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Cover of Diesel and Dust by Midnight Oil
Cover: Diesel and Dust

Song · Midnight Oil

“Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil

From the album Diesel and Dust (1987)

“Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil appears on 102 radio countdowns from 37 stations between 1988 and 2026. It was first released in 1987 on the album Diesel and Dust. Its best result is #3 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #3 alternative song of 1988, #83 alternative song of all time and #9 of the '80s.

102countdowns
37stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
1988–2026years charted

Watch

Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning

Video from YouTube (MidnightOilVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Beds Are Burning" kicks off Diesel and Dust, Midnight Oil's sixth album, from 1987, and it was the second single pulled from it. Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst and Jim Moginie wrote it, and Warne Livesey produced it with the band, with Guy Gray engineering.

Everything about it is built to march: Hirst's drums pounding like a work gang, Peter Gifford's bass locked tight to them, and Moginie and Martin Rotsey's guitars slashing in short, sharp strokes. Livesey and Moginie layer on keyboards, and the arrangement goes wider still, with John Ockwell on cello, Glad Reed on trombone and Jeremy Smith on French horn giving the chorus a brassy, stately swell. It's a stadium anthem with something urgent on its mind, righteous and impossible to stand still for.

It topped the charts in New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, reached 6 at home and 17 in the United States. Its politics made it a flashpoint: the band played it at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics without the IOC's permission. At home it keeps climbing lists. An APRA industry panel picked it as the third-best Australian song ever in 2001, behind "Friday on My Mind" and "Eagle Rock", and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame counts it among the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 6 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988 107
1988 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 91
1988 15 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1988 106
1988 8 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988 100
1988 12 Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1988 30

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 32 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 282 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 376 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1989 33 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 91 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 1989) 101
1989 17 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 99 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1990 204 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 159 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 67 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 894 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 147 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1992 86 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 177 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 168 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 100 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 26 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 252 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 164 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 410 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 82 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 32 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1997 983 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 274 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 368 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 147 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 38 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 177 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 418 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 31 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 74 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 89 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 52 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 74 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 54 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 91 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 364 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 119 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 90 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 91 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 52 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 140 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 91 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 145 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 233 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 91 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 256 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 469 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 160 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 92 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 520 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 14 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 327 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 432 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 132 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 27 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 482 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 182 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 469 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 461 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 460 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 394 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 97 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2010 450 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 459 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 474 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 494 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2016 176 103.5 The Fox The Fox Memorial Day 500 (2016) 299
2018 9 Triple M Triple M Ozzest 100 (2018) 100
2019 691 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2020 1207 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 868 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 462 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 90 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 452 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 628 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 322 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 491 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 182 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 260 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 942 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 1208 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2023 76 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 87 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of The Last 40 Years 91
2023 832 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 1010 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 910 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 621 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 648 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 407 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 227 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 342 KEXP The Best Opening Tracks of All Time 738
2025 369 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 795 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 18 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025) 100
2026 484 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 982 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Beds Are Burning; Beads Are Burning.

Charting alongside it in 1988

Best songs of 1988 →
  1. 1SuedeheadMorrissey
  2. 2DesireU2
  3. 4Route 66Depeche Mode
  4. 5Peek-A-BooSiouxsie and the Banshees
  5. 6Chains of LoveErasure
  6. 7Everyday Is Like SundayMorrissey

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