# What does F-19 mean (Men At Work song) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 12, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547 "2021-08-12T21:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/1 "2021-08-12T21:52:44Z")
There’s a song on Men At Work’s Business As Usual album called ‘F-19’. What does the title mean? The album was recorded in 1981. The first F-117, erroneously called F-19 by people making assumptions about this Top Secret aircraft, first flew in June 1981. The Testor’s ‘F-19 Stealth Fighter’ model didn’t come out until 1986. It seems unlikely the name of the song is related to the fictional aircraft. Is ‘F-19’ some sort of code recording artists use? Mixer setting? Catalog number? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/2 "2021-08-12T22:00:50Z")
Given that it’s an instrumental, and wasn’t on the original release of the album (it was on the B-side of “Be Good Johnny”, and on the remastered re-release of the album in 2003), my guess would be that it was a code that the band had given it, and they never got around to changing the name to something “real” (not unlike Genesis’s “Abacab”). Either that, or it’s an inside joke of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/3 "2021-08-12T22:05:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > my guess would be that it was a code that the band had given it, and they never got around to changing the name to something “real” Actually, that was my first thought after the fictional aircraft. But I got to checking dates and forgot to post it. I suspect you may be right. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/4 "2021-08-12T22:09:41Z")
I also know that, in that era, it wasn’t unheard of for B-side songs to be ones that either didn’t make the cut for inclusion on the album, or were recorded later when the record company wanted an extra song for a B-side – the Traveling Wilburys came into being when George Harrison’s record company asked him to cut another song to use as the B-side for the European release of the song “This Is Love,” from _Cloud Nine_ (and a full year after Harrison had recorded that album). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/5 "2021-08-12T23:44:48Z")
It’s a jukebox code. Like ‘Please mister please, don’t play’ F-19 ‘it was our song it was his song’. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/6 "2021-08-12T23:51:11Z")
Apropos of nothing … I loved that album. I distinctly remember the hubbub that Men At Work were “going to be the next Beatles,” and a reviewer’s reply that they were “_maybe_ going to be the next Boston …” But I definitely though they had serious talent. And it’s a statistical likelihood that @Melbourne is either, himself, a band member or is no more than two degrees of separation from one 😉 [The fact that h/she invoked another part-time Aussie to make the point did nothing to disabuse me of that notion] ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/7 "2021-08-12T23:59:22Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > And it’s a statistical likelihood that @Melbourne is either, himself, a band member or is no more than two degrees of separation from one 😉 > > [The fact that h/she invoked another part-time Aussie to make the point did nothing to disabuse me of that notion] That checks out. _nods_ ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/8 "2021-08-13T00:56:55Z")
Well my brother once sat next to Colin Hay on a Greyhound bus. They are both guitarists so they found a lot to talk about. This is post Men at Work. Which probably tells you all you need to know about how financially successful they were. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/9 "2021-08-13T01:08:51Z")
You never know where Colin Hay will turn up. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RZ45xrtNnzk/hqdefault.jpg "Scrubs - Overkill") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ45xrtNnzk) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/10 "2021-08-13T15:20:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > wasn’t on the original release of the album (it was on the B-side of “Be Good Johnny”, and on the remastered re-release of the album in 2003) Thanks, this explains why I don’t remember it even though I had/have the album. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-f-19-mean-men-at-work-song/948547/11 "2021-08-13T15:22:05Z")
I’m sure I have the vinyl, but (unfortunately) I haven’t used a turntable in 20 years and the music I listen to is on CD copied to iTunes.