Blue Sky Mine

"Blue Sky Mine"
Single by Midnight Oil
from the album Blue Sky Mining
B-side
  • "You May Not Be Released"
  • "Wedding Cake Island"
  • "Blossom and Blood"
Released5 February 1990 (1990-02-05)[1]
GenreGarage rock[2]
Length4:18
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Midnight Oil, Warne Livesey
Midnight Oil singles chronology
"Dreamworld"
(1988) 		"Blue Sky Mine"
(1990) 		"Forgotten Years"
(1990)

"Blue Sky Mine" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released in February 1990 as the first single from their seventh studio album, Blue Sky Mining (1990). The song was inspired by the experiences of workers at the Wittenoom asbestos mines who contracted various asbestos-related diseases.[3][4][5] The "blue" refers to blue asbestos, and the "sugar refining company" mentioned in the lyrics refers to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Ltd, the owner of the mines.

  1. ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 3 February 1990. p. 38. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ^ Fricke, David (2004). "Midnight Oil". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 541–542. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  3. ^ "Wittenoom Community Education Campaign - Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia Inc".
  4. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r13029
  5. ^ "Vanishing history: the most intriguing lost cities - travel tips and articles - Lonely Planet". www.lonelyplanet.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-12.