This is a list of songs that mention or are about Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, as well as the suburbs of Sydney.
Song listings
editThe list is ordered alphabetically by suburb and within suburb alphabetically by song title. Where known, the songwriters, performing artists and album or CD on which the track has appeared are listed. Some of the tracks listed appear on the Sony Music 2000 double-compilation CD Somewhere in Sydney – 30 songs from the Harbour City, which was compiled and conceived by Glenn A. Baker.
Annandale
edit- "Booth Street" Youth Group
Balmain
edit- "Any Day Above Ground" James Reyne
- "Darling St." Spit Syndicate
- "The Four Corners of the Earth" Weddings Parties Anything
- "Guess How Much I Love You" The Lucksmiths
Bellevue Hill
edit- "Somewhere in Sydney" (Greg Macainsh) Skyhooks
Beverly Hills
edit- "Naomi Campbell" 360
Blacktown
edit- "Blacktown" Miracle
- "Blacktown" The Numbers
- "Blacktown Boogie" (Marc Hunter, Robert M. Taylor, Todd Hunter) Dragon
- "Blacktown to Bondi" Mental as Anything
- "Sunnyholt" Perry Keyes
Bondi
edit- "A Brief History" The Waifs
- "Blacktown to Bondi" Mental as Anything
- "Bondi" (Elliott Weston) Elliott Weston
- "Bondi" Cog
- "Bondi '98" Dick Diver
- "Bondi Pier" Grateful Dead
- "Bondi Road" Dragon
- "Chunder in the Old Pacific Sea" Barry Crocker
- "Fall of Rome" (James Reyne) James Reyne
- "I Will Not Go Quietly (Duffy's Song)" The Whitlams
- "Rainbow's Dead End" James Reyne
- "Section 5 (Bus to Bondi)" (Rotsey/Hirst/Garrett/Moginie) Midnight Oil[1]
- "The Waitress" The Waifs
Botany Bay
edit- "Botany Bay"
- "Brylcream, Alcohol & Pills" (Keyes) Perry Keyes
- "Jim Jones at Botany Bay"
- "To the Shores of Botany Bay" (Traditional arrangement The Bushwackers) The Bushwackers
- "The Fields of Athenry" Pete St John
Brighton-Le-Sands
edit- "Canada" Lazy Susan
Cabramatta
edit- "Cabramatta Sunrise" Dom Turner
- "I Hang Out with the Guys in Jet('s Uncle)" Root!
Camperdown
edit- "Australia Street" Sticky Fingers
- "Rose of Camperdown" (Fenton/Rumble) Holly
Centennial Park
edit- "Letter to Alan" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
Chatswood
edit- "Bring on The Change" Midnight Oil
- "I Hang Out with the Guys in Jet('s Uncle)" Root!
- "I Wish Somebody Would Build A Bridge (So I Can Get Over Myself)" Thirsty Merc
- "Koala Sprint" (Garrett, Moginie, Rotsey) Midnight Oil
Chippendale
edit- "Strange Days in Chippendale" Richard Clapton
Circular Quay
edit- "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (Eric Bogle) Eric Bogle "Now I'm Easy" (Larrikin Records).
- "If We Can't Get It Together" (Tim Rogers) You Am I[1] Hourly Daily
- "Reckless" (James Reyne) Australian Crawl Semantics (EMI); Paul Kelly Hidden Things; James Reyne Electric Digger Dandy; John Farnham I Remember When I Was Young[1]
Coogee
edit- "Coogee Boy" (Keyes) Perry Keyes
- "Mr Munroe" (Martin Plaza) Mental As Anything
- "Wedding Cake Island" Midnight Oil[1]
Darlinghurst
edit- "Boundary Street" Cold Chisel[2]
- "Darling It Hurts" (Paul Kelly, Steve Connelly) Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls[1]
- "Darlinghurst Confidential" The Celibate Rifles[1]
- "Darlinghurst Nights" (Robert Forster) The Go-Betweens
- "Darlinghurst Road" (R. Thorpe, Noel Watson) Noel Watson
- "Taylor Square" (Mick Thomas) Weddings Parties Anything
- "Working Girls" by Redgum
Drummoyne
editErmington
edit- "This Is Not My Town" (The Model School)
Erskineville
edit- "Bill from Erskineville" John Dengate
- "Erskineville" The Gadflys
- "Erskineville Nights" Youth Group
- "Sicilian Born" Graeme Connors
- "Siege of Union Street" Alistair Hulett
- "Someone's Dad" John Kennedy's 68 Comeback Special
Five Dock
edit- "The Cicada That Ate Five Dock" (John Sammers) Outline
Glebe
edit- "Harry Was a Bad Bugger" (Don Walker) Tex, Don and Charlie[3]
- "Lauren from Glebe" Muscles
- "Purple Sneakers" You Am I Hi Fi Way
- "Ben Lee" Klinger
Hornsby
edit- "Houndog" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "No Place Like Normanhurst" Kiff vs. Spliff
Kings Cross
edit- "At the Piccolo Bar" (Don Walker) Don Walker
- "Breakfast at Sweethearts" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel Album Breakfast at Sweethearts[1]
- "Cars for King's Cross" the Moles
- "El Alamein Blues" (Don Walker) Catfish
- "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" (Paul Kelly) Paul Kelly And The Messengers
- "Have You Ever Been to see Kings Cross?" Frankie Davidson with the Sapphires.
- "Hidden Things" Paul Kelly[1]
- "Girls on the Avenue" Richard Clapton
- "Kickin' On" The Fauves
- "Kings Cross" (Lance Ferguson) The Bamboos
- "Kings Cross Ladies" (Dave Tice/John Baxter) Buffalo
- "Knee Length Socks" Urthboy
- "Letter to Alan" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Manzil Madness" (Anderson/Wells) Rose Tattoo
- "Matilda No More" Kasey Chambers and Slim Dusty
- "Metho Blues" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Plaza" Cold Chisel
- "Queen of Everyone's Heart" (Keyes) Perry Keyes
- "The Mansions" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Young Girls" (Don Walker) Don Walker
Lambton
edit"Lambton Lights" Bob Corbett
Llandilo
edit- "Meth Labs and Daygos" 360
Lavender Bay
edit- "Long Jumping Jeweller (of Lavender Bay)* (Glenn Shorrock) Little River Band
Leichhardt
edit- "Norton Street" *(Raoul Graf/Ed Kuepper) Raoul Graf
Manly
edit- "Coastal Kids" Bliss n Eso
- "Manly" Camperdown & Out[4]
- "Misfits (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Reckless" (James Reyne) Australian Crawl Semantics (EMI)[1]
Maroubra
edit- "Coastal Kids" Bliss n Eso
- "Down on the Street with You" (Keyes) Perry Keyes
- "Stomping at Maroubra" Little Pattie
Marrickville
edit- "Miracle in Marrickville" John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong Single Red Eye Records
- "River of Tears" (Kev Carmody) Kev Carmody, The Drones
- "Warren Rd" Custard
- "You sound like Louis Burdett" – The Whitlams
Matraville
edit- "Matraville Trees" by Perry Keyes
McMahons Point
edit- "Blues Point Road" by The Buoys
Narrabeen
editNewtown
edit- "Exile on King St" Spurs For Jesus
- "Ghost of Newtown" John Kennedy
- "God Drinks at The Sando" The Whitlams[1]
- "King St" *John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong Single Red Eye Records
- "My Drug Buddy" The Lemonheads
- "Newtown Dreaming" *(Willoughby) Mixed Relations
- "Newtown (La La La)" Cuthbert and the Night Walkers
- "Peter Says (The Cat Protection Society Song)" by John Kennedy
- "Rock'n'Roll Band and a Schooner of Beer" (H. Ree) McBodybag
- "The Newtown Song" [Annita Cullen, Laurie and the Toyboys]
- "12 Hours" The Whitlams
- "Year of the Rat" The Whitlams
North Shore
edit- "North Shore Girls Get Off" (Dave Beniuk) David Beniuk
- "Somewhere in Sydney" (Greg Macainsh) Skyhooks
Paddington
edit- "Double on the Main Game" (Keyes) Perry Keyes
- "Oxford Street" (Dorian Mode) Dorian Mode
- "The Paddo Sharps" Celibate Rifles
- "The Streets of Paddington" (Ralph Graham) Eureka! with Dave Swarbrick
Palm Beach
edit- "Deep Water" (Richard Clapton) Richard Clapton[1]
Parramatta
edit- "Jack's Heroes" (Spider Stacy) The Pogues & The Dubliners
- "Oodnadatta Parramatta" by Jim Conway
- "Parramatta Gaol 1843" Redgum
- "Parramatta Hot Rod Man" The Whiteliners, Satellite V, Gaitorbait
- "Sweeney" Slim Dusty
- "The Abattoir Sky" (Keyes) Perry Keyes
- "The Letter Home" (MacManus, Cassidy, Belton) Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet
- "Tomorrow" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Two Cabs to the Toucan" (Sean Kelly, Andrew Duffield) Models
Pyrmont
edit- "Who Can Stand in the Way" (Moginie, Garrett) Midnight Oil
- "What Sydney Looks Like in June" Alex the Astronaut
Quakers Hill
edit- “So Easy” Triple One, Matt Corby and thatboykwame
Randwick
edit- "Randwick Bells" (Paul Kelly) Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls[1]
Redfern
edit- "Ivy Street" (Tim O'Reilly) The Mexican Spitfires Lupe Velez EP Red Eye Records
- "The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw" Perry Keyes The Last Ghost Train Home Album Laughing Outlaw – the song mentions several other Sydney suburbs
- "The Last Ghost Train Home" (Perry Keyes) Perry Keyes
- ”Warakurna" Midnight Oil
Stanmore
edit- "The Battle of Stanmore" Died Pretty
St Peters
edit- "St Peters" Camperdown & Out
Strathfield
edit- "Murder City Nights" (Denis Tek) Radio Birdman
- "Rookwood" (Stephen McCowage) The Mexican Spitfires Lupe Velez EP Red Eye Records
Strawberry Hills
edit- "Strawberry Hills Forever" John Kennedy
Summer Hill
edit- "Summer Hill Road" (R.Burton/G.Paige) The Executives Single Festival Records
Surry Hills
edit- "Green Ginger Wine" The Rumjacks
- "Incident on South Dowling" Paul Kelly
Sydney
edit- "A Tale of Two Cities" The Lucksmiths
- "A Reason for it All" Eric Bogle
- "Arrival at Sydney Harbour" Port Blue
- "Australia" (Ray Davies) The Kinks
- "Bradman" Paul Kelly
- "Bruce Went Down To Sydney" Col Elliott
- "The City Is Humming" 78 Saab
- "City of Lights"* (Grant McFarland) Grant McFarland
- "Diamantina Drover" (Hugh McDonald) Redgum
- "Don't Go to Sydney" (John Dowler, Mick Holmes) The Zimmermen
- "Fast Boat to Sydney" Johnny Cash
- "Found" Horrorshow
- "From Little Things Big Things Grow" Paul Kelly
- "From The Bush" Warumpi Band
- "Ghost Town" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Go Farther in Lightness" Gang of Youths
- "Harbour Town" Icehouse
- "He's on the Beach" Kirsty MacColl
- "Inland Sea" (Carus Thompson) Carus Thompson
- "The Inner West" David McCormack and the Polaroids Candy
- "I Wonder What They're Doing (in Sydney Today)" (Mick Thomas) Michael Thomas
- "I'll Be in Sydney Tonight" JR Williams
- "In the Valley" Midnight Oil
- "Khe Sanh" (Don Walker) Cold Chisel Atlantic records Single (April 1978)
- "Larrikin Town" *(Keith Glass) Keith Glass
- "Lights of Sydney Town" (Alistair Hulett) Roaring Jack
- "Liverpool Street" (Big Five) Big Five
- "Melbourne Vs Sydney" by Dan Kelly
- "My City of Sydney" (Tommy Leonetti/Robert Trout)[5] Tommy Leonetti, Mary Schneider, XL Capris, Frenzal Rhomb
- "Never Had So Much Fun" by Frenzal Rhomb
- "Okay Sydney, You Beat Me" by Nic Dalton And His Gloomchasers
- "Old Sydney Town" Alopi Latukefu & the Palermo Express
- "Power and the Passion" Midnight Oil
- "The Piss, The Perfume" Hayley Mary
- "Prague" Ruck Rover
- "Rep My City" Miracle
- "Ship My Body Home" Ben Lee
- "Somebody Else's Parking Lot in Sebastopol" by The Extra Lens
- "Somewhere in Sydney" (Greg Macainsh) Skyhooks
- "Sundays in Sydney" (Dave Steel) Dave Steel
- "Sydney" The Grinning Bellhops
- "Sydney Born Man" (Peter Martin) SCRA
- "Sydney City Ladies" (Martin Adamson [aka Lee Martin], Gabriel Vendetti, Allan Fraiel, Terry Meaney [aka Terry Halliday])[6] Geeza, Laser Records Streetlife
- "Sydney From a 747" (Paul Kelly) Paul Kelly & the Messengers, Mushroom Records Comedy[1]
- "Sydney Girls" (Anderson/Wells) Rose Tattoo
- "Sydney Harbour Bridge" (Justin Currie) Justin Currie
- "Sydney Ladies" (Broderick Smith/Kerryn Tolhurst), The Dingoes, The Dingoes (1974, Mushroom Records)
- "Sydney or the Bush" *(Norma O'Hara Murphy) Norma O'Hara Murphy
- "Sydney Song" Eskimo Joe
- "Sydney to Newcastle" The Middle East
- "Sydney Town" (Michael Quinlan) The Mexican Spitfires Lupe Velez EP Red Eye Records
- "Sydney Town (The more they try to keep you down in)"* (Hardy/Gary Sheaarson) – Frank Hardy recorded by Gary Shearson
- "Then 'Til Now" Bliss N Eso
- "Tom Uglys Bridge" D. C. Cross
- "Town Hall Steps" (Timothy (Tim) O'Reilly) The Mexican Spitfires Lupe Velez EP Red Eye Records
- "Typically Sydney" The Deadly Hume
- "Wake Up Sydney" Allniters
- "What Sydney Looks Like in June" Alex the Astronaut
- "When the Blue Finally Came" The Wonder Years
- "Where You Wanna Go" K1
- "Whitlam Square" Died Pretty
- "The Winner Is...SYDNEY" Southend
- "You Gotta Love This City" (Tim Freedman) The Whitlams[1] Love this City
Tamarama
edit- "Tamarama Doorslammer" *(C.Sue/A.Wilson) Killers on the Loose
Tempe
edit- "You Sound like Louis Burdett" – The Whitlams Eternal Nightcap
Warilla
edit- "Song to Warilla" (Martin Adamson [aka Lee Martin])[7] Geeza, Laser Records as a single from Streetlife
Warwick Farm
edit- "Harry was a Bad Bugger" (Don Walker) Tex, Don and Charlie
Waterloo
edit- "In the Backyard" (Perry Keyes) Perry Keyes
White Bay
edit- "The White Bay Paper Seller" *(Judy Small) Judy Small
Woolloomooloo
edit- "Hullabaloo" (S. Kelly, J. MacKay) Absent Friends
- "Lanes of Woolloomooloo" John Dengate
- "Numbers Fall" *(Don Walker) Cold Chisel
- "Ruby" (Don Walker) Catfish
- "Sailors into Woolloomooloo" - Nathan Roche
- "Ticket in Tatts" (Mick Thomas) Weddings Parties Anything
- "Woolloomooloo Lair" *(D.Newton/M.Williamson/R.Corbett) The Bushwackers
- "Woolloomooloo Sunset" (McCormack) David McCormack and the Polaroids
See also
edit- "I've Been Everywhere" – a popular novelty song which mentions, inter alia, several Sydney suburbs albeit not Sydney itself.
- List of songs about Melbourne
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "A tale of two cities' ditties". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ "Blood brothers: An interview with Cold Chisel". Stack.
- ^ Luke. "Tex, Don & Charlie – All Is Forgiven". Faster Louder. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Mitchell Judge (26 April 2013). "Camperdown & Out: 'I Just Don't Care About Anything'". Mess + Noise. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
- ^ ""Sydney City Ladies" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ Streetlife – Side One (Vinyl label). Geeza. Laser Records / RCA Records. 1977. VXLI 4046. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links
edit- Songs written about Sydney – Bernard Zuel, The Sydney Morning Herald
- Songs of Melbourne
- Australia By Song – a growing list of Australian towns and locations that have been immortalised by both traditional and contemporary song