Men at Work - Down Under & Who can it be now

Men at Work are a Scottish-Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States (Business as Usual and "Down Under" respectively). They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom. The group won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Colin Hay emigrated to Australia in 1967 from Scotland with his family. In 1978, he formed a duo with Ron Strykert, which expanded with the addition of drummer Jerry Speiser and Australian progressive rock keyboard player Greg Sneddon. They formed an unnamed four-piece group that would later morph into Men at Work. Sneddon soon left, to be replaced in late 1979 by saxophonist/flautist/keyboardist Greg Ham. Bassist John Rees completed the band.

"Down Under" recorded by Men at Work for their debut album Business as Usual (1981). The song went to #1 on American, British, and Australian charts.

The lyrics are about an Australian traveller circling the globe, proud of his nationality, and about his interactions with people he meets on his travels who are interested in his home country.

One of the verses refers to Vegemite (an Australian food product) sandwiches, among other things; the particular lyric "He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich" has become a well-known phrase.

Colin Hay told Songfacts: "The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the over-development of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It's really more than that.»
The song was ranked #96 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s in October 2006.

"Who Can It Be Now?" was the second single and first track from their 1981 debut album, Business as Usual. "Who Can It Be Now?" was first released as a single in Australia in June 1981, prior to the recording of the rest of the album. The track peaked at #2 on the Australian singles chart in August that year and went on to reach #1 in the USA and #45 in the UK in 1982.

As one of Men at Work's biggest hits, it was featured on their later compilation albums, and a live version can be found on Brazil.

The lyrics of "Who Can It Be Now?" feature the narrative of a reclusive, perhaps paranoid man who hears knocking at his house door and wishes to be left in solitude. The presence of a "childhood friend" is mentioned, and the bridge lyrics give the impression that the narrator fears once again being taken away to a mental institution. Musically, the song features prominent saxophone lines and a mid-tempo beat. Its chorus vocals, which make up the song title, feature a melody that is echoed through saxophone in a call and response fashion. The second chorus pushes the anxious lyrics further and becomes flush with vocal harmony.

"Who Can It Be Now?" remains a popular symbol of New Wave music. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the song an "excellent single that merged straight-ahead pop/rock hooks with a quirky New Wave production and an offbeat sense of humor." Heather Phares reviewed the song specifically and summed up by saying "In keeping with current trends but just quirky enough to be instantly memorable, the song seems custom-built for repeated play; it's easy to see why it became one of 1982's biggest hits, as well as a definitive New Wave single.