\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1793809452_951_lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n
\n\tAnnounced at a special event at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in the nation\u2019s capital, Canberra, 10 songs were elevated into The National Songbook, a new, annual initiative that recognizes the songs, songwriters and composers \u201cwhose creative vision has given voice to Australian stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong the standouts, Midnight Oil\u2019s \u201cBeds Are Burning,\u201d the Easybeats\u2019 \u201cFriday on My Mind,\u201d Helen Reddy\u2019s \u201cI Am Woman,\u201d The Presets\u2019 \u201cMy People,\u201d Yothu Yindi\u2019s \u201cTreaty,\u201d and Andrew \u201cBanjo\u201d Paterson\u2019s \u201cWaltzing Matilda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tReddy\u2019s \u201cI Am Woman,\u201d which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1972, won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance, female, in 1973 and was voted into the U.S.\u2019 National Recording Registry in 2025. The Easybeats\u2019 \u201cFriday on My Mind\u201d and Midnight Oil\u2019s \u201cBeds Are Burning\u201d both reached the top 20 on the Hot 100, in 1967 and 1988, respectively. <\/p>\n
\n\tAn initiative of APRA AMCOS and NFSA, the project preserves \u201cthe songs that have helped shape Australia\u2019s cultural identity,\u201d and launches to coincide with APRA\u2019s 100th anniversary<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNo ten songs could ever tell the whole story of Australia, but together these inaugural inductees help us understand, as a nation, where we\u2019ve come from, who we are and the values we\u2019ve carried through generations,\u201d comments Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAs APRA celebrates 100 years of championing songwriters, composers and music publishers, we welcome these debut entries into The National Songbook as songs that have helped become part of our shared cultural story, reflecting the extraordinary breadth, diversity and richness of Australian songwriting and composing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAs it grows, the songbook will serve as a permanent digital archive, a vault that safeguards music treasures for future generations.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe National Songbook reflects the remarkable breadth of Australian songwriting and composition, from songs of protest, belonging and identity to works that have become woven into our national story and our DNA,\u201d remarks Meagan Loader, chief curator of the NFSA.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAs Australia\u2019s audiovisual archive, the NFSA will ensure these songs and stories are preserved in our national collection of works of significant cultural heritage, heft and heart, providing a new way for Australians now and into the future to engage with the songs and songwriters who have shaped us.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe inaugural inductees are said to represent more than a century of Australian storytelling, creativity and cultural expression and are selected by an expert panel.<\/p>\n \n\tStream the National Songbook playlists on Apple Music<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> and YouTube Music<\/a> and visit NFSA<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n \n\tCheck out the first 10 works entered into The National Songbook:<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBeds Are Burning\u201d \n\t\u201cDown City Streets\u201d \n\t\u201cEarth Cry\u201d \n\t\u201cFriday on My Mind\u201d \n\t\u201cI Am Woman\u201d \n\t\u201cMy Island Home\u201d \n\t\u201cMy People\u201d \n\tThe Boys soundtrack by The Necks \n\t\u201cTreaty\u201d \n\t\u201cWaltzing Matilda\u201d
Written by Peter Garrett \/ Rob Hirst \/ Jim Moginie
Released: 1987<\/p>\n
Written by Ruby Hunter
Released: 1990<\/p>\n
Composed by Peter Sculthorpe
Released: 1990<\/p>\n
Written by Harry Vanda and George Young
Released: 1966<\/p>\n
Written by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton
Released: 1971<\/p>\n
Written by Neil Murray
Released: 1987 (Warumpi Band) 1995 (Christine Anu)<\/p>\n
Written by Julian Hamilton \/ Kim Moyes
Released: 2007<\/p>\n
Written by Chris Abrahams \/ Tony Buck \/ Lloyd Swanton
Released: 1998<\/p>\n
Written by Dr M. Yunupingu \/ Stuart Kellaway \/ Witiyana Marika \/ M. Mununggurr \/ Cal Williams \/ G. Yunupingu \/
Peter Garrett \/ Paul Kelly
Released: 1991<\/p>\n
Written by Andrew \u2018Banjo\u2019 Paterson \u2013 lyrics, Christina Macpherson \u2013 melody
Released: 1927<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Protest, partying, and observations on the great southern land and its people are among the themes that shine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6971,13724,93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-674870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-awards","tag-bbnews","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}