There’s a new song to share, inspired by the vast outback north of Coober Pedy, and the myth that people only move there if they’re running from something.
I wrote half of this song while in the back seat of our 1991 VN Commodore as part of Car 13 in the 2025 SA Variety Bash. The other half I wrote when back in Adelaide.
On the Variety SA bash, I got to see how big the outback is and how faint many of the “roads” were across the stations we were allowed to drive through. You had to trust your instincts to find your way. And the silence? That sound of the desert wind, the hard dirt on rocks that have baked here for a billion years, it all found its way into this song.
Everyone assumes people end up out there because they’re running from something. Maybe they’re running towards something instead.
The song plays with Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” and gives it an outback twist: “I breathe, therefore I am.” Out there, survival trumps philosophy.
Lyrics: A Lot of Nothing
[Verse 1]
There ain’t nothing much past Coober Pedy
Just miles of red rock, salt bush, and regret
You need to know yourself, you can’t be needy
While praying that the path you’re on ain’t wet
[Verse 2]
Out here the roads are not clear like you’re used to
You’ve got to find your way among the dust
Staying here is something that you choose to
‘Til leaving here is something that you must
[Chorus]
There’s a lot of nothing
As far as you can see
That shimmer in the distance
Is a sweet infinity
The blue spreads on forever
‘Til the clouds come rolling in
Then we navigate the weather
‘Til we find ourselves again
[Verse 3]
And so you’re out here digging for redemption
It’s one way of burying your grief
The pain’s too deep for any intervention
You push hard then the beer brings some relief
[Verse 4]
You’re just another struggling for survival
And Mother Nature doesn’t give a damn
Her desert gives you one shot at revival
When you can say “I breathe, therefore I am”
[Chorus]
There’s a lot of nothing
As far as you can see
That shimmer in the distance
Is a sweet infinity
The blue spreads on forever
‘Til the clouds come rolling in
Then we navigate the weather
‘Til we find ourselves again
[Bridge]
When you’ve come this far
When you’re on your own
Turn off that music
Turn off that phone
Lose that city habit
Prepare yourself to face
The real you who’s been buried
In the silence of this place
[Chorus]
There’s a lot of nothing
As far as you can see
That shimmer in the distance
Is a sweet infinity
The blue spreads on forever
‘Til the clouds come rolling in
Then we navigate the weather
‘Til we find ourselves again