anonymous January 8th, 2009 10:35PM  
The singer is in a minivan (a "combi") traveling in Eurasia (on "the hippie trail"). He smokes pot ("zombie"), goes to Brussels and visits an opium den in Bombay. Everywhere he goes, he meets people (the lady, the huge Belgian, the opium seller) who are super nice to him. He can't figure out why, and he's nervous. (Maybe he's worried they want to roll him or something-- rob the tourist while he's stoned?) But every time, it turns out they're making him breakfast, pulling out the Vegemite, and getting him extra-special stoned because they just love Australians! They all go on and on about how robust Aussies are-- the women are so pretty and the men are so strong! The one thing I can't figure out is the "thunder." Why must he run and take cover? [On a personal note, I've always loved this song, and I can totally relate. I'm Jamaican, and I've travelled to many countries. And the same thing happens to me! When people find out I'm Jamaican, I always get a big smile, no matter what country.]

anonymous January 11th, 2009 09:33PM  
My interpretation goes so:

This person, a hippie if you prefer to label, is traveling to different parts of the world. His vehicle breaks down and finds a caring soul to help him and feed him. He refers to her as making him "nervous" which is understandable because some of the side effects of marijuana(the term for the slang 'Zombie') are distorted senses and anxiety. The woman asks him if he's "from the land down under where women glow and men plunder.."; in the music video they portray this woman as a fortune teller. Not refering to the video the woman could be asking him this because she is curious and may have heard rumors about life in Australia.
The man that he meets in Brussels is also from Australia as the "hippie" finds out when he's trying to order food. This shows that there are many different people in the world that you can meet and sometimes they're from where you're from. Kind of like a "its a small world" cliche.

The third verse is a little more difficult. There is a man who is trying to offer the "hippie" something. Most likely trying to sell it to him as if its 'just what he needs'; perhaphs saying that his good is the best in the world. Whichever the reason is, the "hippie" declines in a way telling the man that he comes from a land that gives him everything he needs and he doesn't need this foregin good. The man then realizes that the "hippie" is from Australia and asks him if he is "from the land down under..." and continues as if he had heard rumors just as the woman had. Which could be very reasonable because there were rebellions and civil war in Bombay which could have a citizen looking for a place of serenity, in this case Australia.

The thunder is also a little confusing, but if not taken too complex then its a little better. Australia does have thunderstorms which could be very dangerous. Making sense as to wanting to run and hide. It seems very like simple analysis of the reason for thunder, but it perplexes myself.

anony5 February 4th, 2009 09:12PM  
I agree with everything the Jamaican dude said except the piece about rolling tourists. Sounds more sexual, to me (offers to get stoned and have sex), but with the last request (a dude) he turns it down.

Minivan/"combi"
Eurasia travel/"hippie trail"
Pothead/"zombie"
Brussels/Bombay Opium den
People are nice/interested
He's nervous because he can't figure out why they want to give it up, but then is told the rumor... and he starts believing it...
So they feed him, prolong his high, because he's built and hung, like they've heard Aussies are.

Oh... and thunder/run for cover... come on...
That's all about the big "O"...

Wizzi June 10th, 2009 09:56AM  
I personally think that song simply isn't as deep as you think it is. That is simply about some hippies traveling around while using opium and drinking a lot. Men plunder (slang for RAPE) Thunder (slang for diarrhea, Chunder (slang for vomitting), this all because they are drunk and stoned. Not every song is deep, most are simply rimes with nice music too it.

anonymous June 23rd, 2009 06:19AM  
@ christmas ape: Brussels is not in Germany, it belongs to Belgium.

anonymous July 16th, 2009 10:43AM  
Don’t go yelling “EVERYBODY LOVES Americans!!!” in northern Vietnam, North Korea or the middle east unless you want to get beaten up, arrested or shot (respectively – or there about). Australians are a bit kinder, and will merely laugh at you, thanks in no small part to this show:

http://www.vidly.net/video-the-chasers-war-on-everything-americans.html

No, this song is a deeper than just drugs & drinking, and the anonymous comment made before Wizzi’s speculates the intended meaning of the song a lot better than most (including most Australians – possibly even more so).

Colin Hay wrote the lyrics, and here’s what he’s had to say:

"The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the over-development of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It's really more than that."

"It's a very important song for me. It always felt like a strong song, right from the start. Originally, the idea came from a little bass riff that Ron Strykert, the guitar player for Men at Work, had recorded on a little home cassette demo. It was just a little bass riff with some percussion that he played on bottles which were filled with water to varying degrees to get different notes. It was a very intriguing little groove. I really loved it, it had a real trance-like quality to it. I used to listen to it in the car all the time. When I was driving along one day in Melbourne, the chords popped out and a couple of days later I wrote the verses."

"It's ironic to me that so many people thought it was about a specific thing and that really wasn't the intention behind the song. If you listen to 'Born In The USA,' it's a similar song in that there's a lot of nuance missed because people like drinking beer and throwing their arms up in the air and feeling nationalistic. It's ultimately a song about celebration, but it's a matter of what you choose to celebrate about a country or a place. White people haven't been in Australia all that long, and it's truly an awesome place, but one of the most interesting and exciting things about the country is what was there before. The true heritage of a country often gets lost in the name of progress and development."