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Great Southern Land
Tourism Australia has released a new advertisement with a new take on the famous Icehouse song Great Southern Land.
Rock of Oz
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Timeless song about Australia ... Iva Davies was told to deny Icehouse’s song Great Southern Land was about Australia. Source: News Limited
ICEHOUSE’S unofficial Australian anthem Great Southern Land was written as an antidote to Men at Work’s cliche-filled Down Under.
Iva Davies, of Icehouse, also revealed he was initially told to deny his song was about Australia for fear of alienating international listeners.
Davies shared the information as Great Southern Land entered the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry today.
Great Southern Land is joined by Cold Chisel’s Khe Sanh, Divinyls’ Boys in Town and The Go-Betweens’ Cattle and Cane.
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The real Australia ... Icehouse’s Great Southern Land contains no references to Vegemite, vomiting or beer. Source: Supplied
The songs were chosen by a panel of experts who deemed them historically, culturally and aesthetically significant sound recordings.
Davies said he deliberately tried to write a song about Australia without clichéd cultural references like the Men at Work 1981 hit.
“Luckily we’re still talking about the song 30 years on” ... Iva Davies wrote Great Southern Land for his band Icehouse. Source: News Limited
“At the time I didn’t know Down Under had been written by a man (Colin Hay) whose roots were in Scotland,’’ Davies said.
“But it struck me straight away as a song that sounded as if it was written by someone who hadn’t grown up here. That was instinctive, it was due to the choice of imagery. It was all those Bazza McKenzie cliches. I do respect Colin Hay immensely, but there was something about that song, and the climate at the time with Australia becoming Americanised, that I found distasteful.
“I wanted to get rid of all the postcard stuff, all the koala bears and get to something more substantial. I’m not an overtly political writer, obviously Midnight Oil and Icehouse were opposite ends in terms of approach. But I can remember how dangerous it was to write a song about Australia. I did think that if I got the song wrong on any level it would explode in my face. Luckily we’re still talking about the song 30 years on. It’s been used for everything from discussions about Mabo to the soundtrack to the Australian cricket team walking on the field, all things you could never have imagined.”
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Famous for school uniform and fishnet stockings attire ... Divinyls’ Chrissy Amphlett is now in the National Film and Sound Archive. Source: News Corp Australia
Davies also admitted that an early manager insisted he avoid talking about the song’s obvious inspiration in interviews.
“I was under incredibly strict instructions to never reveal, even if asked point blank, that Great Southern Land was about Australia,” Davies laughed. “Of course, it was ridiculously impossible, but I would have given politicians a run for their money in terms of dodging the question back then.
“The management were hellbent on Icehouse being perceived as an international band, not a band from Australia. They felt if we were tagged to a song about Australia we’d risk what was opening up to be an international market, especially in Europe. Back then you’d go to England and get a hard time from certain people if you were Australian. I can understand their thinking but to this day I think it was misguided and it certainly made my life difficult.”
PICTURES: Rock band Cold Chisel
Don Walker of Cold Chisel said he was flattered by the inclusion of Khe Sanh in the Sounds of Australia registry.
The song was released in 1978 and has become a national treasure.
Took 33 years to be a hit ... Cold Chisel’s Khe Sanh originally missed the Top 40 when first released. Source: News Limited
“Who’d have thought?,” Walker said. “It’s an honour. I guess Khe Sanh is the obvious choice, either that or Flame Trees. Those two seem to poll quite well out there with listeners.”
Walker admitted he is highly protective of Khe Sanh, despite countless offers to use the song in advertising campaigns.
“It’s never been used in an ad. I’m sure you could make a lot of money out of using it in ad. No Cold Chisel songs have been in ads. I think it’s important. If a song means something to people that they don’t suddenly see it on an ad. That’s showing contempt for their feelings.”
Highly protective of Khe San’s integrity ... Don Walker said his song written for Cold Chisel will never — despite requests — be used in an ad. Picture: Sam Mooy Source: News Limited
Ironically, before Davies broke through in Flowers (later Icehouse) he was hired to write sheet music for many Australian acts, including Cold Chisel’s self-titled debut album which housed Khe Sanh.
The young musician would play back tapes and transcribe them for sheet music sold to people who wanted to learn how to play the songs on piano.
“I remember I had to write the sheet music for Australian Crawl and they didn’t give me the lyrics,” Davies said. “So there’s possibly copies of registered songs by Australian Crawl with the wrong lyrics courtesy me, I had to bumble my way through trying to decipher then.
“With Cold Chisel, I remember getting the tape of the album to transcribe and I was floored by the guitarist’s work. The songs were all in ridiculously difficult keys and he was playing these incredible solos to them. So I dutifully wrote piano arrangements to them, wrote the entire songbook, it was sent off and it became the song book. About a year later we were introduced to Cold Chisel as Flowers were signed to the same management company.
“I went up to Don Walker and said ‘Hi, I wrote your songbook’ and he said ‘So you’re the bastard!’ The tape they had sent me had been dubbed slightly slow, when I played it back it went up a semitone which explains why all these songs were in a ridiculous key. So the entire songbook was wrong, so there’s probably copies of that book floating around to this day with Khe Sanh in a stupid key.”
Classic song ... The Go-Betweens’ Cattle and Cane is regularly voted one of the best Australian songs recorded. Source: News Limited
The 2014 Sounds of Australia are:
1. They Always Follow Me, Syria Lamonte (1898) — popular music
2. Speech at the Opening of the Columbia Gramophone Company Australian Factory, Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair KCB MVO
(1926) — speech
3. Concert in a Cave at Tobruk, Chester Wilmot, ABC Field Unit (1941) — spoken word, popular music
4. Fireworks and The Orgasmic Opus, Dr Val Stephen (1967) — electronic music
5. Khe Sanh, Cold Chisel (1978) — popular music
6. Boys in Town, Divinyls (1981) — popular music
7. Great Southern Land, Icehouse (1982) — popular music
8. Cattle and Cane, The Go-Betweens (1983) — popular music
9. Dingo, Vicki Powys (1990) — environmental sound
10. Deadly Sounds, Vibe Australia (1993-2014) — Indigenous, radio broadcast
PICTURES: Rock band The Divinyls
