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Men at Work — Overkill
Album: Cargo
Avg rating:
7.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1424









Released: 1983
Length: 3:42
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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 will be all right
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 all right
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
Comments (176)add comment

 idiot_wind wrote:
But what the heck is a vegamite sandwhich?

 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
 islander wrote:
This is great, but Colin Hay's acoustic version is the absolute best version of the song. 
 
I was coming over to post something just like this...
But what the heck is a vegamite sandwhich?

 
 donn366 wrote:
One of several nearly perfect 80's pop songs. Several others to consider are:

Madness - Our House
INXS -Don't Change
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

The list continues in my aging memory...sad.
 
Then you must have rotten taste in music for dreck like this 
Colin Hay's acoustic version is perfect, I love this track because of that version, otherwise this has dated terribly and gets a meh.

Bill, please put Colin Hay's version into rotation!
One of several nearly perfect 80's pop songs. Several others to consider are:

Madness - Our House
INXS -Don't Change
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

The list continues in my aging memory...sad.
Colin Hay is out performing solo acoustic over the past 15 years or so.   He does great acoustic versions of the Men At Work songs....puts a new spin on them.  
Just pretty much one of my favorite songs.
When did I last hear this?. Too long ago.  Most excellent!!  Goes well with this altered state of mind.

Eight months later - same appreciation.  Same state of mind.
 photolew wrote:
This brings back some great memories from back in High School in the 80s
 
For me it was staying up and watching Friday Night Videos! Love me some tenor sax!!!
Holy smoke, this song has aged nicely.  Thanks for this one Bill.
{#Devil_pimp}zesty! ive enjoyed hay's solo work as well
Trop belle cette chanson !
Totally luvin' it :)
Somehow this song took decades to grow on me...
This was the song that convinced me that Colin Hay was an exceptional songwriter and producer, and not just the guy behind the novelty hit "Who Can It Be Now."

I've seen him a couple times over the years an it's always a good show.
This brings back some great memories from back in High School in the 80s
Always happy when I hear Men at Work, strange really, but it actually works  {#Smile}
This really hits the spot... working overnight here and I need to hear rocking music like this one.
Man, this makes me weep for my youth. Great days with this album as the soundtrack.
 expatlar wrote:
Boy that's a blast from the past. Just some throwaway radio song that was catchy at the time and all these years later just made me kind of smile and think "Hmph, that wasn't such a bad song".

 
 I completely agree. Really like this when it first came out. Now, having read the lyrics, I find it pertinent 
This is great, but Colin Hay's acoustic version is the absolute best version of the song. 
 joetekubi wrote:
Extra points for using the word "exasperation" in a rock song.

 
Got a good chuckle out of that. Thanks. :-)
Boy that's a blast from the past. Just some throwaway radio song that was catchy at the time and all these years later just made me kind of smile and think "Hmph, that wasn't such a bad song".
 rpdevotee wrote:
Two thumbs up!

I love the flow of this song as the energy level waxes and wanes!
Really nice solos

 

 
Men at Work had a great formula.  Still love their work.
I saw these guys' first US tour while I was working at the late lamented Wax Museum Nightclub in DC...had no idea who they were at the time, but it was good then, and it's still good now.
brings me back to the hey day...
Two thumbs up!

I love the flow of this song as the energy level waxes and wanes!
Really nice solos

 
                             My Anthropological Straight Jacket

                 Why couldn't they dream up ET's just like we do?
   I'm sure,  they knew how to overkill just like we do.The joke might be on us.
Extra points for using the word "exasperation" in a rock song.
Going to see Colin Hay live in Boston tomorrow. Saw him on his solo tour a couple of years ago. He's a really talented singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar player. Looking forward to the show!
 
 islander wrote:
I prefer the Colin Hay acoustic version, but this is really nice. It definitely holds up well 30 years later.

 
I was wondering why this seemed off from what I remember - I'd only known the acoustic version! D'oy!
{#Bananajam}Very relaxing, cool!
Sweetness! {#Drummer} {#Dancingbanana}
 hempmandan wrote:
 the album is Cargo not Contraband 

 
Depends on what country you are trying to get it in to {#Motor}
Love me some Colin...just thumbed thru this record last night....Oh 6th grade....And the album is Cargo not Contraband for the record :-)


 luv4music wrote:
Colin Hay is a real stand up guy.  His open letter to Justin Bieber was great.

 
Wow, I didn't know about that — went and looked it up. Thanks @luv4music for sharing about that. For those watching, here it is:

Colin Hay’s Open Letter To Justin Bieber

Dear Mr. Bieber,
I am using you as a distraction, I have a show tonight, and I should be practising my pentatonics. I will, in a minute. It would seem that your antics of late have caused comments from many, and predictably, those with the least amount of talent, lash with the harshest tongues. It happens. Your kind of success has always been precarious. In the early 80s, I had monumental commercial success with my old band Men At Work, and although time and circumstances were different, some parallels can be drawn. Our first album “Business As Usual” sold over 10 million copies, was number 1 on the Billboard charts for 16 weeks, until Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” knocked us off. Good company indeed. We were kings for a couple of years. It was explosive. When the dust settled, I was alone. I looked around and everyone had left the party. My acoustic guitar was sitting in the corner, and luckily for me, it waited patiently till I eventually picked it up. For only in creative endeavor and service to others, do we receive by default, some salvation. Nothing else is important, everything else is distraction, like this note to you. But I felt compelled to write to you, albeit indirectly. I don’t know you, but I care about you, as you are a little one, like all of us, and in the end we all cry for our mama. The person holding your diet coke and slice of pizza is not necessarily your friend, and when your entourage shrinks, whether by design or circumstance, be glad, and just breathe. We know you can sing, dance, and apparently are quite handy with a spray can. But, we haven’t really heard you speak. Only time will tell if you have something to say.
Colin
 


BTW, my wife and I went to see Colin Hay perform in Chicago a few years back. He still plays and sings quite well, and he's hilarious on stage. I recommend seeing him if you have the chance.


 PA1749 wrote:
Holy hot tub time machine Batman! I bought this RECORD when it came out. Played it to death...Then I discovered "The Wall" and feel into a deep depression for 10 years. LOL

 
HAHA{#Frustrated}
I prefer the Colin Hay acoustic version, but this is really nice. It definitely holds up well 30 years later.
Holy hot tub time machine Batman! I bought this RECORD when it came out. Played it to death...Then I discovered "The Wall" and feel into a deep depression for 10 years. LOL
Not sure which year it was, 1983?, but I heard this already about 1000 times when they played it to death on MTV and top 40 -------- my rating:  4
Steady rocking and basically a great song/band 
 d48m02h wrote:
Strong sounds - but very appropriate lyrics for just about all human beings! {#Yes}

Agreed. As a practicing insomniac, there is a "universalness" to this song and the construction and performance are simply outstanding to my ear.
Strong sounds - but very appropriate lyrics for just about all human beings! {#Yes}
Colin Hay is a real stand up guy.  His open letter to Justin Bieber was great.

Wow, 30 years ago I bought this album on a casette and played it until the tape got chewed up by my JVC boom box. Great times in UK!


Unsurpassed Australian made, 

{#Jump} Oh my ,1983! Good good year.
His album Man At Work has his version of this tune, plus others, and some new tunes. Worth a buy!
A strong contender for happiest song of all time.
Strong base line, not enough sax but still strangely satisfying.
So right!

 
drsteevo wrote:
I always liked this song, still do.  Colin Hay is under-rated.

 


 ejmusik wrote:
I like this more now than when it was first released. Colin Hay rocks!!!!
 
I do too; nice production.
Great song!!! An Australian group of the 80's, when "Australian group" was a strange concept. 1985...I spent that summer in bad, with a broken knee, in a kind of depression...but great great song{#Cheers}
I LOVE his voice!
I always liked this song, still do.  Colin Hay is under-rated.

Genius...
What a good song!
Hay did a slower, acoustic version of this on his solo album Man @ Work that I prefer over the original.  Not that this version is bad, mind you.
I like this more now than when it was first released. Colin Hay rocks!!!!
Dislike so much I post this comment and so bad I tuned out.
 toterola wrote:
A nice trip down memory lane. Back in '83 when it came out, the song was a ubiquitous, stunningly great hit. I think it's aged well. {#Wave}
 

Agreed.  Good then, good now.  Nice to hear.
 Krispian wrote:
Why does the release date say 1996?
 
That was the release date for Contraband, the greatest hits compilation, rather than Cargo.

This song still sounds as fresh today as it did back in '83. 
Why does the release date say 1996?
 lmic wrote:
Who knew just how credible Colin Hay would come to be seen, after all? Fun tune, 8
 

Oh yea, his recent releases are most excellent!{#Clap}
Who knew just how credible Colin Hay would come to be seen, after all? Fun tune, 8
Great song even though it was at risk for er....Overkill!{#Lol}

 oilydwarf wrote:
On the subject of antipodean bands, has anyone heard Hunters and Collectors?  Big in Oz apparently but never had any exposure in the UK or probably the US.  Bill - think you'd like them!
 
They got some MTv time here, and a few major-label distributed albums. I interviewed Doug Falconer on the radioo back in *cough*  1985 or so.

A nice trip down memory lane. Back in '83 when it came out, the song was a ubiquitous, stunningly great hit. I think it's aged well. {#Wave}
 vit wrote:


Just the opposite for me. I've been trying to dodge crap all day and missing all the good stuff. This is the first time I got it right, tuning in right after she quit trying to sing.

 

That's a very valid point; to each his own.  I was merely implying that it was not a very good segue (as Bill is usually really good at that kind of thing).
spicymonkey wrote:
What a terrible follow up to Feist.


Just the opposite for me. I've been trying to dodge crap all day and missing all the good stuff. This is the first time I got it right, tuning in right after she quit trying to sing.

What a terrible follow up to Feist.

Edit: What a terrible spacer between Feist and Mazzy Star.

terrible overplayed...but it was wonderful hearing it when it first broke.
 oilydwarf wrote:
On the subject of antipodean bands, has anyone heard Hunters and Collectors?  Big in Oz apparently but never had any exposure in the UK or probably the US.  Bill - think you'd like them!
 
Now there's a band I've not heard mentioned for a long time! They were big in NZ as well in the 80's. Saw them live in London in about 1990... most excellent {#Yes}
Check out the acoustic versions of this on YouTube... better than the original I think
On the subject of antipodean bands, has anyone heard Hunters and Collectors?  Big in Oz apparently but never had any exposure in the UK or probably the US.  Bill - think you'd like them!
i love the saxophone.
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Come back another day.....{#Yes}
Perhaps you can't get to sleep because of all the SCREAMING in the final verses, man.
what can you say, they weren't great. but i liked the singer's voice, and the base line is pretty cool....hey what am i saying, my toe is tapping!! {#Dance} solid 7
Forgot about this fine group, Men At Work, at first I was thinking it was The Police, but was surprised. Great group from the 80's when I still had enough youthful energy to chase the women. I still chase the women, but they just run faster than I can keep up.
Aw, I like 'em.  One man's sucko-barfo is another man's pleasantly mindless pop.
okay... i can live with kate bush's caterwauling every other day and those goofy barenaked ladies tunes but i REALLY don't get why these guys are in the rotation here at rp. don't get me wrong, i love rp, i listen constantly and give my fair share but this is awful.
Upon hearing the first notes of this piece of absolute crap, I barfed my vegamite sandwich into a nearby garbage pail.
I am SO over this song
Aptly named.
Great song. If you want to hear a good female vocal rendition, look for The Benjamin Gate - Overkill. :)
Great song. I like Colin Hay's solo acoustic version of it even better (on "Scrubs" soundtrack and on his CD, "Man At Work").
Day after day, we appear...
IMO this song has aged extremely well. Still great.
I had the opportunity to see Colin play in a small San Francisco venue last year. One of my favorite shows ever. Half concert half stand-up routine. Made for a great night. This is great, but I prefer his acoustic solo version.
There's something inspired about that jump up an octave in the vocal, repeating the first verse after the sax solo - still inspires chills. Fantastically desperate and yet polished all at the same time. This was a veritable theme song for a group of insomniac musicians I knew in Austin in the 90's. Fun to hear it again. (and a perfect segue to Mazzy Star. I'm loving this set...)
I've been in love with Colin's voice since I was 8 Talk about a lifelong crush.
This corny song is still really fun to listen to. go go 80's retro.
Wow! What a thought! I bet that's exactly what it was to a bunch of you either younger or more open-minded than I! Found it new and disgusting, myself, MTV being to music what movies are to books: a usurpation of the proper role of the individual imagination.
It's a lot more than that. For a lot of people that was the first way we got to see the bands that we loved in a "live" setting. Before MTV started up there was only "Midnight Special" or "Don Kirschner's Rock Concert" for live performances or "King Biscuit Flower Hour" for audio only. Back when MTV first started it played everyone (hardly anyone even had a video to their name back then so even odd bands that would never get one minute of playtime on a clear channel radio station (or ironically on MTV today because it's not sure fire demographically proven non threatening consumer friendly mass produced easy access banal shit because the music industry has such a HIGH opinion of the people that buy their product) got airplay on MTV). PLUS MTV was all videos all day every day back then (at least after it went to a 24 hour a day format). Now if you can find a 24 hour stretch on MTV that plays even 3 hours of music you picked a good day That's cool that you are a believer in the personal vision of interpretation of a song- but speaking as a former musician I was dying to see these new songs and bands played live if only for the purpose of improving playing technique and learning new riffs and chords etc. And keep in mind some bands were very excited to present visuals to go along with their sounds (maybe they should have consulted you first before they profaned their own songs with imagery that they personally devised). I don't see this in the same light that I see an author letting another person take control of their creation and then present it in any way they see fit. Musicians are normally very involved in the process of making videos of their own songs and hopefully most times the end product comes out fairly close to the artist's original visions of what the video should be like.
I never thought this was written by Men at Work, because I heard it performed by The Benjamin Gate (with a female vocalist.) I love their version, and the original now that I've heard it...
kcar wrote:
Good to hear Colin on RP after seeing him on Scrubs. He's also on the soundtrack of "Garden State." Does he have some special relationship with Zack Braff?
I'd bet it's rather that Zack Braff has a special relationship with Colin Hay. Scrubs introduced me to Hay's work and I'm ever grateful for that.
Xeric wrote:
MTV being to music what movies are to books: a usurpation of the proper role of the individual imagination.
Earlier MTV was quite imaginative and fun, providing some sweet visual diversion to go with the audio. Neither that nor movies are a broad "usurpation" of any media; a co-existence is possible. One should not replace the other.
morganb2003 wrote:
MTV is new and exciting. It's summertime. Sitting by the pool all day and we're out of middle school. . . .
Wow! What a thought! I bet that's exactly what it was to a bunch of you either younger or more open-minded than I! Found it new and disgusting, myself, MTV being to music what movies are to books: a usurpation of the proper role of the individual imagination. Yeah, I know. Get with it. But while I'm not, I never could stand this song, either!
I prefer the Colin Hay solo version of this, but the original has it's nostalgic charm too.
Good to hear Colin on RP after seeing him on Scrubs. He's also on the soundtrack of "Garden State." Does he have some special relationship with Zack Braff?
mamerjamer wrote:
What a well crafted song.
Indeed, and well-executed, too. The spooky video enhanced it.
MTV is new and exciting. It's summertime. Sitting by the pool all day and we're out of middle school. Seeing MAW in the "Down Under" video and one of the band members is trailing a koala bear stuffed animal on his leg and life seems so good. Nothing to do but soak up some sun, drink some lemonade and wonder about life's biggest mysteries---puberty---with the best friends you can ever imagine having.
Great song. The acoustic version is great, by just Hay, too. I first got this on an '80s collection tape and I was disappointed I'd never heard it before, like, you know, in the '80s? Apparently other cities did. We got Who Can It Be Now and Down Under, of course.
Such a unique and unforgetable voice. I love him!
Hey check this out from wikipedia "Hay is the uncle of Zero 7 singer and solo artist Sia Furler. "
I noticed Colin Hay in scrubs an became a fan of his solo work. It took a while until I realized that he's the voice of "Men at Work" though.
meydele wrote:
Colin Hays' solo acoustic versions of some Men at Work classics are totally worth the price of admission. He's is a phenomenal songwriter. I can't give him enough plaudits.
Totally agree & what a voice. Trying to learn this song and it's harder than it sounds. Scrubs has used his music as a double score: for them and him. Nice revival...Still giggling about the guitar smashing scene with Dr. Cox.
"I can't get to sleep..." That part gives me goosebumps! Glad to hear this one again.
thanks for the vid! that was cool. I've always had MAW in the rotation. Although I will admit to skipping "down under" now and then. Q
What a great tune - I hated it in high school because it was on the radio a gazillion times a day. Since my ears have had a rest since then, it's become a favorite. Colin Hays' solo acoustic versions of some Men at Work classics are totally worth the price of admission. He's is a phenomenal songwriter. I can't give him enough plaudits.
"Who can it beeee now?" Dun dun dunna Oh, that's not the right song? Heh.
basstooner wrote:
A perfect pop song, from an overlooked band. Colin Hay has one of the best voices in rock. nice work!!!!! PS Anyone see his guest appearance on an early episode of Scrubs, playing this song? Brilliant.
Wish I'd caught that! Glad to see this fellow's having a career revival. I like his solo acoustic stuff. --- Well my my my it's a beautiful world I like sleepin' with Marie She is one sexy girl full of mystery She says she doesn't love me but she likes my company For now that's good enough for me
That song is a work of art!
this is why I love RP ... Great song, didn't hear it for years
Probably my first favorite pop song. I got cargo for my ninth birthday. Still a great tune. 10.
I'm overjoyed hearing the "ghosts appear and fade away" line that closes this song. My all time favorite song by them. not that you needed to know) I love this song... must, give, a TEN!
aquadonia wrote:
I absolutely love this song. This blows "Down Under" to bits.
Yeah, thank god they are not singing at the moment: "who can it beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee now"...I heard it yesterday from my computer for a second and deleted it after.