The band split in 2002 to allow Garrett to focus on his political career. He became a member of the Australian House of Representatives and the was the Australian Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts from 2007-2010. From 2010, he was the Australian Minister for Education. Garrett did not stand for re-election in 2013. The band has reunited since then for two benefit concerts: the 2005 WaveAid concert for Indian Ocean Tsunami victims and in March 2009 the band reformed for two shows in Canberra as a warm up for "Sound Relief" in Melbourne, a benefit concert for the Victorian Bushfire victims.
The Oils, as they are known to their fans, began as a progressive rock band called Farm in the early 1970s, then under the Midnight Oil name developed a reputation as an impressive and hard-working live act associated with the surfing community of Sydney. They became one of Australia's most respected bands, known for their live performances, and also for their activism and support for community groups and causes.
Midnight Oil's first two albums Midnight Oil and Head Injuries were originally released on an independent label, followed by the EP Bird Noises in 1980. Their third album, Place without a Postcard, was recorded in Great Britain with the respected producer Glyn Johns (Led Zeppelin, The Who) on the back of a brief tour of the UK.
Their fourth album, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 (spoken as "10 to 1"), marked both the Oil's major Australian breakthrough and the beginning of their successful association with producer Nick Launay. This album also saw considerable success in the college radio scene of the US, prompting a tour of North America.
Following on from 10-1, the Oils with Nick Launay recorded the fifth album Red Sails in the Sunset during a three month stint in Tokyo in 1984, becoming the first known western band to record an entire album in Japan. Red Sails was reasonably successful in Australia, featuring songs like Best of Both Worlds and Kosciuszko, but the album's quirky, experimental sound failed to make major inroads overseas. Also during 1984, frontman Peter Garrett was narrowly defeated in an election for the New South Wales, representing the Nuclear Disarmament Party (NDP).
In 1985, following the release of the EP Species Deceases the Oils embarked on a career-changing tour of remote Aboriginal communities of outback Australia with legendary Aboriginal group, the Warumpi Band. The tour led to the recording of Midnight Oil's major international breakthrough success Diesel and Dust, released in 1987 which featured their biggest international hit Beds Are Burning. The following album Blue Sky Mining, released in 1990 had two songs that topped the US Modern Rock charts, Blue Sky Mine and Forgotten Years. Both Diesel and Dust and Blue Sky Mining were produced with Warne Livesey.
Between 1988 and 1992, the band's Diesel and Dust and Blue Sky Mining discs became known worldwide, as did their political activism for causes ranging from nuclear disarmament to aboriginal rights and environmental issues. Their subsequent albums sold less well outside Australia, but the Oils maintained a following throughout the 1990s and into the new century.
The Midnight Oil lineup remained quite stable over the band's long career: Garrett as lead singer and harmonica, Jim Moginie on guitar and keyboards, Martin Rotsey on guitar, and Rob Hirst on drums. Andrew (Bear) James, the first bass player, left in 1980 due to ill health. Peter Gifford replaced him and in turn quit the band in 1987 citing the pressures of touring. New Zealander Bones Hillman, (ex Swingers) replaced him, and remained with the group until its dissolution in 2002. Gary Morris was the band's manager and effective sixth member (often credited with the simple title "Business, no singing" on albums) throughout.
In 2004 Peter Garrett was elected to Federal Parliament as the Labor member for Kingsford-Smith in Sydney. In November 2007 he became Minister for Arts in the Australian government as a member of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's front bench. He retired from Parliament in 2013. Jim Moginie continues his involvement with music through his own band, The Family Dog and as a producer for artists such as Sarah Blasko. Rob Hirst is also involved with several musical projects such as Hirst and Greene, Ghostwriters, The Angry Tradesmen and The Backsliders. Moginie, Hirst and Martin Rotsey continue to play and record together in instrumental band The Break.
The band reformed in 2016, launched a world tour in 2017 and released the live album Armistice Day: Live at the Domain, Sydney with an accompanying film. 2020 saw the release of the mini-album called The Makarrata Project. Bass guitarist Bones Hillman died on 7 November 2020 of cancer. On 18 May 2021, the band announced their upcoming thirteenth album, Show of Hands, the last recordings to feature Hillman. The first single, released on 28 October, was Rising Seas.
Artic World
Midnight Oil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want to write all these things in the sand
I don't want to listen and not understand
I don't want to tramp up the footpath of stars
Don't want to be an advocate
Don't want to be a monument
There is nothing that grows in your arctic world
I don't want to breathe that Smithsonian air
I don't want to listen when they toll the bell
'Cos I can't take another industrial feast
On the ground, on my back, out there
I want to meet the president
Of a country without sense
There is nothing that grows in his arctic world
There is nothing that grows in your arctic world
There is nothing that grows in this arctic world.
The lyrics of Midnight Oil's song "Arctic World" speak to a desire to avoid complacency and conformity, to resist the pressure to follow the crowd or to simply accept things as they are. The persona in the song wants to avoid becoming emotionally invested in something that may end up being eroded or forgotten over time. They don't want to write their convictions in sand, something that can be washed away or easily changed, nor do they want to listen to things without really understanding them. They don't want to walk the well-trodden path, to be an advocate for a cause or a monument to someone else's achievements.
The persona then goes on to express dissatisfaction with the status quo, rejecting the Smithsonian air, tolling bells, and industrial feasts of modern life. They reject these things because they are all products of a senseless world - a world where people are more focused on material progress than on fostering growth of their personal convictions. The final line of the song, repeated three times, emphasizes this rejection of mediocrity, and that nothing grows in this arctic world. This is a powerful metaphor that means that if people are not careful, they can become trapped in a cold, frozen world where nothing really matters.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wanna grow anything in my heart
I do not want to develop any emotional attachment within me regarding the arctic world.
I don't want to write all these things in the sand
I do not want to have fleeting ideas about the arctic world.
I don't want to listen and not understand
I do not want to hear about the arctic world and fail to comprehend its significance.
I don't want to tramp up the footpath of stars
I do not want to embark on a pointless journey to the stars in search of something that doesn't exist.
Don't want to be an advocate
I do not want to be an advocate for the arctic world.
Don't want to be a monument
I do not want to be a symbol of the arctic world.
I don't want to breathe that Smithsonian air
I do not want to inhale the polluted air of the arctic world.
I don't want to listen when they toll the bell
I do not want to hear the alarm bells ringing regarding the arctic world.
'Cos I can't take another industrial feast
I cannot tolerate any more industrialization in the arctic world.
On the ground, on my back, out there
No matter how I position myself in the arctic world, it fails to provide me with sustenance.
I want to meet the president
I desire to meet the country's leader to seek reform regarding the arctic world.
Of a country without sense
A country characterized by insufficient concern for the environment and ecological damage.
There is nothing that grows in his arctic world
The lack of biodiversity or development in the arctic world is undeniable.
There is nothing that grows in your arctic world
The arctic world is devoid of vegetation and appears desolate.
There is nothing that grows in this arctic world
The arctic world has suffered irreversible damage due to human activity.
Contributed by Ian J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.