. "Larrikin Music owns the copyright" 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Pop, Classic (1 September 2009). "Down Under-covered". BBC News magazine (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8178913.stm. Retrieved 7 July 2010. "Kombi ... Kombinationskraftwagen - aka the trusty old VW camper van ... zombie ... potent strain of marijuana (on occasion laced with angel dust) The use of "slack jawed, and not much to say" "lying in a den in Bombay" depict the traveller "on the nod". Being "on the nod" is a common after effect of the use of heroine or as in this case smoking opium. The video clip even shows the actual "nod" occurring briefly." 
4. ^ "Down Under". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2962. Retrieved 11 February 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "SongMeanings / Lyrics / Men At Work - Down Under". http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/16522/. Retrieved 9 July 2010. "A Volkswagen Kombi is a minivan. It's fried-out because of the heat and it's probably overheating. Head full of zombie refers to him being wasted on a head full of pot." 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Men At Work lose plagiarism case". BBC News. 4 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8497433.stm. Retrieved 7 July 2010. 
7. ^ "Artist Biography - Men at Work". Billboard. 2007. http://www.billboard.com/artist/men-at-work/5187#/artist/men-at-work/bio/5187. Retrieved 7 July 2010. "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." 
8. ^ Shears, Richard (5 February 2010). "Men At Work face £33m bill after judge rules Australian band copied Down Under melody". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1248394/Band-Men-Work-rapped-plagiarism-Down-Under-No-1-hit.html. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
9. ^ "The final list: APRA'S Ten best Australian Songs". APRA. 28 May 2001. http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/MusicAwards/History/2001Top10Songs.aspx. Retrieved 26 August 2008. 
10. ^ "Ep. 167 "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s (Hour 1)". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/shows/the_greatest/episode.jhtml?episodeID=106853. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
11. ^ "YouTube - QANTAS - 2008 - The World's Most Experienced Airline". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78D3IYZ2W5o. 
12. ^ Kyle Stallock (10/07/2008). "THQ Unveils Saints Row 2's Complete Soundtrack". 1Up.com. http://www.1up.com/news/thq-unveils-saints-row-2. 
13. ^ "CD Review - Yihiyu Leratzon by Piamenta". http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/2843. 
14. ^ "YouTube: Antis - Zombiai". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myqtkjiw8CI. 
15. ^ "YouTube: Vilperin Perikunta - Tervetuloa Länteen". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJTUMXGQLlw. 
16. ^ "Various - The Andrew Denton Breakfast Show Musical Challenge". discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/release/702841. 
17. ^ "JP ONE MAN BAND SEMI FINALS AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT 2009 "RUN TO PARADISE"". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQo6eZ1drE. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
18. ^ JACOBSON, J (7 September 2009). Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited [2009 FCA 799 (30 July 2009)]. Sydney: Federal Court of Australia. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCA/2009/799.html. "170. ... with effect from 21 Match 1990 ... Yes" 
19. ^ Davies, Lisa (25 June 2009). "Claims Men At Work hit Down Under is a rip-off of Kookaburra song". news.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/claims-men-at-work-hit-down-under-is-a-rip-off-of-kookaburra-song/story-0-1225739849023. Retrieved 7 July 2010. "claiming Larrikin doesn't actually have copyright to Kookaburra - the Girl Guides do." 
20. ^ "Girls may have guided Men at Work's song Down Under". The Australian. 25 June 2009. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,,25686751-17044,00.html. ^{[dead link]}
21. ^ "Men At Work face plagiarism case". BBC News. 30 July 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8175974.stm. 
22. ^ "Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited [2010] FCA 29 (4 February 2010)". Austlii.edu.au. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCA/2010/29.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
23. ^ Dingle, Sarah (4 February 2010). "Australian court rules 'Down Under' riff plundered". Australia News Network. http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201002/2810615.htm. 
24. ^ Dingle, Sarah (4 February 2010). "Men at Work plundered Kookaburra riff: court". ABC News. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/04/2809848.htm. 
25. ^ Arlington, Kim (5 February 2010). "Infringement Down Under". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/men-at-works-down-under-ripped-off-kookaburra-court/2010/02/04/1265151932344.html. Retrieved 7 July 2010. "Larrikin is entitled to recover damages" 
26. ^ ^{a b} "Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited (No 2) [2010] FCA 698 (6 July 2010)". Australasian Legal Information Institute. 6 July 2010. para. 45. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCA/2010/698.html. Retrieved 9 July 2010. "File number(s): NSD 145 of 2008 ... 45. Mr Lurie expressed the opinion that having regard to his experience in conducting license negotiations in the industry, and taking into account percentages that were agreed in other instances of sampling, a fair remuneration for the license to use the copyright in Kookaburra for the purpose of writing and exploiting Down Under negotiated on an arm’s length basis between willing parties would have been a royalty in the order of between 25% and 50% of the total income of Down Under. ... 222. The 5% figure is the total percentage payable to Larrikin of the APRA/AMCOS income." 
27. ^ Gibson, Joel (6 July 2010). "Kookaburra sits on a small fortune: ruling on Down Under royalties". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/kookaburra-sits-on-a-small-fortune-ruling-on-down-under-royalties-20100706-zy5l.html?autostart=0. Retrieved 7 July 2010. "to pay Larrikin 5 per cent of royalties from the song dating back to 2002 and on royalties from future earnings" 
28. ^ Associated Press in Sydney. "Men at Work lose appeal over Kookaburra riff". http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/07/men-at-work-lose-appeal. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
29. ^ Ham, Larissa; Arlington, Kim (5 February 2010). "Kookaburra case: publisher hits back at Colin Hay's "greed" claim - Music". Melbourne: Theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/articles/2010/02/05/1265151962768.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
30. ^ ^{a b} "Origins: Kookaburra - possible copyright info". Mudcat.org. http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=90351. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
31. ^ "Men at Work steal children's song... - Artists - Music". Forums.whirlpool.net.au. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1252185.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
32. ^ "Kookaburra vs Down Under?". Mudcat.org. 30 July 2009. http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=121812. Retrieved 27 April 2010. "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" 
33. ^ "Lawyers sue, men plunder - Music - Entertainment". smh.com.au. 2 November 2009. http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/lawyers-sue-men-plunder/2009/11/01/1257010103921.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. "For some, Larrikin's suit will be seen as a brazen and opportunistic attempt" 
34. ^ Ulaby, Neda (1 December 2009). "A Kookaburra Causes Trouble 'Down Under'". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120984958. Retrieved 27 April 2010. "number of Australians, including Westwood, found this a bit much." 
35. ^ International chart lists – australian-charts.com

External links

• Down Under-covered. BBC News article decodes the lyrics
• Legacy Recordings - Men at Work
• Sony BMG - Men at Work
• Listen to a clip from 'Down Under' and read more about it on australianscreen online
• 'Down Under' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2007

Preceded by "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John	Australian Kent Music Report number-one single 21 December 1981 – 24 January 1982	Succeeded by "Trouble" by Lindsay Buckingham
Preceded by "Whakaaria Mai (How Great Thou Art)" by Howard Morrison	New Zealand Singles Chart number one 19 February 1982 - 26 February 1982	Succeeded by "Whakaaria Mai (How Great Thou Art)" by Howard Morrison
Preceded by "New World Man" by Rush	Canadian "RPM" Singles Chart number-one single 23 October 1982 – 6 November 1982	Succeeded by "The Look of Love" by ABC
Preceded by "Maneater" by Daryl Hall and John Oates "Africa" by Toto	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single 15 January 1983 - 29 January 1983 12 February 1983	Succeeded by "Africa" by Toto "Baby, Come to Me" by Patti Austin and James Ingram
Preceded by "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins	UK number-one single 29 January 1983 - 12 February 1983	Succeeded by "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo
	Irish Singles Chart number-one single 29 January 1983 - 19 February 1983