When asked which song by another First Nations artist has stayed with him throughout his life, Australian music icon Kev Carmody didn’t hesitate, and there is a quiet power in Kev’s answer:
Eat This Music: Which song by another First Nations artist has stayed with you, and what has it taught you?
“The song that holds significance is Bart Willoughby and Mixed Relations “We Have Survived the White Mans World”.
It has paralled what we have and continue to go through. Our struggle is ongoing. (yes….no vote for Voice to Parliament.)
— cheers
Kev”
Kev doesn’t describe the song as nostalgic, inspirational or even a personal favourite. Instead, he says it has “paralleled what we have and continue to go through.” In other words, the song has remained relevant because the issues it addresses have not disappeared. Released by No Fixed Address, We Have Survived has become one of the defining works of contemporary First Nations music. Built around reggae rhythms inspired by Bob Marley, the song stood apart from much of the Indigenous music of its era, which was largely rooted in country music. More importantly, it gave voice to Aboriginal experiences that were largely absent from mainstream Australian music.
According to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, the song became an unofficial anthem for many Indigenous Australians because it captured both survival and resistance. Bart Willoughby later explained that he wrote it “as a cause for surviving, to make sure that we did survive.”
The timing was significant, as emerging in the years following the 1967 Australian referendum and influenced by artists like Bob Marley, No Fixed Address became one of the first Aboriginal bands to tell First Nations stories from a First Nations perspective. Their music wasn’t simply entertainment—it was cultural expression, political commentary and historical record all at once.
That is precisely why Kev Carmody’s choice feels so fitting, as throughout his own career, Kev has written songs that challenge Australia to confront its history while celebrating resilience, culture and identity. His answer recognises another artist whose work helped lay the foundations for that tradition. When Kev says the song still reflects “what we have and continue to go through”, he reminds us that We Have Survived is not simply an important historical recording. It remains a living statement about endurance.
