Black Tears

"Black Tears" is a song by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger, from their sixth studio album Dream Days at the Hotel Existence.

Then Queensland premier, Peter Beattie, who had legal experience, said the song was likely to be protected by free speech laws, noting "The matter would have to go pertain specifically to the issues of the trial" for a "prejudice" argument to be raised.

"[8] In a June 2007 interview, Fanning noted that Powderfinger hoped to re-release the original version of the song in the future, after the case had been settled.

[4] In a media statement published on the band's MySpace web page, lead singer Bernard Fanning, who originally wrote the song, said the inspiration came to him after "a trip that I took last year to Uluru".

Fanning said the second part of the song, which contained the controversial lyrics, was written following the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions passing down its finding in the death in custody case.

[12] Upon announcing that the album would contain an altered version, Fanning noted his initial reasons for the song, stating "to bring attention to the obvious disadvantage that is still being suffered by Aboriginal people in this country", which he said included the issue of "Indigenous deaths in custody".