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| Length = 3:42 | Label = Columbia | Writer = | Producer = Peter McIan | Last single = "Who Can It Be Now?" (1981) | This single = "Down Under" (1981) | Next single = "Be Good Johnny" (1982) | Misc = }} "Down Under" (also known as "Land Down Under") is a song recorded by Australian rock band Men at Work. It was originally released in 1980 as the B-side to their first local single titled "Keypunch Operator", released before the band signed with Columbia Records. Both early songs were written by the group's co-founders, Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. The early version of "Down Under" has a slightly different tempo and arrangement than the later Columbia release. The most well known version was then released on Columbia in October 1981 as the third single from their debut album ''Business as Usual'' (1981). The song went to number one in their home country of Australia in December 1981, and then topped the New Zealand charts in February 1982. Released in North America in mid-1982, the song topped the Canadian charts in October. In the United States, the song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 6 November 1982 at No. 79, and reached No. 1 in January 1983 where it spent four non-consecutive weeks. It eventually sold over two million copies in the US alone. ''Billboard'' ranked it at No. 4 for 1983.〔 In the UK, the song topped the charts in January and February 1983, and is the only Men at Work song to make the UK top 20.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Men at Work )〕 The song also went No. 1 in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland, and was a top 10 hit in many other countries. It has become a popular and patriotic song in Australia.〔 ==Background and writing== Colin Hay told Songfacts: "The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the overdevelopment 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."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Down Under by Men at Work )〕 Hay has also said that the lyrics for "Down Under" were inspired by the Barry McKenzie character.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Down Under (song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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