John Williamson’s True Blue honoured as ‘sound of Australia’
“It’s all a fluke; I’ve written 500 songs and that’s the one that seems to have the most meaning,” said country musician John Williamson of his iconic song.
At a wrought iron table in his suburban Sydney backyard in 1982, country musician John Williamson sat down with pen and paper to start writing a song about the Australian character.
The first line he wrote — “True blue, is it me and you?” — was followed by several more questions that would appear in its chorus. “Is it mum and dad? Is it a cockatoo? Is it standing by your mate when he’s in a fight?”
All these questions remain unanswered, for Williamson cannily left it up to the listener to interpret and decide for themselves.
His signature song is one of the new additions to the National Film and Sound Archive as part of its annual Sounds of Australia series, which commends songs for their defining impact on the nation’s culture and history.
“I feel very lucky,” Williamson told The Australian. “I was in the right place at the right time, and I was always going to write songs like that because that’s what I believe in. This country has got so much to offer.”
At the time, “true blue” was often used in a derogatory fashion to indicate that something was not at all prestigious, such as a low-class second-hand car yard leaning heavily on the term.
Originally written at the request of adman John Singleton for a TV show named True Blue Aussies, and later re-recorded for the Australian Made advertising campaign in 1986, the phrase has since become a longstanding byword for genuineness through the iconic song’s power and resonance.
“I don’t think it was taken seriously,” said Williamson. “It was Singo who realised ‘true blue’ was worth making serious. It was a bit kitsch before that, and I think the song has legitimised the term.”
As well as performing it at literally every concert he has played since 1982, Williamson was asked to sing it at Steve Irwin’s funeral in 2006 and at Steve Waugh’s final Test match as national cricket captain in 2004.
“That’s the nice thing about True Blue: it has sadness as well as a celebration of being Australian,” he said. “It’s all a fluke; I’ve written 500 songs and that’s the one that seems to have the most meaning.”
“I think as time goes on, True Blue probably will mean more, because as the world becomes smaller, we’re starting to look a lot more inward. Certainly with COVID, we are.”
Other new additions to this year’s Sounds of Australia register include Tomorrow, the 1994 breakthrough hit by Newcastle rock trio Silverchair, as well as It’s Time by Alison MacCallum, which was used as the campaign song for Gough Whitlam’s election in 1972.
The newest Sounds of Australia for 2020 are, in chronological order:
- Starlight by Hamilton Hill – 1907
- Etude de concert in F minor and Etude de concert in A flat major by Eileen Joyce – 1933
- Olympic Games, Melbourne 1956: Official souvenir recording of Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony – 1956
- Nausicaa: Opera in Three Acts by Peggy Glanville-Hicks – 1961
- Arnhem Land Popular Classics: Aboriginal Dance Songs with Didjeridu Accompaniement by David Blanasi, Djoli Laiwanga and others – 1963
- Because I Love You by The Master’s Apprentices - 1971
- It’s Time by Alison MacCallum – 1972
- True Blue by John Williamson – 1986
- Tomorrow by Silverchair - 1994
- Martin/Molloy by Tony Martin and Mick Molloy – 1995-1998
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