Song · Cold Chisel
“Flame Trees” by Cold Chisel
From the album Twentieth Century (1984)
“Flame Trees” by Cold Chisel appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2018 and 2025. It was first released in 1984 on the album Twentieth Century. Its best result is #7 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025).
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"Flame Trees" is the heart-tugger from Cold Chisel's 1984 album Twentieth Century, and one of the Australian pub rock band's best-known songs. Drummer Steve Prestwich wrote the music first, on a bass, and brought it to keyboardist Don Walker in assorted back rooms asking for words.
Walker filled it with memories of Grafton, the town where he spent part of his youth, tangled up with romantic daydreams, and he could tell before a single word existed that it had an emotional shape, built around a big key change. Ian Moss and Phil Small round out the band, which produced it. Australians keep voting for it: Triple M ranked it 12th on its Ozzest 100 in 2018, and it placed 7th in Triple J's Hottest 100 of Australian Songs in 2025.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 12 | Triple M | Triple M Ozzest 100 (2018) | 100 |
| 2025 | 7 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025) | 100 |
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