2018 – Birany Birany Speech

Plaque Ceremony for M Yunupingu.

Birany Birany, June 7, 2018

27 years ago I sat around a campfire just over there with a guitar and a man with a big smile who wanted to write a song about making a treaty. 

We were working on other songs too that my friend had written for Yothu Yindi’s second album and every once in a while we’d come back to the Treaty Song and pick away at it. By the time we left here we had some of the words and a melody by I wouldn’t say we had a song yet. 

We went back to Darwin and rehearsed with the band for a week mainly on all the other songs. On the last day of rehearsal the band started a jam in Em. Kind of funky. I sang our words over the top, added a chord and my friend started singing a manikay. Suddenly we all thought – we have something here. We didn’t have a chorus yet so we just sang ‘Treaty yeah, Treaty now’over one chord and said we’ll write a proper chorus later. We never did. 

A few months later the band recorded the song in Melbourne and Sydney. Peter Garrett helped out with some backing vocals. Some time later 3 DJs under the name Filthy Lucre remixed the song. They completely retooled it, adding things in and taking things out but they kept the chorus that wasn’t a chorus. That version became a hit. 

So many hands were laid on this song, many hands made it a success. 

“This land was never given up….”

While we were camping here my friend with the big smile showed me his country and shared his philosophy. A philosophy based on balance. Balance between Yolngu and Balanda, between freshwater and saltwater, between dhuwa and yirritja, between protecting culture and showing culture. Much if it was a mystery to me and still is. I vividly remember watching him spear fish I couldn’t see. 

The fight for proper recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty goes on and more than ever we need balance in that struggle. 

Thank you to Yalmay for inviting me here, to Witiyana and all the family for making me welcome on their country and for the great honour shown me today. Thank you everybody for being here.