Wallaby Down

Iconic Aussie Songs: Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport

When this site started, one of the posts I put online was about Men At Work and their Land Down Under tune. Recently, I posted about Cold Chisel‘s Khe Sanh for Australia Day. Both posts got some good reactions, so I’ve decided to kick off a regular series/feature here at WallabyDown.com called Iconic Aussie Songs.

For the first post in this series, I thought I’d look at a bit of a classic: Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport by Rolf Harris. It’s older than the two previous songs mentioned, having been originally written in 1957. The tune was officially released in 1960, and surprisingly (at the time) became an international smash, reaching the top 10 in Australia, the USA, and the UK.

Harris took inspiration from the famous Aussie poet, Banjo Patterson, and the song was loosely based on the poem The Dying Stockman – and the title indeed says it all: it’s the story of a stockman (person who looks after livestock on a station) who is dying, and leaving his last wishes to his workers and friends.

Although the subject matter is sobering, the tune is actually lighthearted in tone, highlighting the typical Aussie irreverence, but also the positive nature Australians have throughout their lives.

The song has since become identifiable as highly reflective of Aussie culture. It was also the first time that Harris used his wobble board on the song:

Also, on a side note, the name of this site, “Wallaby Down”, is inspired by Rolf’s song title. It’s a twist and alteration on the title, to make the name sound a little ‘oddball’, indicating that this site is pure true blue Aussie, but a little off-kilter and odd