Top 12 Famous Australian Songs You Should Know

Australia is known for Vegemite, hot surfers, dangerous animals, and always warm weather. It’s hard for Australians not to love everything about their country. This definitely includes the famous songs and bands from Australia that have charmed people all over the world. Start in the 1970s and find out about the songs that are still well-known and loved today…

It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll) – AC/DC

AC/DC, or “Acca Dacca” as they are known in Australia, put out this classic Aussie rock song in 1975, two years after the band was formed. It got our inner bogans excited. It’s a Long Way to the Top is a hard rock song with bagpipes. It’s about putting up with problems like being beaten up, robbed, and cheated on by agents in order to be the best in this business. This song is often played in pubs and at AFL games all over the country. It is one of our many great national anthems.

Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again – The Angels

One of Australia’s best pub-rock songs was first written as a slow acoustic song about sadness and loss. Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again was re-released as a rock song in 1977, but it didn’t become a huge hit until 1988, when The Angels released a live version of the song with the famous NWGFFO chant. The chant “No way, get f*cked, f*ck off” started in Sydney when a DJ asked the crowd to join in, and it continued during their live shows

 Khe Sanh – Cold Chisel

Cold Chisel released Khe Sanh in 1978. It was about how hard it was for a person to fit back into society after being in war. Even though the song was written about a disillusioned Australian Vietnam War veteran, its meaning has become a symbol of Australian culture. As one of the most famous songs ever recorded by an Australian act, the song was added to the Sounds of Australia registry of Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive (FNSA) in 2014.

Down Under – Men At Work

The patriotic song “Down Under” has become a worldwide symbol of Australia. In the 1980s, it was the most popular song in many countries, including Australia, Britain, and the United States. Men At Work say that this song is about “celebrating the country, but not in a flag-waving way.” The tune is about a proud Aussie man who travels the world and meets people. This hit has been played on every radio, stereo, and jukebox in the world, especially when Aussies are around. This song, which includes the famous line “He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich,” was played at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Great Southern Land – Icehouse

Great Southern Land is one of the most well-known songs about Australia. It talks about the hidden spirituality and vastness of our countryside. This 1982 classic was the first to use synthesizers, which weren’t very common at the time. The opening of the song is a metaphor for the heat that comes off the red dirt in the outback. In 1994, the Byrralku Dhangudha remix came out. It talked about the problems in the country, and Indigenous musicians played and sang the chorus in their own language. This song was also added to the Sounds of Australia registry by the NFSA in 2014

Solid Rock – Goanna

Australian folk rock band Goanna came together in 1977. In 1982, they put out a song called “Solid Rock,” which came to mean something important in politics. This song puts the dispossession of Aboriginal people at the center of White Australia. It was inspired by a “Great Awakening” that the founding member, Shane Howard, had at an inma (corroboree) in Uluru. In 2012, he told the Sydney Morning Herald about the “deep culture” and “beautiful traditions” he saw. The song was meant to get Aussies to learn more about the injustices and racism that Aboriginal Australians have had to deal with since colonization.

True Blue – John Williamson

The Australian folk song True Blue, which John Williamson recorded in 1981, has become a well-known song that makes people think of “bush struggle from another time.” Williamson is called the “voice of the people of the bush” in this song, which uses typical Aussie slang and has many hidden meanings about the way people live in Australia. The title itself means “authentically Australian.” Since then, this song has been played at many sports games and ceremonies. It was also played live twice at Steve Irwin’s public memorial service.

Sounds of Then (This Is Australia) – GANGgajang

Aussie rock band GANAgajang released Sounds of Then in 1985. It was based on a poem about the big culture shock the band members felt when they moved from England to Bundaberg, Queensland. The song is their most popular and well-known one since they started making music in the 1980s. It is about how smells, sounds, and feelings can bring back memories. Sounds of Then is a well-known song that has been used in a lot of commercials and promotions. It will definitely be played at big events like Australia Day.

Working Class Man – Jimmy Barnes

In Working Class Man, Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes showed the rest of the world what it means to be an Aussie. This power ballad, which came out in 1985, is as Australian as you can get. It’s about how much you admire the heavy-sweating, hard-working Aussie bloke who represents the country’s work ethic. This song was also famously played at the end of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

You’re The Voice – John Farnham

You’re The Voice was one of John Farnham’s biggest international hits. It came out in 1986 and won the ARIA Award for “Single of the Year” the following year. This power ballad is a call for peace and unity around the world. It says, “We’re all someone’s daughter, we’re all someone’s son.” Since then, Farnham has had a big impact on the Australian Music Industry and has won a lot of awards and honors for it.

Beds Are Burning – Midnight Oil

Beds Are Burning started a fire, and it has gotten on a lot of politicians’ nerves over the years. Midnight Oil’s 1987 protest song, “Give Australian Land Back to the Aboriginal People,” is about the Pintupi Aboriginal people from Western Australia, who were among the last to join the modern world. During the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Midnight Oil played this song while wearing all black with the word “sorry” written all over it as an apology to the Indigenous people. This was meant to show then-Prime Minister John Howard that the issue was still important.

I Still Call Australia Home – Peter Allen

Most famous Australian songs will remind any Aussie of home, but this one gives us goosebumps every time we hear it. I Still Call Australia Home was first released in 1980 by Peter Allan. In 1997, children’s choirs sang it for Qantas’ advertising campaigns, and it became a famous song. Since Qantas didn’t fly to Rio when this video was first made, the city Rio has been changed to Rome, and the airline has used this song for a long time. Since 2009, the whole first verse has been sung in a Torres Strait Islands language called Kala Lagaw Ya. This song, along with many other greats, was added to the Sounds of Australia registry by the NFSA in 2013.

Topic: Top 12 Famous Australian Songs You Should Know

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By: Travel Pixy