Jessica Mauboy has teamed up with Barkaa for a moving Like A Version performance of Yothu Yindi’s “World Turning”.
The acclaimed singer brought along Indigenous artist Barkaa, backed by a full band and vocalists, to breathe new soul into the 1993 track. Originally released on Yothu Yindi’s album Freedom, “World Turning” explores love and stability with lyrics: “You keep my feet on the ground / As you make my world turn around.”
While not one of the iconic band’s most well-known songs, Mauboy said it played a major role in her childhood and wanted to add the “tone and energy” of a religious choir.
“I chose to cover this song because it takes me back to being a child growing up in the Northern Territory,” she told triple j. “I can smell the place, I can see it, I can see myself running barefoot, climbing mango trees, and this song is the theme song in the background.”
“And I think at that young age, I didn’t quite know what the song meant, but it felt really great. And I think now that I’m older, I know that it means something much bigger.”
Barkaa said it’s a privilege to take on a Yothu Yindi song during NAIDOC week.
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“Black music would be nothing without Yothu Yindi. Australian music would be nothing without Yothu Yindi. The world would be nothing without Yothu Yindi,” she said. “I was so honoured to know that we were going to cover a Yindi track.”
She continued: “NAIDOC’s theme (this year) is ‘Our Next Generation’ … We’re paying homage to our babies and our future elders. I really wanted to say that the world keeps turning.”
“We have struggled, we have carried a lot on our backs, and we have kept that fire burning.”
Mauboy also revisited her 2008 debut single “Running Back”, the breakout hit that followed her Australian Idol win in 2006.
