Beds Are Burning (4:14)
543,627 plays (133,669 listeners)
“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 the second from the album to be released as a single.
It reached #1 in the South African charts, #3 in the Netherlands Top 40, #5 in the France Top 50, #6 in the United Kingdom charts, #11 in Ireland, #17 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and in Denmark.
It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
It is named #95 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100 strong industry panel. “Beds Are Burning” was declared third behind the Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind” and Daddy Cool’s “Eagle Rock”.
“Beds Are Burning” is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to 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 1960s 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.
It reached #1 in the South African charts, #3 in the Netherlands Top 40, #5 in the France Top 50, #6 in the United Kingdom charts, #11 in Ireland, #17 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and in Denmark.
It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
It is named #95 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100 strong industry panel. “Beds Are Burning” was declared third behind the Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind” and Daddy Cool’s “Eagle Rock”.
“Beds Are Burning” is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to 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 1960s 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.
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Albums featuring this track
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Shouts
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gnosienne wrote:
it belongs to them... LETS GIVE IT BACK!!!!!!!!!
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ABM1708 wrote:
Steam at 45 degrees, the time has come! Great song no matter how many times you play it
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LostChord_Mark wrote:
overplayed and MTV'd to death - but the song remains a masterpiece!! love the vocals - that is MY kind of "growling"! "how can we dance when out earth is turning..."
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TheLoveGuru wrote:
A must-have in your iPod or MP3s collection. Awesome song!
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Distron wrote:
The chorus and lyrics are great. How can we dance....................? How do we sleep...................?
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Antridian wrote:
Good song. One of the few singles released after 1984 that I like.
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xoanpaz wrote:
Que peaso de cansió
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danzero wrote:
"It is named #95 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s." WTF?!?!?!
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Musicflyer wrote:
Top ten fav
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P_Esparsas wrote:
This song is great.
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keysrgood wrote:
our band did a cover of this back in the day!
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archange08 wrote:
yezah great tube !!!
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rfranco469 wrote:
Simply Great.............Saw them when they played in front of the EXXON building in NY!!!! Wish I could afford video camera back then!!now I cant even find the vhs version of that concert!
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CruiserG20 wrote:
Super Song, nur leider hat er seine Botschaft immer noch nicht zu unserem Verstand tragen können. Wir feiern halt bis alles kaputt ist ;)
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ROCKPOPCLASSIC wrote:
G****
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Giusychevola wrote:
My favourite!
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Arthur-Engler wrote:
Very very must !
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gr8dalmuti wrote:
The time has come. Hold on. It's gonna be a rough ride.
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Irrit8d wrote:
22 years on and we're still not listening .....
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discmann wrote:
super song .........d
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Vampiressxxx, stewylad2, kingvandal and 1 other person loved Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning. 7 minutes ago
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