Men at Work

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Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as Who Can It Be Now? and Down Under.
Its founding member and frontman is Colin Hay, who performs on lead vocals and guitar.
After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–79, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums.
They were soon joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, and keyboards and John Rees on bass guitar, with Strykert switching back to lead guitar.
The group was managed by Russell Depeller, a friend of Hay, whom he met at La Trobe University.
This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid 1980s.

Down Under

The Land Down Under is Australia, where the group is from.
The lyrics were written by lead singer Colin Hay, who explained in his Songfacts interview:
The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the overdevelopment 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.

Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast

And she said:
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

Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscle
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
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.

Lying in a den in Bombay
With a slack jaw, and not much to say
I said to the man, "Are you trying to tempt me?
Because I come from the land of plenty"

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.

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.

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

Some lyric translation:
Fried out Kombi - a broken-down van. The lyrics are often translated as "Combie," but the correct spelling is Kombi. It came from the VW Kombivan which was very popular in the '60s and early '70s, especially with surfers and hippies.

Head full of Zombie - Zombie was a particularly strong batch of marijuana which was floating around Australia for a long time. People called it "Zombie Grass."

Vegemite Sandwich - Vegemite is a fermented yeast spread that is pretty much a national institution in Australia. Some people love it and can't start the day without a piece of toast spread with Vegemite, and some go so far as to carry a small jar of it with them when they travel overseas. Some are indifferent to it, and others can't stand it. It kind of resembles smooth black tar, and is similar in taste to the English "Marmite," but Aussies will always tell you that Vegemite is far superior.

Regarding the lyrics, Where beer does flow, and men chunder... Chunder is Aussie slang meaning to vomit.