Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil - MP3 instrumental karaoke

"Beds Are Burning" was released in August 1987 as the second single from Midnight Oil's sixth studio album, Diesel and Dust. Written by Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie, and Peter Garrett, the song was inspired by a tour through the Australian Outback, where the band witnessed the precarious conditions the indigenous communities lived in. Deeply moved by the situation, they set out to write a song that exposed how both British colonialism and the Australian government had forcefully deprived the natives of their land and their rights. Despite featuring very specific references to Australian places and politics, "Beds Are Burning" quickly became a global anti-colonial anthem, reaching Number 1 in New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada. In the years that followed its release, the track was included in the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and was covered by Comeback Kid, Amanda Palmer, and Julia Stone.