(Short piano‑drum lead‑in to kick off) Verse 1 — 1990s Keating speech, red‑earth call, Mabo wins — history tall, Port Arthur, sorrow deep, Gun laws change while people sleep, Olympic bid for 2000, Mobile phones start comin’ in, Drought returns, reef concern, Reconciliation lessons turn, Sydney lights, build the site — Nineties hope, nineties fight! Pre‑Chorus We didn’t light the fire down under — It was burnin’ long before we wandered! We didn’t light the fire down under — But we watched it blaze, year after year! Chorus We didn’t light the fire down under! Flames were burnin’ way back yonder! We didn’t light the fire down under! Still it keeps on burnin’ strong! Verse 2 — 2000s Sydney Games, fireworks bright, Millennium’s first big night, Tall ships sail, beach crowds swell, Reconciliation walk as well, Canberra fires, heatwave sting, Cyclone Larry, springtime thing, Digital age takes its hold, Climate warnings start to unfold, Black Saturday late‑decade pain — Fire and ash across the plain! Pre‑Chorus We didn’t light the fire down under — It was burnin’ long before we wandered! We didn’t light the fire down under — But we watched it blaze, year after year! Chorus We didn’t light the fire down under! Flames were burnin’ way back yonder! We didn’t light the fire down under! Still it keeps on burnin’ strong! Verse 3 — 2010‑2026 Black Summer blaze, 2019, Reef bleaching, ocean green, Marriage equality new norm, Social news, weather storm, Uluru climb closed to view, Truth‑seekin’ work for me and you, COVID comes, lock‑down days, Queensland floods, muddy ways, Voice referendum, nation talks, Now we stand in ’26 walks! Bridge (slows then builds back up) It wasn’t started by the sixties sun, Wasn’t lit when the races run, Wasn’t born when the towns were built — It’s the land’s own fire, deep and spilt! Every win and every tear, Every hope through every year! Final Chorus (big swell, end strong) We didn’t light the fire down under! Flames were burnin’ way back yonder! We didn’t light the fire down under! Still it keeps on burnin’ strong! We didn’t light the fire down under! Flames were burnin’ way back yonder! We didn’t light the fire down under! Still it keeps on burnin’ strong! (Fade: piano + light drum click)
