Midnight Oil's Indigenous land rights anthem has had new life breathed into it thanks to a metal band from a remote community in the NT who hope to see it become a NAIDOC week anthem.
Santa Teresa's Southeast Desert Metal band have covered Beds are Burning in Arrernte – their first language.
Lead singer and guitarist Chris Wallace said the song was "easy" to translate but said the band took some liberties with a few lines to call out the ongoing effects of colonisation.
The 1987 hit urges colonial Australia to "pay the rent" to Indigenous Australia because the land "belongs to them, let's give it back."
Mr Wallace said recording the cover was a fun process for the band.
"Pay our share" has become "pay your share" and "it belongs to them" is now "it belongs to us".
The video shows the band in back of a ute, charging along desert roads on Arrernte country near their hometown of Santa Teresa.
It's a similar scene to the "Four wheels" referenced in the original song that steam through the Western Desert in "forty-five degrees".
It features subtitles so those at home can sing along in Arrernte.
New album in the works
It's been a busy few years for Southeast Desert Metal, following tours with headline metal acts Karnivool and Cosmic Psychos.
The band's third album is expected out later this year.
He said the album would focus on "history" and "stories" and "mining, how it damages the land."
Mr Wallace said he was unsure what Peter Garrett would make of the cover, but he hoped to meet him one day.
"It would be an honour."
