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October 13

Midnight Oil lyrics

Midnight Oil is a politically-focused rock band from Australia. In 1984, they released a song called Who Can Stand in the Way, which is broadly about the brutality of capitalism. The lyrics, as usual, are rooted in Australia and Australian culture: John Laws, Dobroyd Point, First Fleet, etc. But the part I'm curious about is a kind of lyrical epilogue at the very end, where Garrett sings:

When the spinifex hit Sydney, it was the last thing we expected
When the desert reached the Gladesville, we tried to tame it
And when the emus grazed at the Pyrmont, it suddenly dawned on us all
Hah, everybody, the world was silent and the door was shut.

These also reference Australian things, but it's otherwise completely out of place and sounds kind of like they're quoting someone. Our article on John Laws says that he published poetry and he's name-checked right at the start of the song. Is this passage from him? Googling has not turned up anything for me yet. Matt Deres (talk) 14:47, 13 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Why do you assume it's a quote? To me it just feels like part of the lyrics of the song. --Viennese Waltz 03:35, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If it were published poetry, then phrases from it would surely appear on Google, which (apart from quotes from these lyrics) it doesn't. Alansplodge (talk) 12:02, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Well, fair enough. But if I search for John Laws poetry, I get reviews, and other people recording it, and other evidence of their existence, but precious little actual poetry. Likewise, Googling, john laws lyrics only gives examples of songs about someone named John Laws (same guy or not). Matt Deres (talk) 18:52, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Given that Laws is still alive, copyright concerns are likely to restrict the amount of his poetry uploaded and searchable. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.86.81 (talk) 05:20, 15 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think it might come from elsewhere because it's sung in a different style, and doesn't match the theme or pace of the rest of the song. To be honest, it doesn't sound like any of the Oils music I've heard. Matt Deres (talk) 18:41, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]