Blue Sky Mine Explained

Blue Sky Mine
Cover:Blue Sky Mine (Midnight Oil) single coverart.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Midnight Oil
Album:Blue Sky Mining
B-Side:
  • "You May Not Be Released"
  • "Wedding Cake Island"
  • "Blossom and Blood"
Released:[1]
Genre:Garage rock[2]
Length:4:18
Label:Columbia
Producer:Midnight Oil, Warne Livesey
Prev Title:Dreamworld
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Forgotten Years
Next Year:1990

"Blue Sky Mine" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released in February 1990 as the first single from their seventh studio album, Blue Sky Mining (1990). The song was inspired by the experiences of workers at the Wittenoom asbestos mines who contracted various asbestos-related diseases.[3] [4] The "blue" refers to blue asbestos, and the "sugar refining company" mentioned in the lyrics refers to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Ltd, the owner of the mines.

Reception

"Blue Sky Mine" peaked at 7 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart, No. 8 on the Australian Singles Chart, No. 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on both the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It charted the highest in New Zealand, where it reached No. 2 for two weeks in March 1990. The music video, directed by Claudia Castle, won the ARIA Award for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 1991.[5]

Double J named it in the top fifty Australian songs of the 1990s, saying, "It just so happens to also have a beat perfect for fist-pumping and a chorus crafted for hearty singalongs, which is why it appealed to the masses around the world. If even a small percentage of rock'n'roll fans took something from their message, the band's work was not in vain."[6] In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Blue Sky Mine" was ranked number 39.[7]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1990)!scope="col"
Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 56
US Cash Box Top 100[9] 27

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)!scope="col"
Position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 35
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 43
US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[12] 26
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)20

See also

Notes and References

  1. New Singles. Music Week. 38. 3 February 1990. 27 August 2021.
  2. Book: Fricke, David. Midnight Oil. . 2004 . . 4th . Brackett . Nathan . Hoard . Christian . 0-7432-0169-8 . 541-542.
  3. Web site: Wittenoom Community Education Campaign - Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia Inc.
  4. Web site: Vanishing history: the most intriguing lost cities - travel tips and articles - Lonely Planet . www.lonelyplanet.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110712063001/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/scotland/travel-tips-and-articles/76715 . 2011-07-12.
  5. ARIA Award previous winners. Web site: Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 12 December 2019.
  6. Web site: Dan Condon. The 50 best Australian songs of the 90s. Double J.
  7. News: Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'. Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. 4 January 2020.
  8. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 7. 18. V. 5 May 1990.
  9. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles: March 31, 1990. Cash Box. January 3, 2021.
  10. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1990. ARIA. 25 October 2018.
  11. Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 30 July 2018.
  12. The Year in Music 1990. Billboard. 102. 51. YE-47. 22 December 1990.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Blue Sky Mine".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.