Australia's National Songbook Unveils Its First 10 Songs, From "Waltzing Matilda" to "Beds Are Burning"

Australia officially has a National Songbook, and its first ten inductees were revealed at a Canberra event on Nov. 4. The inaugural list spans more than a century of songwriting, from“Waltzing Matilda”to Midnight Oil’s“Beds Are Burning,”alongside the Easybeats’“Friday On My Mind,”Helen Reddy’s“I Am Woman,”Yothu Yindi’s“Treaty”and more.

The project is an annual initiative from APRA AMCOS and the National Film and Sound Archive, launching in time for APRA’s 100th anniversary. Each year, ten more songs will be added to what organizers describe as a permanent digital archive of works deemed culturally significant. An expert panel selects the inductees, and the criteria is cultural impact rather than chart success. Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS, said no ten songs could tell Australia’s whole story, but that these inductees help explain where the country came from and who it is. Meagan Loader, chief curator of the NFSA, said the songbook captures everything from protest and belonging to songs woven into the national DNA.

For music fans, it’s an instant playlist and an instant debate. Ten spots is a small window for a century of music, and the snub conversation is already underway online. Which song do you think should be inducted next?