The band formed in Adelaide in 1973 as a heavy metal band called Orange around keyboard player Don Walker and original bassist Les Kascmarek and while hard rock remained at the core of their sound Cold Chisel displayed a remarkable versatility. When Kascmarek left in 1975, Walker became the major creative force of the band. Built around Walker's superb songwriting, the group also featured the dazzling guitar and vocal talents of Ian Moss and the enormously powerful lead vocals of Scottish immigrant Jimmy Barnes.
While typically classified as a hard-driving rock and roll band, the Chisel repertoire included such Australian anthems as the landmark Vietnam War song "Khe Sanh", "Bow River", "Flame Trees" and "Saturday Night", but also included thoughtful ballads like "Choir Girl" (written about the subject of abortion), pop-flavoured love songs like "My Baby" and caustic political statements like "Star Hotel", an attack on the late-70s government of Malcolm Fraser and inspired by a riot at a Newcastle pub. The music was not political in context, however Walker's songs were observations of everyday life within the Australian society and culture. One song from this period, "Misfits", which featured on the b-side to "My Baby", was written in the same vein as Chuck Berry, and was about homeless kids in the suburbs surrounding Sydney.
Cold Chisel weren't just a band, they were a lifestyle for many of their followers, who were known as some of the roughest in the land. This gave Chisel their hard living approach to their music and made them a tough live band as well. More than 30 years after they originally played together, they attract generation after generation of new listeners. This is also evidence of Chisel's dominance of the pub rock era. They are the only Australian band to have sold more records after breakup than before and are among other bands that have become transgenerational. "Khe Sanh" consistently ranks highly in lists of Australia's most popular songs and their music remains a staple of rock station playlists. The Ian Moss song "Never Before" (from the East LP) was chosen by FM rock station 2JJJ (Triple Jay) as the first record played on-air when the station made its transition from AM to FM in 1980.
By 1983 the band had reached the zenith of their career in Australia and with overseas markets reluctant to accept them, Cold Chisel began to disintegrate. Their abortive US sojourn was commemorated in Barnes' excoriating rocker "You Got Nothing I Want" from the Circus Animals album, an emotional volume created from the frustration of the band’s experiences overseas.
Increasing internal tensions and the pressures of touring took their toll and Steve Prestwich -- who was often in conflict with Barnes -- left the band, to be replaced by veteran Australian drummer Ray Arnott (ex Spectrum). Shortly afterward, in 1984, Cold Chisel announced their split and a series of farewell concerts, for which Prestwich re-joined. That tour became a legend in itself and was not without incident when Barnes lost his voice before the Sydney shows, which then had to be rescheduled. The band's final performance was filmed for the documentary concert film The Last Stand, which remains to this day the best-selling concert film of any single Australian act.
In mid 2011 the group announced a series of upcoming concerts.
Flame Trees
Cold Chisel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm just savoring familiar sights
We share some history, this town and I
And I can't stop that long forgotten feeling of her
Try to book a room and stay tonight
Number one is to find some friends to say "you're doing well"
After all this time you boys look just the same
Settle in to play "do you remember so and so?
Number three is never say her name
Oh the flame trees will blind the weary driver
And there's nothing else could set fire to this town
There's no change, there's no pace Everything within its place
Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around
But oh who needs that sentimental bullshit, anyway
Takes more than just a memory to make me cry
And I'm happy just to sit here a table with old friends
And see which one of us can tell the biggest lies
And there's a girl falling in love near where the pianola stands
With a young local factory auto worker just holding hands
And I'm wondering if he'll go or if he'll stay
Do you remember, nothing stopped us on the field
In our day
Oh the flame trees will blind the weary driver
And there's nothing else could set fire to this town
There's no change, there's no pace
Everything within its place
Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around
Oh the flame trees will blind the weary driver
And there's nothing else could set fire to this town
There's no change, there's no pace
Everything within its place
Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around
"Flame Trees" by Cold Chisel is a reflective song about the passing of time and memories of a small town. The lyrics describe the singer's nostalgia as he observes young people driving around the town on a Saturday afternoon. The singer reflects on the shared history between him and the town, and the long forgotten feeling of a past love. He contemplates booking a room to stay the night, hoping to relive the memories of his youth.
The chorus of the song refers to the flame trees, which are native Australian trees that bloom with bright red flowers. The singer notes that these trees can blind a weary driver and set fire to the town. The metaphorical meaning of the trees relates to the intensity of the emotions and memories that the singer is experiencing.
Line by Line Meaning
Kids out driving saturday afternoon just pass me by
I see young people driving by on a Saturday afternoon, and it reminds me of the past when I used to do the same.
And I'm just savoring familiar sights
I take comfort in seeing familiar things in this town.
We share some history, this town and I
I have a long history with this town, and I feel connected to it.
And I can't stop that long forgotten feeling of her
Memories of a past love are evoked, and it's difficult to forget her.
Try to book a room and stay tonight
I want to stay here and immerse myself in these memories.
Number one is to find some friends to say 'you're doing well'
I want to catch up with old friends and see that they are doing okay.
After all this time you boys look just the same
My friends haven't changed much over the years, and that's comforting.
Number two is the happy hour at one of two hotels
We will go to one of two hotels to enjoy discounted drinks.
Settle in to play 'do you remember so and so?'
We reminisce about old times and people we used to know.
Number three is never say her name
We avoid mentioning the name of the past love who I can't forget.
Oh the flame trees will blind the weary driver
The trees with their bright leaves can be disorienting while driving.
And there's nothing else could set fire to this town
The trees are the most beautiful and captivating thing about this town.
There's no change, there's no pace
The town is stagnant, nothing ever changes or happens.
Everything within its place
The town has a predictable and orderly arrangement.
Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around
The sameness of the town makes it difficult to accept that the past love won't be here anymore.
But oh who needs that sentimental bullshit, anyway
I don't want to dwell on past emotions and memories.
Takes more than just a memory to make me cry
Memories alone don't have the power to make me emotional or upset.
And I'm happy just to sit here a table with old friends
It's enough for me to be here with my longtime friends.
And see which one of us can tell the biggest lies
We joke around and tell exaggerated stories to entertain each other.
And there's a girl falling in love near where the pianola stands
I see a young couple falling in love near the piano player.
With a young local factory auto worker just holding hands
The boy is a factory worker who seems to have captured the girl's heart.
And I'm wondering if he'll go or if he'll stay
I wonder if the boy will stick around or move on, like I did in the past.
Do you remember, nothing stopped us on the field
We played sports together in our younger days, and nothing could prevent us from winning.
Oh the flame trees will blind the weary driver
The trees can still be overwhelming and disorienting.
And there's nothing else could set fire to this town
The trees are still the most beautiful and captivating thing about this town.
There's no change, there's no pace
The town is still the same, nothing ever changes or happens.
Everything within its place
The town is still predictable and orderly arranged.
Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around
The sameness of the town still makes it difficult to accept that the past love won't be here anymore.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Steve Prestwich, Don Walker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@megamarkd
This song means so much to so many.
For me, the last year and a half, I drive north when I can and visit friends and family of a girl I once wanted to marry. We catch up with where we are at in life, talk about shared interests and tell stories about the girl that made us friends. The reason for that is the following.
The girl and I didn't speak for way too many years then a mutual friend asked if it was okay to passed my telephone number onto her as she had asked for it. Of course it was. I was overjoyed by the prospect of speaking again. Two days later I received a call saying she was on life support with a traumatic brain injury. Covid restrictions stopped me from entering Queensland to be by her side as she had been for me when I was in a similar state 20yrs earlier. Two weeks later I had to say goodbye to her on the telephone. I take solace in knowing that our differences were no longer anything, our love of each other all those years ago was not wasted and never
forgotten.
......
Number one is to find some friends to say "You're doing well
After all this time you boys look just the same"
Number two is the happy hour at one of two hotels
Settle in to play "Do you remember so and so?"
Number three is never say her name
......
Often this song comes on the radio while I am driving and I can't help but want to pull over, but those flame trees....
Rest In Peace, My Friend
@dropbear6740
This song was one of the Chisels best, you can return to your roots, home, old mates but it's never be the same second time around.
@tedd4146
Where I’m from was the same after 5 years and I couldn’t of been happier to be here.
@OzzysRadioHalfHour
Too true mate. Everything changes but there's some things that never change
@ionaramsay525
OMG … I wish it wasn’t true; but for me that was the case.
@Hossak
The first love always cuts the deepest, in all senses of the word.
@montanarotherick5739
Ad in suzi 😁and the Dutch up on love Keep
@buggulugs
Great song. Represents an era that's starting to slide into memory. Old Australia is slipping away...
@legoengineworkshop5171
@cold chisel wow it’s cold chisel….
@kindofpseudonym
@@SENATORPAIN1 I'd take ten times as many if it meant that I didn't have to read one more stupid thing from you.
@buggulugs
@@SENATORPAIN1 That's not what I meant.☹️🙁