Beds Are Burning" is a 1987 hit single by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, the first track from their album Diesel and Dust. This song was not the first song from the album to be released as a single; the first to be released was "The Dead Heart."
It reached #1 in the South African charts, #3 in the Netherlands Top 40, #5 in the France Top 50, #6 in the UK charts, #11 in Ireland, #17 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 10 and in Sweden.
This is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to the the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert. These 'last contact' people began moving from the Gibson Desert to settlements and missions in the 1930s. More were forcibly moved during the 1950s and 1960's to the Papunya settlement. In 1981 they left to return to their own country and established the Kintore community which is nestled in the picturesque Kintore Ranges, surrounded by Mulga and Spinifex country. It is now a thriving little community with a population of about 400.
Midnight Oil performed this in front of a world audience of billions, (including Prime Minister John Howard who has claimed this is his favorite Midnight Oil song) at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The whole band were dressed in black, with the words "sorry" printed conspicuously on their clothes. This was a reference to the Prime Minister's refusal to apologize, on behalf of Australia, to the Aboriginal Australians for the way they have been treated over the last 200 years.
Lyrics
Out where the river broke The bloodwood and the desert oak Holden wrecks and boiling diesels Steam in forty five degrees
The time has come To say fair’s fair To pay the rent To pay our share The time has come A fact’s a fact It belongs to them Let’s give it back
How can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep when our beds are burning
Four wheels scare the cockatoos From kintore east to yuendemu The western desert lives and breathes In forty five degrees
(live - on scream in blue The time has come A fact’s a fact It belongs to us all Let’s give it back)
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