Men At Work songwriter says the song stands for inclusion and unity, not division, after it is used by March For Australia
by Paul Cashmere
Colin Hay has issued an unequivocal condemnation of the use of Men At Work’s signature song Down Under at rallies organised by the anti-immigration group March For Australia, declaring the song has been misappropriated and stripped of its original intent.
In a statement shared via his social media channels, Hay said he “most strenuously disapproves” of what he described as the unauthorised and unlicensed use of Down Under at events aligned with the movement, which is planning coordinated marches across Australia on 26 January under the slogan “Our national identity will not be erased”.
Hay, who co-wrote Down Under with Men At Work guitarist Ron Strykert, made it clear the song was never intended to serve as a rallying cry for exclusionary politics. Signing off pointedly as “Colin Hay (immigrant)”, he underscored both his personal history and the broader message he believes the song represents.
“Down 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,” Hay wrote. “Down Under is ultimately a song of celebration. It’s for pluralism and inclusion, unity, not division. Go write your own song, leave mine alone.”
Hay was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia with his family as a teenager, a formative experience that later informed both his worldview and his songwriting. That sense of displacement, observation and cultural reflection is embedded in Down Under, which was released in 1981 and went on to become one of the most internationally successful songs ever written by an Australian band.
Originally recorded by Men At Work during their early Melbourne pub circuit days, Down Under appeared on the band’s debut album Business As Usual. The song reached number one in Australia before conquering charts across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Europe and North America, spending four weeks at the top of the US charts and selling more than two million copies there alone. Its success helped propel Business As Usual into global blockbuster territory and established Men At Work as one of Australia’s defining musical exports of the era.
Despite its singalong chorus and unmistakable Australiana references, Down Under has long been misunderstood as a straightforward patriotic anthem. Hay has repeatedly explained over the years that the song was written with irony and commentary in mind, reflecting on Australia’s identity, its relationship with the wider world and the risks of cultural and environmental exploitation. Lyrics referencing travel, displacement and caricatured national symbols were intended as observation rather than endorsement.
Over time, the song has taken on a life far beyond its original context. It is frequently played at sporting events, was performed by Men At Work at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and has been embraced as an unofficial national anthem. In the streaming era, Down Under has continued to find new audiences, surpassing one billion streams in 2022 and being reinterpreted by contemporary Australian artists, including versions that incorporate First Nations languages.
Hay’s objection to its use at March For Australia rallies places him alongside a growing list of Australian musicians who have publicly rejected the association of their work with the movement. In recent years, artists including John Williamson, Cold Chisel, Icehouse and The Living End have all distanced themselves from similar uses of their songs, stating that permission was neither sought nor granted and that the values of the rallies do not align with the intentions behind the music.
For Hay, the issue goes beyond copyright and licensing, although those concerns are real. It is also about authorship, meaning and moral ownership. As a songwriter whose career has spanned more than four decades, both with Men At Work and as a solo artist, Hay has consistently framed his work around empathy, storytelling and shared human experience.
The renewed attention on Down Under also revisits its complex legacy within Australian culture. The song has been celebrated, litigated and debated, most notably during the long-running copyright case over the use of the children’s song Kookaburra in its flute melody. Through all of that, it has remained a touchstone of Australian popular music, recognised by industry bodies, broadcasters and the National Film and Sound Archive as a culturally significant work.
Hay’s latest statement reinforces a message he has articulated many times before, that Down Under is a song shaped by migration, curiosity and cultural exchange. In his view, any attempt to repurpose it as a symbol of exclusion fundamentally misunderstands both the song and the country it reflects.
At a time when music is once again being pulled into broader social and political debates, Hay’s response draws a clear line. The song may belong to Australia, but its meaning, he insists, is rooted in openness rather than fear.
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