List of songs about Melbourne

The music of Australia and most particularly the rock, pop, Hip hop and indie rock music of Australia has had a long fascination with the local environment be it urban or rural. This is a list of songs which mention or are about Melbourne the capital city of Victoria, Australia, the suburbs of Melbourne and nearby locations. In 2004, an article by Michael Dwyer published in The Age discussed songs written about Melbourne. A list of twenty-five songs about Melbourne were also published.^[1]

Fairfax sister publication, The Sydney Morning Herald ran a concurrent article discussing songs written about Sydney at the time. Paul Kelly had four songs in each list, one of which ("From St Kilda to Kings Cross") featured in both lists.^[2]

Contents 

• 0–9
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

0-9

• "The 4.32 to Epping Has Been Delayed, Connex Apologies For Any Inconvenience" by Fat Cancer Timebomb

A

• "A Mile Over Melbourne" by Strawpeople^[3]
• "A Tale of Two Cities" by The Lucksmiths
• "Accidentally Kelly St" by Frente!^[3]
• "Accidentally Hoddle Street" by Peril
• "Ain' No Place" by Eloquor
• "Alamein Train" by North To Alaskans^[3]
• "All Torn Down" by The Living End
• "An Argument with Myself" by Jens Lekman
• Another day in the city
• "Australia" by Guttermouth^[3]
• "Autumn Leaves" by Huxton Creepers^[3]

B

• "Ball... Yes!" by Alloi Head and the Victa Motors^[1]
• "Balwyn Calling" by Skyhooks^[1]
• "Beat Parade" by Even^[3]
• "Better Days" by Solomon Illios
• "Better Than This" by Microphonics
• "Beautiful People" by Australian Crawl^[1]
• "Boys Light Up" by Australian Crawl
• "Bridges are Cool" by The Jayco Brothers
• "Brighton Creeper" by Wendy & the Rockets^[3]
• "Broadmeadows Line" by Ricaine
• "Brunswick Road" by The Purple Dentists
• "Brunswick" by Weddings Parties Anything^[1]
• "Brunswick Street Girl" by Warner Bros.^[3]
• "By the Banks of the Yarra" by the Coodabeen Champions.^[3]

C

• "Carlton (Lygon Street Limbo)" by Skyhooks^[1]
• "Carlton North" by Guy Blackman
• "Chapel Laps" by Bouncer
• "Chapel Street etc." by Something for Kate
• "Charcoal Lane" by Archie Roach^[1]
• "Chechen Gorilla" by Pegz
• "City Flat" by Boom Crash Opera
• "Collingwood" by The Sharp^[3]
• "Collingwood" by High Tension
• "Coming Home" by Mark Seymour^[3]
• "Crazy Crazy Melbourne" by Wall of Voodoo^[3]
• "Crown Tower Blues" by Root!
• "Carlton United Tragedy" By Lyrical Commission
• "City of Cool" by Jon. S Williams

D

• "Deanna" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds^[3]
• "Dumb n' Base" by TISM
• "Depreston" by Courtney Barnett

E

• "East Melbourne Summer" by The Smith Street Band (band)

F

• "Fat City" by Airbourne
• "Fatter Two" by Reason, Lazy Grey and Pegz
• "Fitzroy Strongman" by Sodastream^[3]
• "Footscray" by Billy Miller and Gary Adams^[1]
• "Footscray Park" by Bob Evans
• "Four Seasons In One Day" by Crowded House^[3]
• "Fourteen Years in Rowville" by TISM
• "From Macaulay Station" by The Lucksmiths
• "From St Kilda to Fitzroy" by Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra
• "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls^[1]
• "From Belgrave With Love" by Ron Rude
• "From the, To The" by The Scared Weird Little Guys
• "Frankston Line" by Youth Group

G

• "*Gasworks Park" by Ice Cream Hands^[1]
• "Get Me Out" by New Model Army
• "Get Thee In My Behind, Satan" by TISM
• "Girl From The Tote" by The Swedish Magazines
• "Goodbye Melbourne Town" by Leonard Nelson and Fred Hall (1908)^[4]
• "Goin' Down" by Bias B
• "Grey Skies Over Collingwood" by Weddings Parties Anything^[1]

H

• "Happy Birthday Helen" by Things of Stone and Wood^[3]
• "Hells Burn" by Tornts
• "Hello Cruel World" by Klinger^[3]
• "Here Now" by Phrase
• "High Street Sunset" by The T-Bones
• "Highway 31" by Johnny Chester^[1]
• "Home Again" by Mark Seymour^[1]
• "Hoochie Coochie Fiorucci Mama" by Australian Crawl^[3]
• "Hookville" by Phrase
• "Hursty" by Bias B

I

• "I Thank You (For One Hundred Years)"
• "I Dream of Spring" K.D. Lang

J

• "January Rain" by Hunters & Collectors^[3]
• "John Cain Avenue" by My Friend The Chocolate Cake^[3]

K

• "Killed her in St Kilda" by Voodoo Lovecats
• "Know" by Pegz

L

• "Last House On The Left" by The Sports^[1]
• "Last Saturday Night" by Chris Wilson^[3]
• "Last Train From Mobiltown" by Broderick Smith's Big Combo^[5]
• "Leaps and Bounds" by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls^[1]
• "Let's Go Walk This Town" by My Friend the Chocolate Cake^[1]
• "Line to Line" by Bias B
• "Let’s Take a Trip to Melbourne" by Clement Williams^[6]
• "Low Dan" by Otouto
• "Lygon Street Meltdown" by Melbourne Ska Orchestra

M

• "Machete" by Mark Chopper Read, Bias B, Trem and Brad Strut
• "M.E.L." by Weapon X n Ken Hell
• "Melborn and Sideny" by The Idlers Five
• "Melbourne" by Daniel Jericho/Maunder
• "Melbourne" by Sean Tyas
• "Melbourne" by The Whitlams^[3]
• "Melbourne" by Urban Problems
• "Melbourne Burning" by The DC3
• "Melbourne City" by David Bridie^[3]
• "(I've Just Run out of) Melbourne Clichés" by The Late Show (parody of "Happy Birthday Helen" by Things of Stone and Wood)
• "Melbourne Girl" by Tripod
• "Melbourne Girls" by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls^[3]
• "Melbourne Hip-Hop" by Fubex
• "Melbourne Mafia" by Dave Graney^[3]
• "Melbourne Memories" by Bias B^[3]
• "Melbourne Song" by Colin Hay^[3]
• "Melbourne Sound" by Matty Lincoln
• "Melbourne Suburbs Medley" by Gabriel Rossi
• "Melbourne Summer" by Iota^[3]
• "Melbourne To Sydney in 18 Hours" by Bushwackers^[3]
• "Melbourne Town" by Neil Murray^[3]
• "Melbourne Town" by Clinton Farr
• "Melbourne Town" by The T-Bones
• "Melbourne's Just Not New York" by Little Heroes^[3]
• "Melburning Mind State" by Elf Tranzporter feat. Defron
• "Melodies Of St Kilda" by Masters Apprentices^[3]
• "Melwayz" Reason and Bias B
• "Metal for Melbourne" by Ion Drive
• "Move On" by Jet
• "Mourningtown Ride" by TISM^[3]
• "My Arse Is Black from Bourke Street" by Chain^[7]
• "My Brown Yarra" by Whirling Furphies^[3]

N

• "Napiers Bar" by Cheezlekane^[3]
• "Never Turn Right at Burke Road, Malvern" by Greg Champion
• "Northcote (So Hungover)" by The Bedroom Philosopher
• "Northcote" by Blood Duster
• "Nothing Beats Footy At The MCG" by Jim Cadman
• "Nut Busta" by Bias B

O

• "One Day in September" by Mike Brady

P

• "Platform Girl" by Peter Sherwood
• "Postcards From Melbourne" by Raul Graf/Ed Kuepper^[3]
• "Press Release" by Lyrical Commission
• "Pub" by Cosmic Psychos^[3]
• "Punt Road Traffic" by Mark Ferrie

R

• "Rain" by The Beatles
• "Rainbow Suit" by Overnight Jones
• "Regent to Ruthven" by Marcel Borrack
• "Return To The City Of Folded Arms" by Bluebottle Kiss from Patient (album)^[3]
• "Rushall Station" by Underground Lovers^[3]
• "Roll On (song)" by The Living End

S

• "Sangria" by Remi
• "Silver Friends" by The Lucksmiths
• "Sixteen In Melbourne" by Ron Rude^[3]
• "Smorgons Steel Mill" by The T-Bones
• "Spotswood" by The Orbweavers
• "Springvale Girl" by Loin Groin
• "Spring Me Out Of Caroline Springs" by Root!
• "St Kilda Nights" by Purple Dentists^[3]
• "Streets Of Old Fitzroy - Harry and Wilga Williams and the Country Outkasts^[3]
• "Stuck In Melbourne by Warner Bros^[3]
• "Suburb In Between" by The Mabels^[3]
• "Summer Days" by TZU
• "Sunbury '97" by The Fauves^[3]

T

• "That's the Thing about Football" by Greg Champion
• "The Beautiful Look City Today" by Gersey^[3]
• "The Boy Who Lost His Jocks On Flinders Street Station" by Painters and Dockers^[1]
• "The Boys Light Up" by Australian Crawl^[8]
• "The Clarke Sisters" by The Go-Betweens
• "The Crowd" by The Cat Empire
• "The History Of Western Civilisation" by TISM
• "The Melbourne Cup" by Slim Dusty^[1]
• "The Mordialloc Road Duplicator" by TISM
• "The Parable of Glenn McGrath's Haircut" by TISM
• "The Rites of Springy" by Root!
• "The Sandringham Line" by The Lucksmiths
• "The Young Crazed Peeling" by The Distillers
• "The Wine Song" by The Cat Empire
• "Thomastown" by Not Drowning, Waving
• "Thornbury by Ruck Rover^[3]
• "Three Oh Seven Ohh by Blood Duster
• "To Her Door" by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls^[1]
• "Toorak Cowboy" by Skyhooks^[1]
• "Tramway Hotel" by The T-Bones
• "Tribute To Eltham" by Muphin of Muph & Plutonic
• "Twist Senorita" by The Sports^[1]
• "Tropical London" by Rancid *

U

• "Under the Clocks" by Weddings Parties Anything^[1]
• "Under the Rotunda" by The Lucksmiths

V

• "Victoria's Secrets" by Augie March

W

• "Walkabout" by Lyrical Commission
• "Watsonia" by Klinger
• "Waverley" by The Wagons
• "Waverley Park" by Loin Groin^[3]
• "We Are All Of Us In The Gutter, But Some Of Us Are Looking At The Sewerage" by TISM
• "We Built This" by Solomon Klepto
• Welcome to Melbourne City
• "Westgate" by Mark Seymour
• "Westgate" by The T-Bones
• "Westgate Bridge" by Sleepy Township
• "West End Riot" by The Living End
• "(Boys) What Did The Detectives Say?" by The Sports^[1]
• "Whatever Happened To The Old Pubs" by Shonkyytonk^[3]
• "What's At The End of Warrigal Road?" by Greg Champion
• "When I First Met Your Ma" by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls^[1]
• "Who?" by TZU
• "Whole Lotta Rosie" by AC/DC^[1]

Y

• "Yarra Song" by Billy Bragg
• "Young Drunk" by The Smith Street Band

Songs erroneously thought to be about Melbourne

• "Morningtown Ride" by The Seekers. The song was originally a lullaby written by Californian folk singer Malvina Reynolds in 1957. It is often attributed to Melbourne for depicting an old-fashioned train trip to the similarly named beach-side town of Mornington (as The Seekers largely hailed from Melbourne).
• "Town With No Cheer" by Tom Waits^[3] - although often believed to be about Melbourne, the titular town is actually Serviceton, Victoria.

See also

• "I've Been Everywhere" – a popular novelty song which mentions, inter alia, several Melbourne suburbs albeit not Melbourne itself.
• List of songs about Brisbane
• List of songs about Sydney

References

1. Dwyer, Michael (2004-08-28). "Songs Of Melbourne". The Age (Fairfax Digital). Retrieved 2007-12-09.
2. Zuel, Bernard (2004-09-18). "A Tale Of Two Cities' Ditties". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Digital). Retrieved 2006-07-22.
3. "Songs About Melbourne (Unearthed Special)". JFiles. triple j, ABC. 2001-06-21. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
4. "Good-bye Melbourne town music". State Library of Victoria. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
5. "Broderick Smith's Big Combo". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
6. "Does your town have its own song? // National Film and Sound Archive, Australia". nfsa.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
7. Culnane, Paul (2007). "CHAIN". MILESAGO: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Milesago. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
8. "Love is in the air Episode 5: "National Anthems"; transcript of interview with James Reyne". ABC-TV. 2003-11-09. Retrieved 2008-03-02.

External links

• 'Songs of Melbourne' article in The Age
• Triple J Unearthed Special
• Australia By Song - a growing list of Australian towns and locations that have been immortalised by both traditional and contemporary song