Meaning
"Beds Are Burning" is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert. These 'last contact' people began moving from the Gibson Desert to settlements and missions in the 1930s. More were forcibly moved during the 1950s and 1960s to the Papunya settlement. In 1981 they left to return to their own country and established the Kintore community which is nestled in the picturesque Kintore Ranges, surrounded by Mulga and Spinifex country. It is a community with a population of about 400. Kintore and the town of Yuendumu are mentioned by name in the lyrics, as are vehicles produced by Holden. It's believed by some that the line, "How can we sleep while our beds are burning?", may also be a reference to singer Peter Garrett's mother's death in a house fire years earlier.
Read more about this topic: Beds Are Burning
Famous quotes containing the word meaning:
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Shall we go learn to kiss, to kiss?
Never heart could ever miss
Comfort, where true meaning is.”
—Nicholas Breton (1542–1626)
“Everywhere one seeks to produce meaning, to make the world signify, to render it visible. We are not, however, in danger of lacking meaning; quite the contrary, we are gorged with meaning and it is killing us.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)