Midnight Oil – Jimmy Sharman's Boxers Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
Cover art for Jimmy Sharman’s Boxers by Midnight Oil

Jimmy Sharman’s Boxers

Oct. 19841 viewer

Jimmy Sharman’s Boxers Lyrics

From the red dust north of Dalmore Downs
Sharman's tents roll into town
Twelve will face the auctioneer
Sharman's Boxers stand their ground
Their days are darker than your nights
But they won't be the first to fall
Children broken from their dreams
But they won't be the first to fall

Fighting in the spotlight
Eye's turn blacker than their skin
For Jimmy Sharman's boxers
It's no better if you win
Standing in the darkness
Lined up waiting for the bell
The days are wasted drinking
At the first and last hotel

Why are we fighting for this?
Why are you paying for this?
You pay to see me fall like shrapnel
To the floor
What is the reason for this?
There is a reason for this?
What is the reason they keep coming back for more?
The blows now bring him to his knees
But still the crowd calls out for more
The drums are burning in his ears
The man keeps counting out the score

(Hirst/Moginie)

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Genius Annotation

Jimmy Sharman (1887-1965) ran a boxing tent in rural New South Wales from 1911 to 1955 before handing it to his son, who shut it down in 1971 due to new, more restrictive, boxing regulations.

The song alleges that Sharman exploited his Aboriginal boxers, of whom there was a disproportionate number.

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Release Date
October 1984
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