Powderfinger claims that the actual basis of the song is the sacrilege of people climbing treasured Australian rock
Uluru
"Black Tears" is a song on the current Australian band Powderfinger's album Dream Days at the Hotel Existence. It sparked controversy in Australia due to its lyrical content, which appears to refer to the trial of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, a police officer charged with manslaughter over an incident connected with the 2004 Palm Island death in custody. Fearing that the lyrics of the song, which have not been published in full, but contain the words "An island watch-house bed, a black man's lying dead" might prejudice the case against their client, Hurley's legal team referred the song to Queensland's Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, in an attempt to get the song banned or the lyrics changed.[1][2] The band's management claimed that while the lyrics of the song refer to the Hurley case, they are not specific enough to warrant a ban.[3] The band's response to the issue was to use an alternate version of "Black Tears" on the album, presumably one that has differing lyrics or content to the originally intended version, but to keep the launch date the same as originally intended.[4] While the song was primarily based on Uluru being climbed despite requests from Aboriginals not to, parts the lyrics were based on the Hurley case.[5] The version of the song released on the album fades out while the bridge lyrics enter, presumably lyrics not heard are the lyrics that are considered to be inappropriate.
References
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June 2, 2007
