Talk In Circles - Burnie

Burnie, a place with its own set of painful contradictions, is a city in Tasmania. I don't know what its condition is right now, but not too long ago it was suffering from some rather lethal problems with its indigineous industrial pollution. About two-and-a-half years ago the now-legendary Jason Mitchell, who went to college as an undergraduate right here in the great city of Cleveland, wrote to the list about a visit to Tasmania and said a word or two about Burnie. He said that what he saw of it was consistent with the imagery in Midnight Oil's song of the same name.

"It's not the promise of a swell or a girl, just the hope that someday, it'll be OK." I've visited Burnie twice in the last 2 years,and there's no doubt that the Oils give an accurate portrayal of that town. Not only do the Oils pick-up on issues regarding the pollution and industrial rules of the paper-mills, but the hope instilled in the hearts of the people in the town. Hope is something Midnight Oil always picks up on.

Burnie, is about growing old. The surfer realizes that he must "grow up", and more specifically, get a job. The lines, "This is my home, this is my sea, don't paint it with the future of factories", point to this theory. Also the line, "Part time cleaner in a holiday flat", kind of suggests this idea too, the surfer is lamenting having a part time job knows that one day he must get a full time job and ultimately give up surfing, that his youth is coming to a slow demise. I don't know any of the Australian references, the idea of giving up freedom for work comes from my personal experiences in minimum wage jobs in America. I saw myself as the character in "Burnie", looking out and hoping that one day,it would be okay.