Men at Work, kookaburra, Down Under

Something about the court case where Men at Work were found to have ripped off a children’s song for their worldwide hit Down Under just isn’t right.

It’s obvious, yes, that Men at Work borrowed the tune, Kookaburra for parts of the song. The give-away is at the 52 second mark of the above video, where…well, have a look and you’ll get it.

Unlike other artists, Men at Work never ripped off a tune and pretended to call it their own, they incorporated a kids’ tune and added it to the fabric of their work.

It’s clear that there was no masterplan by Men at Work to steal a tune and make a killing from it - Down Under was originally released as a B-side on their first single when they were still a struggling band from Melbourne. The Australian children’s song suited Down Under’s theme of a nation’s innocence and optimism, and their innocence and optimism no doubt led them to believe Kookaburra was part of the public domain.

The composer of Kookaburra, Melbourne music teacher, Marion Sinclair never sought royalties from Men at Work during her lifetime,  possibly because she was an Australian who didn’t believe the world owed her a living, and possibly because – it is said – her song borrowed elements from an old Welsh folk tune. Instead, the music publishers stepped into the fray after she died.

One of the themes of Down Under was that Australia was a refuge from the rest of the world (“You’d better run, you’d better take cover.”)

Ironically, it turns out the thing to run from was copyright laws. As suggested in a comment over here,  it is believed copyright laws that worked in the music publisher's favour in this case came to Australia as part of the wheelings and dealings for a US-Australia free trade deal.

The thing that doesn’t sit quite right is that Men at Work, in good faith, were creative and ultimately gave something to Australia and the public at large. They got lucky and made money out of it – so good for them.

The people suing them, on the other hand, appear to be opportunists who have not created anything.

Judgment for damages has not yet been made, but I humbly submit that the legal profession might yet salvage some honour if the music publishers are awarded costs, a can of Fosters (if anyone can find one) and a vegemite sandwich.