"Gadigal Land" is a song by Australian rock band

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

featuring

Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan (born 1983) is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won ARIA Award for Best Male Artist, Best Male Artist and ARIA Award for Best Blues and Root ...

, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs and

Bunna Lawrie Coloured Stone is an Aboriginal Australian band whose members originate from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada (gong sto ...

. The song was released on 7 August 2020. It is the band's first single in 17 years, and is part of '' The Makarrata Project'', a themed mini-album of collaborations with

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

artists. Midnight Oil has pledged to donate its share of any proceeds it receives from the song to organisations promoting the 2017 ''

Uluru Statement from the Heart The ''Uluru Statement from the Heart'' is a 2017 petition by Australian Aboriginal leaders to change the constitution of Australia to improve the representation of Indigenous Australians. The statement was released on 26 May 2017 by delegates t ...

'', which called for the creation of a "First Nations Voice" enshrined in the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...

. The song won Song of the Year at the

APRA Music Awards of 2021 The APRA Music Awards of 2021 are the 39th annual series, known as APRA Awards. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the year: the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards and Scree ...

Background

The track takes its title from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

s, the Gadigal people (also spelled "Cadigal"), whose land extends from the

Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often refer ...

to South Head and through to the

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

. A statement from

Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. SMEA also formerly published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...

explained: "It is a provocative recount of what happened in this place, and elsewhere in Australia, since

1788 Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of ''The Times'', previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published in London. * January 2 – Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fourth U.S ...

". The track lyrics use a play on the traditional

Welcome to Country A Welcome to Country is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of a particular Aborigina ...

. In a statement, the band said regarding the song:

"We've always been happy to lend our voice to those who call for
racial justice Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
, but it really feels like we've reached a tipping point. We urge the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
to heed the messages in the ''Uluru Statement From The Heart'' and act accordingly. Hopefully this song and '' The Makarrata Project'' mini-album we've created alongside our First Nations friends can help shine a bit more light on the urgent need for genuine reconciliation in this country and in many other places too".

The song includes a verse written and spoken by Gadigal poet Joel Davison, who told ''

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

'' the experience was "validating" as a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and language revivalist. Davison said: "It was kind of wild being contacted by their manager, and at first I thought it was a

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or something. I didn't know what to think. He expressed gratitude for his inclusion in the song, stating: "I'm glad that I was able to be there to make sure that the language of my Gadigal ancestors was heard on this track".

Live performances

Midnight Oil played the song at the 17th Annual National Indigenous Music Awards on 8 August 2020.

Critical reception

Tom Breihan from ''

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'' described the song as "a big, bouncy rocker that sounds a whole lot like an arena jam", adding, "like so many Midnight Oil songs before it, the track is all about how Australia belongs to its Aboriginal people and about how white colonizers should get the fuck out". Michael Dwyer of ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' said: "Propelled by the Oils' unmistakable brass-studded attack, it is an uncompromising song of rage on behalf of the First Nations people acknowledged in the song's title and represented more broadly by the guest performers".

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2020 songs 2020 singles Sony Music Australia singles Midnight Oil songs Songs about indigenous peoples Songs about Australia Songs against racism and xenophobia APRA Award winners Songs written by Rob Hirst