Blackfella/Whitefella
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| "Blackfella/Whitefella" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Warumpi Band | ||||
| from the album Big Name, No Blankets | ||||
| A-side | "Blackfella/Whitefella" | |||
| B-side | "Fitzroy Crossing" | |||
| Released | 1985 | |||
| Recorded | January 1985 | |||
| Genre | Country rock, Aboriginal rock | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | Powderworks | |||
| Songwriters | Neil Murray, George Rrurrambu | |||
| Producer | Warumpi Band | |||
| Warumpi Band singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "Blackfella/Whitefella" on YouTube | ||||
"Blackfella/Whitefella" is an Australian rock song written by Neil Murray and George Rrurrambu, recorded by their Aboriginal rock group, Warumpi Band, and released as the second single from their 1985 album, Big Name, No Blankets on Parole Records and Powderworks Records.[1] While not a chart success, the song drew attention to issues of racism in Australia through lyrics that encourage harmony and co-operation by people of all races. The song received national airplay and attention in 1986 when politically charged rockers and Powderworks Records founders Midnight Oil accompanied the band on a free concert tour of remote Aboriginal communities as the Blackfella/Whitefella Tour.[2]
In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Blackfella/Whitefella" was ranked number 82.[3]
Songwriter Neil Murray's inspiration for "Blackfella/Whitefella" came from his experience as a white man working in Papunya, a predominately Indigenous community north west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory from 1980. Although he was part of a minority, Murray found that in the isolated community, everybody was getting along, enjoying activities such as music and football. In 1985, after discussing the song and its message with band mates Sammy Butcher and George Rrurrambu, the later suggested that Murray include "yellafella" (a term sometimes used to refer to individuals of mixed race) in the lyrics, broadening the message of the song to include people from all places.[4] Furthermore, in the music video to the song, when the term "yellowfella" is used, East Asian Australians are portrayed.
