"Flame Trees" is a song by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel from their 1984 album Twentieth Century.
In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100" of the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Flame Trees" was ranked number 12.
[2] According to the band's official website, Walker's inspiration for the lyrics was a combination of his memories of Grafton where he had lived as a youth, and of his romantic dreams.
[10] The phrase that appears in the chorus, "nothing else could set fire to this town", refers back to the Cold Chisel song "Merry Go Round".
[13] Prestwich was asked to come into the studio for the recording and made many of the production decisions, including flying Venetta Fields in for backing vocals.
It portrays a young man returning to his home town, meeting old friends, and remembering a past lover.
The members of Cold Chisel have bit parts, except for Jimmy Barnes, who only appears courtesy of some footage from The Last Stand.
A man goes back to the Australian bush town where he was raised and feels nostalgia at what he recalls, but distaste at how little things have changed.
The children in the choir appear in the film performing the song during a pivotal scene, and their version is repeated during the closing credits.
Don Walker said of this version, "A children's choir like that, it can't miss; they'll break your heart no matter what they sing."
"[18] Singer Sarah Blasko also recorded a cover version for Little Fish, which was released as a stand-alone download-only single on the Australian iTunes Music Store, and later included on the 2007 tribute album Standing on the Outside: The Songs of Cold Chisel.