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Men At Work - Down Under


babyteen

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I read recently that Men At Work's hit song, "Down Under" was involved in a lawsuit. Apparently the argument was over the fact that the flute riff was taken from the classic children's tune, "Kookaburra". How many of you Songfacts Members notice a difference or a similarity between the two songs? Do any of you think that the two songs are exactly identical?

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One response you did not list is, "There is not enough similarity to warrant a successful plagarism lawsuit"

to which I would have indicated "affirmative."

It's a shame the band lost this court action.

Plagarism? Don't you mean plagiarism?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Oh sure, Annabelle...that's how it starts. "Are you with Team Men At Work? Or are you with Team Larrikan?" Seems like an innocent enough question. But then you'll be asking for my password, account number and SS#. I've seen it before. Nice try Kid. I aint bitin'!

Looky here, I wouldn't ask such a thing as that. I'm being totally honest. I wouldn't ask you for your password, account number, or even SSN. Only a dirty fool would do that. So please believe me when I say, I'm not one of those dirty fools!

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Looky here, I wouldn't ask such a thing as that. I'm being totally honest. I wouldn't ask you for your password, account number, or even SSN. Only a dirty fool would do that. So please believe me when I say, I'm not one of those dirty fools!

Anabelle, what Rocky means is that Uncle Joe is joking... :)

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  • 5 weeks later...

If you ask me, from a singer/songwriter's point of view, there's not enough similarity to warrant a copyright infringement.? Kookaburra, according to a video I listened to on Youtube, is in a major key, in this case C-Major. Down Under is in B-Minor. And, How can they compare a flute with a recording of a children's choir? I can tell you this right now, if Colin Hay and the members of Men At Work are reading this, I'm on your side. I'm with you all the way, mates. I love you, you sweet Australians! This is your ticket to a sweet reunion! You're brilliant! And, Colin's right, it's all about greed! Some guy, the leader of Larrikin Music, wants to go with one of those get rich quick schemes. But I'm telling you, this is not the best way to do it! You know what I mean?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Means it smells bad.

Quite interesting if you ask me. I wonder how it's going. Are they still deciding what's going to happen? Is there going to be a second stage? I sure hope that the members of Men At Work have enough common sense in their heads to say, "This should be thrown out of court! It's been too long, and this whole shenanigan is just plain ridiculous!" (in a broad Australian Accent) "Do you agree with me on that one, mate?"

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"Down Under" by Men At Work. What's to like about it? I've always been mystified. One of the most tiresome and charmless records I was ever subjected to.

Just at the point when The Police were starting to become irritating, what should come along but a cheap Australian imitation of The Police. Just what the world needed? I didn't think so at the time, and nothing much has happened since to change my view.

The idea that the guys from MaW have been swimming in guitar-shaped pools off the back of their dreadful one-hit wonder is one I'd rather not contemplate. Clap them in irons, I say. Shame nobody did it before they had the chance to record this abomination.

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