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Australia Lyrics

I don't know if I'm tired and I don't know if I'm ill
My cheeks are turning yellow
I think I'll take another pill

Praying for the wave to come now
It must be for the fifteenth time
I've been here for much too long
This is the past that's mine

I want to fly and run till it hurts
Sleep for a while and speak no words in Australia
In Australia

Praying for the wave to come now
It must be for the very last time
It's twelve o'clock till midnight
There must be someone to blame

I want to fly and run till it hurts
Sleep for a while and speak no words in Australia
In Australia.
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Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

what DOES this song mean? i'm very confused...

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

It's about escapism, just being somewhere else instead of Britain. Nicky got paranoid about being ill, under the stresses of touring, so he just wanted to get away from it all. Australia was the suitable mythical destination.

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

It is about escaping the misery that was 1995 for NIcky after Richey's disappearence, Australia is the urthest away from Britain you can go

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

I hate the way this song is always on ads and stuff, so cheap : (

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

The 'cheeks are turning yellow' line I think refers to Nicky's liver condition (Gilbert's Syndrome) which can cause a mild jaundice when stressed etc

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

I never realised before what this song was about but now it's developed a different light and I can only think about how powerful and upsetting it is, and how much crazy pain Nicky and the others must have been going through then.

I know Richey must have been pretty distressed himself to disappear/ commit suicide like he did, but I think, along with most other escapists and suicid-ees, that he must have been a bit thoughtless not to realise what an effect he would have on those he left behind, how he might screw up their lives as well as his own.

It makes me sick that they use this in travel advertisements.

@manic4manics the whole 'whatever hapened to' Richey thing is neither here nor there for anyone other than his immediate family - as for the repercussive effects of suicide, I'm no 'suicide advocate', but I do believe it's not 'done-on-a-whim' and that it is thoroughly contemplated by the person before they decide to STOP existing, i.e: it's not a light nor flippant decision

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

he doesn't like flying either now....

xxx

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

Really? I thought the furthest away from Britain you can go was New Zealand... but then again, that wouldn't have had the same sound, would it? :)

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

thanks Zed, i was always wondering wot this song was about - makes the lyrics make sense now :)

Cover art for Australia lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

Around the time this was written, there had been lots of possible sightings of Richey all over the world, including Australia. I think Nicky wrote this from Richey's point of view, Nicky undertsnads how Richey had to escape the life he was leading and clear his head.