Single:
Down Under entered the Australian singles chart* on 23 November 1981 and peaked at #1. It was #1 on the Top 100 of 1981.
Album:
The song is on Business as Usual which entered the Australian albums chart* on 7 December 1981 and peaked at #1.
Songwriters:
Colin Hay, Ron Strykert
Producer:
Peter McIan
Record label of Australian release:
CBS
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Colin Hay performing Down Under with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band in 2008:
Wikipedia:
Down Under went to #1 in Australia in December 1981, and then topped the New Zealand charts in February 1982. The song topped the Canadian charts in October 1982. In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #79, and was #1 for four non-consecutive weeks. It eventually sold over two million copies in the US alone.
Down Under is perceived as a patriotic song in Australia, often jokingly citing the song as “the real Australian National Anthem”; it remains popular and is often played at sporting events.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Under_(song)
Songfacts:
The lyrics were written by lead singer Colin Hay, who explained in a Songfacts interview: “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.”
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/men-at-work/down-under
Lyrics:
Travelling 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
Click for full lyrics
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