Secret War - WARUMPI BAND

Warumpi Band's Excellent Political Protest Track, Secret War taken from their legendary 'Go Bush' Album. This track is full of pics so Yeah Enjoy....

Category:

Music

Tags:

• secret
• war
• warumpi
• band
• aboriginal
• music
• indigenous
• australia
• go
• bush
• imparja
• records

[econcern1]

This song is about West Papua (listen to the lyrics dam it!!) - while the history of Australia is a black one - this song is meant to be raising people's awareness about what the Indonesians are doing today in 2010 in West Papua - Get it Right for the West Papuans Please!!

[ORIGNALAUSTRALIAN]

What are you a white person or a black man?

[ORIGNALAUSTRALIAN]

Yeah the boys are still kicking, only Uncle george has passed on. Neiul Murray has gone solo and was touring Australia wit Shane Howard last year

[izkormvach]

A real masterpiece and i CAN'T stop WATCHING IT!

[ORIGNALAUSTRALIAN]

Thanks hey, The Gov of Australia has a very dark history...Get the book "Blood on the Wattle" by Bruce Elder, its an Australian book, very hard hitting facts, they tried to ban it here in Australia but still exists, thats for a start, it exposes all the massacres and acts of genocide committed in Australia against the aborigines

[ORIGNALAUSTRALIAN]

The song is as real as it can get...Check my brother Cam-Mac a couple of his songs are on my videos, he has hardhitting aboriginal lyrics

[BelaLugosiStrat]

Howdy y'all! I'm a whitefella, I'm actually a 17 old kid in Nevada, USA. I came across the Warumpi Band a few years ago (Through Midnight Oil), and just fell in love with them. Although I'm not Australian, I am quite disillusioned with the broken promises of this day and age, and very strongly relate to the messages carried in the work of both bands. Definitely a very underrated band. If my own musical career takes off, I'd like to release a tribute album to George and the boys... (Cont.)

[psynapsurfa]

@psynapsurfa in the song he also sings, the men with bows and arrows, see the guns of foriegn soldiers, they see the planes and the villages burning.

well, there were no planes in 1788, indeed there were no planes in australia

until the 20th century. and there was no time that planes were used in a war against aboriginals.

poison yes. chains yes. mutilations yes. guns yes. planes no.

yes it is a great song. a sad song.. and i feel for my aboriginal brothers.

[psynapsurfa]

@psynapsurfa continued... you see, that was a war of colonisation. it still is.

very similar to what happened here to our aboriginal peoples.

the fact that in the song, the narrator tells us we wont read about it in the papers, gives us a clue that it is indeed about a contemporary colonisation, indeed, just like 'the story {that} has been told before'..

[psynapsurfa]

@KungaPalyah hey bro, no disrepect but, have you listened to the lyrics...

you know where they say, the men with the bows and arrows, fighting guns of foriegn powers..

well, i am fairly up on history, and, i just cant think for the life of me, what aboriginal tribe in oz used bows and arrows?

can you tell me who they are...

so maybe the track refers to indos war in west png. or irian jaya as it was called at the time of writing the track..

that was a secret war, not in papers

[econcern1]

@KungaPalyah if you won't belive me just ask Neil Murray the fella who wrote the song what its about and when you get his answer post it here,... peace !

[econcern1]

@KungaPalyah all I can say is read the rest of the comments I've already placed under this string about the origin and meaning of this song - I'm not trying to take anything away from Indigenous People quite the contrary I grew up around indigenous communities (Melanesian in Papua New Guinea and Aboriginal in Northern Australia) and aint no ignorant mudigee whitefella (cont)

[KungaPalyah]

To end this hideously ignorant debate; the song is about Australian Aboriginal people. Listening to the lyrics is good avice. The song starts by explaining what the story's about. To adequately understand this, you will need to know the history surrounding invasion and colonisation.

[KungaPalyah]

"This is a story of colonisation It's a story that's been told before

It's the blood of indigenous races On the hands of invading force

There's a government and an army Not far from these north shores

And the tribesmen in the jungle They fight a secret war".

The song refers to colonisation and the plight of Australian Aboriginal people generally, including the Kalkadoon people at Battle Mountain and the conflict which separated the Yolngu - Macassan relationship.

[KungaPalyah]

Yes, Aboriginal refers to all people native to a region, country etc. Yes, Australia is an island. The smaller islands north of Australia mainland are also inhabited by Australian Aboriginal people. Vocalist George is from Elchro Island. Of the Torres Strait Islands, although between Autralian mainland and the Melanesian island of New Guinea, come under the state of Queensland, hence the inhabitants, Torres Strait Islanders are a clan of the Aboriginals of Australia.

[KungaPalyah]

Finally, while the song tells the plight of Australian Aboriginal people, it also includes the hardships faced by all minority groups..The song concludes with

"This is a story of colonisation It's a story that's been told before

It's the blood of indigenous races On the hands of invading force"

[KungaPalyah]

@econcern1 This song was from their album 'Go Bush' which was released in 1987 .... it was not intended for "what the Indonesians were doing in West Papua, 2010. The plight of our people is unfortunately a very large and influential part of our history. The impact of the losses endured back then are still impacting on many of us today. Don't even try to take this from us....it has cost us dearly!