“I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder.
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”
Chunder?
Some kinda’ Australian thing? You think it just rhymed well with “Thunder” and “under”?
A substantial portion of the language of Oz consists of euphemisms for regurgitation. It has something to do with having nothing to do in the outback but get drunk, abuse the abos, and, um, watch the sheep.
We use ‘chunder’ at home (NW England) frequently, a ‘Tactical Chunder’ being the requirement to expel previously consumed beer in order that more can be consumed. Doesn’t make much sense economically, but not much does when you’re hoofed.
Somebody give Casey Kasem a call. When that song was on his TOP 40 program, he went down a list of all the Aussie terms. I don’t remember what any of them were, but I seem to recall (as he pronounced it) was “. . . men shunder.”
I think “fried out combie” meant a broken-down VW.
“Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”
Third stanza blah blah blah
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,
“I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”
Fifth blah blah you know what I mean
And he said,
“Oh! Do you come from a land down under? (oh yeah yeah)
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”
It is to vomit, and on the Men at Work greatest hits album they address this precise question, and they did write Chunder and meant vomit while drunk. So its not some geek coping lyrics as best he can, and making up the blurry parts.