Great Southern Land

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For the 1989 compilation album Great Southern Land, see Great Southern Land (album).
"Great Southern Land"
Great Southern Land (12" vinyl) - Regular Records
Single by Icehouse
from the album Primitive Man
A-side "Great Southern Land"
B-side "Uniform"
Released 3 August 1982 (1982-08-03)
Format 7" vinyl single, 12" vinyl single, CD single
Genre New wave, synthpop
Length 3:22 (7")
5:14 (LP)
Label Regular Records
Chrysalis Records
Writer(s) Iva Davies
Producer(s) Iva Davies, Keith Forsey
Icehouse singles chronology
"Love in Motion"
"Great Southern Land"
"Hey Little Girl"

"Great Southern Land" is a single released by the Australian rock band Icehouse. It was released in August 1982, before the album Primitive Man.[1] Peaking at number five on the Australian Singles Chart,[2] it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein,[3] and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.[4]

It was re-released in the U.S. on Chrysalis Records in 1989 as both a 7" and CD single, to coincide with the U.S. release of the compilation album, Great Southern Land.

On 5 September 2011, "Great Southern Land" re-entered the Australian (ARIA) Singles Chart at #66.

There are two versions of the music video. The Australian original version, made filmed at the disused Jones' quarry in Wahroonghain in 1982, with solarised clips of the band in daylight and surrounded by camp fires at night. The USA version was made in 1989 for the movie Young Einstein and it has Iva Davies walking around Myall Lakes National Park.[5]


In 1993, producer Bill Laswell set up a 16 minute remix with Australian Aborigines, Parliament-Funkadelic alumnus Bernie Worrell and the avant-garde guitarist Buckethead for inclusion on the 1994 remix compilation Full Circle. An edited version named "Byrralku Dhangudha", with the Aborigines partly singing the chorus in their own language was included on the EP Spin One in 1993. The same edit was released as a single in Germany in 1994 as "Great Southern Land (1994 version)".[6] Another remix version by Endorphin was released on the Icehouse album Meltdown in 2002.[7]

In 2012, Tourism Australia collaborated with Iva Davies to create an online video clip to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the song. The clip includes famous musicians such as Katie Noonan, Cut Copy, Van She and Eskimo Joe, along with everyday Australian characters including an oyster farmer from Barilla Bay in Tasmania and a local choir from the Blue Mountains.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by Iva Davies.[8]

7" single (Australian release)[edit]

  1. "Great Southern Land" - 3:22
  2. "Uniform" - 5:19

12" single (Australian release)[edit]

  1. "Great Southern Land" - 5:05
  2. "Uniform" (extended mix) - 6:02

7" single (U.S. release)[edit]

  1. "Great Southern Land" (edit)
  2. "Great Southern Land" (album version)

1994 single (German release)[edit]

  1. "Great Southern Land" (1994 version) - 3:47
  2. "Dedicated To Glam" (12" mix) - 4:25
  3. "Great Southern Land" (original version) - 5:16


  4. ^ "Triple M's Essential 2007 Countdown". Triple M. Retrieved 2008-06-12. 
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ Great Southern Land 1994 single
  7. ^ "Meltdown credits". allmusic guide. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
  8. ^ "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 2007-12-13.  Note: requires user to input song title e.g. GREAT SOUTHERN LAND

External links[edit]