Men at Work are an ARIA Music Award winning and Grammy winning rock band th… Read Full Bio ↴Men at Work are an ARIA Music Award winning and Grammy winning rock band that formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1979. Considered a popular part of the new wave movement in Australia, the band's best known line-up consisted of Colin Hay (vocals, guitar), Ron Strykert (guitar, vocals), John Rees (bass), Greg Ham (saxophone, flute, keyboards), and Jerry Speiser (drums). They are best known their worldwide hit singles "Who Can It Be Now?", "Down Under", and "Overkill". Their initial line-up had many successful tours and released three albums, 'Business as Usual' (1981), 'Cargo' (1983), and 'Two Hearts' (1985), before disbanding in 1985.

Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for "Best New Artist", beating an impressive set of rivals including Asia, Jennifer Holliday, The Human League, and Stray Cats.. In August 1983, they ware given a Crystal Globe Award for $100 million worth of record business by their U.S label. That same year, in Canada, they were awarded a Juno Award for "International LP of the Year". At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994, they were inducted into the related Hall of Fame.

In terms of songs, their work has remained considerably popular. In May 2001, "Down Under" was listed at No. 4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs. In October 2010, 'Business as Usual' was listed in the book of 100 Best Australian Albums. According to Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane, the group's "phenomenal success inextricably created worldwide interest in Australia and Australian music" irrespective "of the band's fairy-tale rise to prominence". He's also said that they "simply opened the floodgates with little more than a clutch of great songs" and were "Australia's most famous group".

Men at Work have sold over 30 million albums worldwide in total. The band's singer-songwriter frontman, Colin Hay, pursued a solo career after it folded. In 1996, Hay and Ham reformed the band with replacement members. With new wave fans enjoying hearing 80s hits again live, the band had several popular tours. Sadly, Ham was found dead in his home in April 2012, and the future of Men at Work remains unclear.

No Sign Of Yesterday
Men at Work Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pull out the stop plugs, drain all the waste
Who needs it anyway
Fill all the big holes, leave no trace
No sign of yesterday

I wash all the dishes and I clean up my place
No sign of yesterday
I stare at the photographs of your dark face

No sign of yesterday

Out in the yard, was such a lovely place
It's where we used to play
Inside, outside you can feel and taste.
No sign of yesterday

And I can't hear you calling
I can't hear you calling
I can't hear you anymore
Metal ships are falling
This old car keeps stalling
Always seems to be the way

Pick up the pieces, and go dig out the dead
Then you can go to bed
Night is the stealer and time is the test
No sign of yesterday

Pull out the stop plugs, drain all the waste
Who needs it anyway
Fill all the big holes, leave no trace
No sign of yesterday

And I can't hear you calling
I can't hear you calling
I can't hear you anymore
Metal ships are falling

This old car keeps stalling
Always seems to be the way

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Men at Work's "No Sign of Yesterday" convey the idea of letting go of the past and moving forward. The opening lines "Pull out the stop plugs, drain all the waste, who needs it anyway" suggests a sense of cleaning and unburdening of oneself. The singer goes on to sing about washing dishes, cleaning their place and removing all traces of the past, leaving no sign of yesterday. The line "I stare at the photographs of your dark face, no sign of yesterday" may suggest a sense of longing for what once was, yet the singer wishes to leave it all in the past.

Line by Line Meaning

Pull out the stop plugs, drain all the waste
Remove all the negative things from life

Who needs it anyway
These negative things are unnecessary in life

Fill all the big holes, leave no trace
Get rid of all the troubles and move on

No sign of yesterday
Forget about the past and focus on the present

I wash all the dishes and I clean up my place
I want to erase all the memories of the past

I stare at the photographs of your dark face
I can't stop thinking about my ex-lover

Out in the yard, was such a lovely place
The past seemed perfect at times

It's where we used to play
Where we used to be happy

Inside, outside you can feel and taste
Memories of our love surround me

And I can't hear you calling
I can't hear your voice anymore

Metal ships are falling
Everything seems to be falling apart