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Cover of Blue Sky Mining by Midnight Oil
Cover: Blue Sky Mining

Song · Midnight Oil

“Forgotten Years” by Midnight Oil

From the album Blue Sky Mining (1990)

“Forgotten Years” by Midnight Oil appears on 23 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1990 and 2022. It was first released in 1990 on the album Blue Sky Mining. Its best result is #38 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #62 alternative song of 1990 and #765 alternative song of all time.

23countdowns
7stations
#38best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1990–2022years charted

Watch

Midnight Oil - Forgotten Years (Official Video)

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

"Forgotten Years" was the second single from Blue Sky Mining, Midnight Oil's seventh studio album, released in April 1990. Drummer Rob Hirst wrote it with Jim Moginie, drawing on what his grandfather and father had lived through in wartime and their insistence that the generations after them keep the horror in mind and steer clear of more wars.

Warne Livesey produced it with the band and David Nicholas engineered, and it's a driving, clenched-fist rocker whose chorus rings out like a public warning. The video was shot in France, inside the Douaumont Ossuary. It reached number 26 on the Australian singles chart, number 11 on Billboard's Album Rock chart, and went all the way to number one on Modern Rock.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 54 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 38 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 201 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1994 317 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 282 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 925 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 678 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 679 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 638 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 638 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 141 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 638 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 396 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 638 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 639 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 887 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 843 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 858 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 885 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 919 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 952 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 989 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2022 367 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 791 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900

Also listed as: Forgotton Years.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

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