Minutes To Midnight
Midnight Oil · Red Sails In The Sunset [1984]
Everybody say god is a good man
Ah, clock on the world
Driving a dump truck up to the sun
A sigh in the human heart
I look at the clock on the wall
It says three minutes to midnight
Faith is blind when we're so near
Phar Lap floating in a jar
Seas full of submarines, A.W.A.C.'s like flies
Truth gets harder to define
Talking in tongues
But the dancer's hand grips the rail
And fingers will blister on the 88's
Hope drains out of the side of the page
But ear's can't hear
What eyes don't see
And you can't see me
Everybody say God is a good man
Everybody say 1,2,3
Set up those gunsights in H.G. Wells backyard
I.C.B.M's, S.S.20's they lie so dormant they got so many
Remember your childhood
Remember the journey
Hope is what you say and do
Ah, clock on the world
Driving a dump truck up to the sun
A sigh in the human heart
I look at the clock on the wall
It says three minutes to midnight
Faith is blind when we're so near
Phar Lap floating in a jar
Seas full of submarines, A.W.A.C.'s like flies
Truth gets harder to define
Talking in tongues
But the dancer's hand grips the rail
And fingers will blister on the 88's
Hope drains out of the side of the page
But ear's can't hear
What eyes don't see
And you can't see me
Everybody say God is a good man
Everybody say 1,2,3
Set up those gunsights in H.G. Wells backyard
I.C.B.M's, S.S.20's they lie so dormant they got so many
Remember your childhood
Remember the journey
Hope is what you say and do
Minutes To Midnight
Released on the 1984 album Red Sails In The Sunset, Midnight Oil's 'Minutes To Midnight' stands as a defining anthem of Australian political rock. The track exemplifies the band's signature fusion of punk energy with socially conscious lyricism, addressing the erosion of community and the urgency of environmental preservation. Written by George Young, the song captures the tension of the early 1980s with a driving rhythm that propelled it to international recognition. It remains a cornerstone of the band's catalogue, illustrating their commitment to using music as a vehicle for civic engagement and highlighting the struggles of the working class against industrial neglect.