Ghosts appear and fade away...

Singer & songwriter Colin Hay was the front man of the Australian rock group Men At Work, who made international fame for their 1981 hit song "Down Under"

Over the years, the band broke up and reformed with different members a few times, but Colin, the founding member of the group remained the only original member of the group.

Through the magic of YouTube, I followed bits and pieces of his career and see that although he's got a fantastic (and distinct) voice he's become much of a has-been, staying busy doing low-key small venues of solo work and a few guest appearances here and there.

I recently found one of this appearances in which the audience had a major contribution providing vocal accompaniment. I closed my eyes and swelled with the aura he created on stage and think... was it wrong management that stunted the longevity of his success? I don't have the answer for that, but I did enjoy the song...



Overkill (Colin Hay / Men at Work / 1983 Studio album CARGO)

I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know we'll be alright
Perhaps it's just imagination

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It's time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation

At least there's pretty lights
And though there's little variation
It nullifies the night from overkill

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Come back another day

I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations that
I know will be alright
It's just overkill
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away
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Comments (7)

I hadn't heard that song in years but came across this video months ago from Norman's Rare Guitars.


I think you might like this.
C - I like his voice, I suppose it may be the slight accent.
He reminds me a lot of Sting, if Sting had less lung capacity.

B - I've watched those Norman's Guitars videos before and enjoy them.
That best moments one got started with a bang with JB. thumbs up
Enjoyed JS alot too.
Whoops. Neglected to post the video;

BD, thanks for the links.

Jim, they both can hit high notes with a wavering vibrato ~~~~
Great song! Colin Hay performed it on " Scrubs" and appears in the Lazlo Bane cover.

For those who don't remember that MTV played music videos, this is for you.

In the nineties I had an Aussie foot-baller for a roommate, and the most urgent of my cultural inquiries was "wtf is vegemite?"

Down Under


He went home for X-mas he brought back a jar.
Colin Hay does a tutorial on the song OVERKILL

The most significant thing (to me) is the special tuning. It's called a drop D where the 2 E strings are tuned down to one step to D making his chords have a special sound.

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created Nov 2019
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