Blackfella Whitefella

Description

‘This song came to me when I was living in Papunya in 1982. Here I was in the minority as a whitefella working in a majority blackfella community but I was having a great time. I was mixing in and getting on well with everyone. Especially the young fellas my own age. We played footy and music together. So with that and the truth of the experiences I was having in Papunya the song just came to me. It was like a simple but powerful message. I still wasn’t sure though, so I showed it to Sammy Butcher. He said we (the Warumpi Band) should do it. We’re all living together now – black and white, we gotta get along. Before we recorded it, our lead singer, George, suggested we include yellafella as well. Which we did, which was right because the song went further than just blackfellas and whitefellas, it had to include all peoples from all places and it didn’t matter what colour they were.’