May 10, 2013
Tears at a Karaoke Bar
I never thought I’d be fighting back tears at a karaoke bar. Musician Bernie Flynn took me to Kirby’s Outback bar in Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia where our friend Jono was coordinating the weekly karaoke session, timed to coincide with the release of government checks given to people in need. The place was packed, mostly with Aboriginal people, who came for beer and to sing a few tunes. At one point an Aboriginal man did karaoke for Midnight Oil’s “How Can We Sleep When Our Beds are Burning.” Everyone in the place (some 200) knew every word. Elder women danced. Everyone sang. “It belongs to them, let’s give it back.”
Midnight Oil, “Beds Are Burning”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E