There are few, if any Aussie songs more ‘true blue‘ and ‘dinky-dy’ than Men at Work’s – Down Under. It’s yet another song which made the all-time Top 30 Australian songs listed by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). It came in at No. 4 just below Midnight Oil’s – Beds are Burning (1987) which featured here way back in 2019. Down Under is just a hoot, showcasing Australian’s unique humour, lexicon and openness traits. It’s beyond catchy and simply leaves the listener more jovial and lighthearted than before they went in. Also, there is perhaps no other Australian song more internationally recognised as quintessential ‘Aussie’ than Down Under.
Australia is referred to as Down Under due to its location in the Southern Hemisphere. The term originated from the perspective of European explorers who viewed Australia as being “below” the rest of the known world. The song further popularised the nickname.
Down Under was originally self-released in 1980 as a B-side to their first local single before the band signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. The slightly faster re-release went to number one in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In fact it stayed at No. 1 in the US for four consecutive weeks and selling over 2 million copies alone. Even I had no idea how big a hit it was – at least not until I just read that. I assumed it was a sleeper hit and developed more of a cult status over the decades, but not to be.
Down Under remains popular of course and is often played at sporting events. As part of Triple M’s “Ozzest 100“, (an Australian radio station) – the ‘most Australian‘ songs of all time so far, Down Under was ranked number 2 behind Cold Chisel’s Khe Sanh which was yesterday’s featured track.
Down Under is perceived as a patriotic song in Australia, but co-founder and co-writer Colin Hay described the meaning of the lyric as follows:
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.
As I ease my way out of bloggerland for today, I just saw Men at Work are still touring. They are currently appearing at the The Great South Bay Music Festival at Shorefront Park in Patchogue, New York.
Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said
[Chorus]
“Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover”
[Verse 2]
Buyin’ bread from a man in Brussels
He was six-foot-four and full of muscle
I said, “Do you speak-a my language?”
He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich
And he said
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
Lyin’ in a den in Bombay
With a slack jaw, and not much to say
I said to the man, “Are you trying to tempt me?
Because I come from the land of plenty”
And he said
References:
1. Down Under (song) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
HA! I heard this song just the other day in a car I was in. The driver had an oldies station on his Spotify.
It was a pretty big hit back in the day. It was on the jukebox of one of the strip clubs I worked at but I don’t recall any of the girls dancing to it. I know I didn’t. I think most of the girls played it as a “break song”.
Before this song came out, I had never heard of “Vegemite”.
My favourite spread without doubt is Vegemite, but I have been unable to locate it during my 16 years in Colombia. I lived on Vegemite and cheese sandwiches at school. Is Vegemite in the US?
I realised ‘Down Under’ was popular oversees, but to read from Max, Christian and you just how popular it was and also how it dominated the charts for so long in the US really surprised me.
Yes, Vegemite is available in the US but not at any of the stores I shop. It’s at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s & Premier Gourmet, which are generally more expensive than where I spend my money. I have never had it ~ it might be worth spending the extra bucks to try it out.
Since Vegemite is available at Whole Foods, you should be able to order it from Amazon, since Amazon owns Whole Foods. According to Amazon’s website, they do deliver to addresses in Colombia. Of course, there may be certain restrictions of which I am unaware.
Yeah, “Down Under” was really popular. I mean ~ it’s still airplay, so that’s proof right there.
I’m envious you have it so freely available. Most people not accustomed to it find it unpleasant. The taste reminds me a bit of anchovies hehe
Thanks for the heads up about the option of Amazon, which I’ll look into.
Great song – I immediately loved it when it came out back in the ’80s and still do to this day – great melody, great groove, great sound! Since it doesn’t have “that typical ’80s production vibe,” which I find can get a bit tiresome, “Down Under” holds up much better to me than many other ’80s songs. Also, unless you lived in Australia at the time, who knew there was this bread spread called Vegemite?
I couldn’t agree more with your breakdown of the song and how it stood out from the rest and continues to resonate today.
Also, I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss Vegemite. I’m not exaggerating when I say – it makes me sad to reminisce about it.
I have to admit…this one stuck with me for a long time. I love their sense of humor. They were huge over here with that debut album.
I wouldn’t want to hear it every day of the week, but it’s still enjoyable on the odd occasion. And as you say, the quirky sense of humour is great. It’s just so Australian. Also it remains such a unique song as far as mega hit songs go. It really is one of kind and could never be replicated.
Me either…but they were a nice sounding band that didn’t sound like anyone else at the time.