Foreign Land (song)

"Foreign Land" is a song by Australian rock band, Eskimo Joe. It was released in April 2009 as the lead single from their fourth studio album Inshalla. The song was the most added song on Australian radio in April 2009,[1] and peaked at number 13 on the ARIA Charts and was certified gold. The single contains elements of traditional Turkish folk music from Adiyaman, Turkey.

"Foreign Land"
Single by Eskimo Joe
from the album Inshalla
Released3 April 2009 (2009-04-03)
Recorded2008
GenreAlternative rock, hard rock
Length4:30
LabelWarner
Songwriter(s)Eskimo Joe (Joel Quartermain, Kavyen Temperley & Stuart MacLeod), Steve Parkin
Producer(s)Gil Norton
Eskimo Joe singles chronology
"London Bombs"
(2007)		 "Foreign Land"
(2009)		 "Losing Friends Over Love"
(2009)

The song was written as a tribute to Australian actor Heath Ledger, who died in January 2008.[2]

The song placed second in the 2009 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition.[3]

At the APRA Music Awards of 2010, the song won Most Played Australian Work and Rock Work of the Year.[4]

Background

The lyrics were borne from a poignant day in New York City when an emotionally drained Temperley stepped out for a walk.

It had just started snowing. It was a magical moment. That night we had to do this Australia gig, and when we got to it we found out that Heath Ledger had died. He'd died two blocks from where I was walking and at the time I was walking and it started snowing. He was from Perth and we were in New York City, this big foreign city, and I felt this immense loneliness of this kid from my hometown dying by himself there.

— Kav Temperley[5]

The song has been used on TV shows such as The World's Strictest Parents and Sunday Night.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Eskimo Joe

iTunes single
No.TitleLength
1."Foreign Land" (Radio Edit)4:02
CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Foreign Land"4:29
2."Falling Too Fast"4:36
3."Sinners and Saints"3:50
iTunes EP
No.TitleLength
1."Foreign Land"4:28
2."Falling Too Fast"4:35
3."Sinners and Saints"3:50
4."Foreign Land" (Demo)4:49

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[6] 13

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[7] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Australia 3 April 2009 Warner, Mushroom Digital download -
17 April 2009 CD, Digital download 5186538032

References
  1. Eliezer, Christie (21 April 2009). "Radio leaps over new Eskimo Joe track". The Music.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 May 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  2. Te Koha, Nui (19 August 2009). "Eskimo Joe write Foreign Land as a tribute to Heath Ledger". News.com.au. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  3. "Past Winners". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  4. "2010 Winners". APRA Music Awards. Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  5. "Foreign Land | Music , Music Genres, Pop/Rock : JB HI-FI". Jbhifionline.com.au. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  6. "Eskimo Joe – Foreign Land". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  7. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
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