Whether you’ll be kicking back listening to Triple J’s Hottest 100 or out and about at one of our top Aussie Day party picks, one thing is for sure: the countdown for Australia Day is well and truly on, and to get you even more excited, some genius has just created a brand-spanking new national anthem that you’re going to dig.
From the brains of electro-pop artist Terry Mann, recognised under the performance moniker Coach Bombay arrives the (obvious) ‘Straya’, a two and-a-half minute track that has reimagined OutKast’s worldwide smash ‘Hey Ya!’ to rap about all things Australia.
Before you go rolling your eyes believing this is just another bogan parody about our fair nation, we can firmly attest that ‘Straya’ is actually pretty sweet. The lyrics are witty, Mann replacing OutKast’s brilliant spits with humorous facts of our land girt by sea, and of course the chorus, switching the soaring ‘Hey Ya!’ to sing ‘Stray-ya!’.
In addition to this, the visuals that accompany the song itself are all of high quality, the creators hand-picking iconic images and videos from the daily life of Australia, whether it be from pop-culture or your average backyard cricket game, Mann has thought of it all.
Could this be Tourism Australia’s next form of promotion? Probably not, there could be some copyright issues, regardless, this still is a funny representation of typical Aussie culture, and a nice piece of fun in the lead-up to our country’s big day.
Watch the hilarious and well-executed reinvented Aussie anthem below:
Lyrics:
My country don’t share no borders
‘Cos of all the waters that surround our land
Thank god for our resources
‘Cos they are the sources of our wealthy land
Don’t try to find the capital
Or fight the animals
You’re on your own
Just drive from town to paradise
And you’ll see why we call Australia home
Straya
Straya
Straya
Straya
You think you’ve got it
Oh you think you’ve got it
But have you got a rock where there is nothing at all
We get together
Oh we get together
The weather’s always better when there’s cricket involved
And we believe that mateship is forever
We’re all mates, we’re all mates, we’re all mates
We’re all mates, we’re all mates
And we’re multicultural
So why ya why ya
Why ya why ya why ya
Not living in Australia when you know we are so happy here
Straya
Straya
Straya
Straya
Alright now fellas
Yeah!
Now what’s cooler than a big cold beer?
Ice cold!
Shake it [x9]
Shake it like a polaroid picture
Shake it [x9]
Shake it like a polaroid picture
Straya
Straya
Straya
Straya
