"Solid Rock" is a song written by

Shane Howard Shane Michael Howard (born 26 January 1955) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, he was the mainstay of folk rock group Goanna (1977–85, 1998) which had hit singles with " Solid Rock" (September 1982, No. 3) and " Let the ...

and recorded by Australian rock band

Goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizard of the genus ''Monitor lizard, Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous r ...

. The song deals with issues of land rights for

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

and was released in September 1982 as the lead single from the band's debut studio album, ''

Spirit of Place Spirit of place (or soul) refers to the unique, distinctive and cherished aspects of a place; often those celebrated by artists and writers, but also those cherished in folk tales, festivals and celebrations. It is thus as much in the invisible w ...

''. "Solid Rock" peaked at number 3 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

. At the 1982 Countdown Music and Video Awards, "Solid Rock" won Best Debut Single. In January 2018, as part of

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Solid Rock" was ranked number 13. In 2021,

MTV Classic MTV Classic may refer to: *MTV Classic (American TV channel) MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as " ...

ranked the song 10th during their special ''Top 100 Big in the 80s'' countdown.

Background and release

According to Howard, the inspiration came on a ten-day camping trip at

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

(also known as Ayers Rock) during 1980 where he had a "spiritual awakening" which brought "the fire in the belly" to the surface over injustices to Australia’s

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. Howard said "I realised that this country that I grew up in, that I thought was my country, wasn't. I had to reassess my whole relationship with the land and the landscape, and understand that we had come from somewhere else, and we had dis-empowered a whole race of people when we arrived." WEA were reluctant to release it as a single and Howard initially had reservations about whether commercial radio would play it because of its politically sensitive theme but Howard insisted on its release to make a statement about the European settlement of Australia. The song was released in September 1982. Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, described it as "a damning indictment of the

European settlement of Australia European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other We ...

Track listing

; 7" WEA Records (100223) Side A: "Solid Rock" – 4:28
Side B: "Four Weeks Gone" – 5:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* In 1994, Shane Howard recorded the song on his album ''Live in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand''. * In 2009, Street Warriors featuring

Shannon Noll Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top-ten al ...

released a version of "Solid Rock" * In 2011, heavy metal band Darker Half covered the song on their album ''Desensitized''. * In 2014 Heavy Metal band

Dead Kelly Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shor ...

covered Solid Rock on their YouTube Chanel * In 2016,

Scott Darlow Scott Darlow is an Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist, didgeridoo player and public speaker from Melbourne, Victoria. Early life and education Darlow was born in Melbourne, Australia to Salvation Army parents, the second of four childr ...

featuring

released a version of "Solid Rock" * In 2017,

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (; born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the Australian Idol (season 4), fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and s ...

covered the song on her album '' The Secret Daughter Season Two: Songs from the Original 7 Series''. *in 2017 Robbie Miller created a slow acoustic version. * In 2020,

The Waifs The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by sisters Vikki Thorn (harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (musician), Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals) as well as Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocal ...

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...

Jordi Davieson San Cisco is an Australian indie pop band that formed in 2009 in Fremantle, Western Australia. The band are a three-piece, and currently consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo (guitar, vocals) and Scarlett Stevens ...

Carla Geneve Carla Geneve is an Australian singer-songwriter from Albany, Western Australia. Career 2017–2019: Debut extended play Carla Geneve released her debut single "Greg's Discount Chemist" in March 2018 and was released to overwhelming support fro ...

performed a cover of "Solid Rock" during the Fire Aid concert, a benefit performance for the people affected by the 2020 bushfires. * Also in 2020,

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo the Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a memb ...

covered the song on Forty-Five Degrees: Bushfire Flash Record, a benefit release supporting the Firestick Alliance. * in 202
WildHeart
made a heavy metal cover of Solid Rock in a double song album with another song Sacred Ground somewhat of a spin off of Solid Rock

References

1982 songs 1982 debut singles Songs about Australia Songs about racism and xenophobia Goanna songs Political songs Warner Music Group singles Uluru {{1980s-single-stub