Courtney Barnett – Dead Fox Lyrics

Courtney Barnett – Dead Fox Lyrics

Dead Fox Lyrics by Courtney Barnett

In this song, Barnett uses the large trucks criss-crossing Australia as an allegory for the destructive powers of big business in Australia.

She catalogues the death and destruction caused by the trucks (roadkill and the human death toll) and questions whether this is worth it in order “to bring us the best price”.

This song reflects contemporary political debates in Australia regarding the level of investment in roads versus the level of investment in rail, especially for freight. In Australian current affairs magazine The Monthly, Paul Clearly analyses the competing cases for road versus rail freight in Australia. He comes to the conclusion that road freight is “expensive, dirty and dangerous”, much like Barnett’s criticisms.

These arguments may be particularly close to Barnett’s heart as a resident of Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs. From 2013 onwards, there have been major political upheavals regarding the building of East-West link , a road extension that would require extensive tunneling under these suburbs.

The younger and more environmentally conscious residents of these suburbs were critical of the plan, with the East West Link eventually scrapped after the win by Labor in the November 2014 Victorian State election.

The title “Dead Fox” is potentially a reference to Linfox, the business of Australian transport magnate Lindsay Fox.

[Verse 1]
Jen insists that we buy organic vegetables
And I must admit that I was a little sceptical at first
A little pesticide can’t hurt
Never having too much money
I get the cheap stuff at the supermarket
But they’re all pumped up with shit
A friend told me that they stick nicotine in the apples

[Chorus]
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you
(I can’t see you)
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you

[Verse 2]
Heading down the Highway Hume
Somewhere at the end of June
Taxidermied kangaroos are littered on the shoulders
A possum Jackson Pollock is painted on the tar
Sometimes I think a single sneeze could be the end of us
My hay-fever is turning up, just swerved into a passing truck
Big business overtaking without indicating
He passes on the right, been driving through the night
To bring us the best price

[Chorus]
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you
(I can’t see you)
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you

[Verse 3]
More people die on the road than they do in the ocean
Maybe we should mull over culling cars instead of sharks
Or just lock them up in parks where we can go and view them
There’s a bypass over Holbrook now
Paid for with burgers no doubt
I’ve lost count of all the cows, there’ll be no salad sandwiches
The law of averages says we’ll stop in the next town
Where petrol price is down
What do I know, anyhow?

[Chorus]
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you
(I can’t see you)
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you
(I can’t see you)
If you can’t see me, I can’t see you
Ah ah ah