{"id":14518,"date":"2026-01-22T01:46:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T01:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=14518"},"modified":"2026-01-22T01:46:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T01:46:04","slug":"colin-hay-strenuously-disapproves-use-of-down-under-at-march-for-australia-rallies-australian-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=14518","title":{"rendered":"Colin Hay \u2018strenuously disapproves\u2019 use of Down Under at March for Australia rallies | Australian music"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Former Men at Work frontman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2023\/apr\/13\/colin-hay-on-men-at-work-and-bartering-with-sia-if-you-clean-your-room-we-will-watch-david-letterman\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Colin Hay<\/a> has disavowed the use of the band\u2019s 80s anthem Down Under by Australian anti-immigration protesters, saying the song \u201cdoes not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a post to his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1FiLYMC8SL\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTx8lUOEqGd\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Instagram<\/a> accounts, the singer-songwriter singled out anti-immigration group March for Australia, who have organised marches around the country on 26 January under the slogan \u201cOur national identity will not be erased\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The singer, who was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia with his family as a teen, signed his message \u201cColin Hay (immigrant)\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"1d48538f-5e5a-4cf9-8840-0a362309635b\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:3,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Colin Hay on Men At Work \u2013\u00a0and bartering with Sia: \u2018If you clean your room we will watch David Letterman\u2019&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;1d48538f-5e5a-4cf9-8840-0a362309635b&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2023\/apr\/13\/colin-hay-on-men-at-work-and-bartering-with-sia-if-you-clean-your-room-we-will-watch-david-letterman&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:3},&quot;isInStarRatingVariant&quot;:false}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI most strenuously disapprove of any unauthorized, unlicensed use of Down Under, for any \u2018March For Australia\u2019 events,\u201d Hay wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cDown Under, a song I co-wrote, does not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia within the fabric of our great land, our great people. Down Under is ultimately a song of celebration. It\u2019s for pluralism and inclusion; unity, not division.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cGo write your own song, leave mine alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Down Under, which Hay co-wrote with bandmate Ron Strykert, became a national and then global hit in the 80s, reaching No 1 in Australia in 1981 and going on to top the charts in New Zealand, Canada, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy before a triumphant four weeks at No 1 in the US, where it sold 2m copies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"0fa3d78e-cb07-4f1b-b0d6-f7376895f1ab\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.VideoYoutubeBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-component=\"youtube-embed\" class=\"dcr-1y1vf5o\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/XfR9iY5y94s?wmode=opaque&amp;feature=oembed\" title=\"Men At Work - Down Under (Official HD Video)\" height=\"480\" width=\"640\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The lyrics revolve around an Australian travelling the world who has conversations about his home, which is described as a country \u201cwhere women glow and men plunder\u201d and \u201cwhere beer does flow and men chunder\u201d. A Vegemite sandwich features prominently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In the decades since, it has become an unofficial national anthem in Australia, and is often played at sporting events. It also found new audiences via covers by Perth producer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I1xneKsFArY\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Luude<\/a> and north-east Arnhem Land band <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_4Zkj8ek0RU\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">King Stingray<\/a>, singing in Yolngu Matha and English. In 2022, the original song surpassed 1bn streams.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\"><gu-island name=\"EmailSignUpWrapper\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;index&quot;:12,&quot;listId&quot;:6003,&quot;identityName&quot;:&quot;saved-for-later&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Saved for Later&quot;,&quot;frequency&quot;:&quot;Every weekend&quot;,&quot;successDescription&quot;:&quot;We'll send you Saved for Later every week&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;lifestyle&quot;,&quot;idApiUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/idapi.theguardian.com&quot;,&quot;hideNewsletterSignupComponentForSubscribers&quot;:true}\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"970cd3f5-50eb-4c0e-b81c-bcbd4894b164\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:13,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;The March for Australia\u2019s racism can\u2019t just be blamed on far-right 'extremists\u2019 - it has been enabled by the mainstream | Liam Gillespie&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;970cd3f5-50eb-4c0e-b81c-bcbd4894b164&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2025\/sep\/01\/understanding-anti-immigration-march-protest-australian-mainstream-society-ntwnfb&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:3},&quot;isInStarRatingVariant&quot;:false}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Hay is not the only Australian musician calling out March for Australia for using their music. In October last year, country music legend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/australia-culture-blog\/2014\/jul\/30\/john-williamson-my-whole-life-has-been-about-loving-australia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">John Williamson<\/a> shared a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JohnWilliamsonMusic\/posts\/true-blue-is-a-song-for-all-australians-and-should-not-be-hijacked-by-any-group-\/1345411250278392\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">statement<\/a> on social media after his song True Blue was reportedly played during a March for Australia protest. \u201cTrue Blue is a song for all Australians and should not be hijacked by any group that seeks to use the song to sow division,\u201d Williamson wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">And a month before, after March for Australia played Cold Chisel\u2019s Flame Trees and Icehouse\u2019s Great Southern Land at a rally, a representative for both acts put out a statement disavowing their use by the groups, saying \u201cno approval was sought, and no permission was given\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Living End have also denounced the use of two of their songs at March for Australia rallies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe goals and philosophies of these marches are abhorrent to us, and we don\u2019t support them in any way,\u201d the band wrote. \u201cWe aim for our songs to be a positive influence. We believe in a fair go for everyone. Our songs are written to bring people together not to divide them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>#Colin #Hay #strenuously #disapproves #March #Australia #rallies #Australian #music<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Men at Work frontman Co&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14518"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}