True Stories — Two Protest Songs, One Conversation

A Level 3 story lesson comparing Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning” and The White Stripes’ “Icky Thump.”

Link List

Read the Story

In our evening ESL music club, three friends—Rosa, Leo, and Maya—meet after class. Their teacher plays two famous songs. The first is “Beds Are Burning,” an Australian rock anthem about giving land back to Indigenous people. The second is “Icky Thump,” a wild garage-rock song that flips the story about the U.S. border and asks us to think about immigration and hypocrisy.

As the guitars fade, the room is quiet. Rosa speaks first. “The first song names real places. That feels honest,” she says. Leo nods. “Yes. It sounds like a promise—‘we must do the right thing.’” Maya points at the second track. “This one is sharp and sarcastic. It asks, ‘Why do some people forget their own immigrant stories?’”

They listen again. Rosa hears the steady beat and thinks about **a crowd moving together**. Leo notices the synth noise and broken rhythm in the second song—like an alarm or a street argument. Maya says, “Both songs are protests, but one invites a big group to stand together, and the other pokes you in the ribs so you can’t ignore the question.”

On the walk home, they talk about fairness. “How can music teach history?” Leo wonders. “Maybe music cannot fix everything,” Rosa answers, “but it can make us remember names, places, and people.” Maya adds, “And it can make us laugh, or feel uncomfortable, when we need to face the truth.”

Theme: JusticeLand & ImmigrationMusic & Rhetoric

Dialogue (Students Read Aloud)

Rosa: What message did you hear in the first song?
Leo: I heard a clear call: do the right thing about land that was taken.
Maya: And it uses place names so we remember the people, not just ideas.
Rosa: What about the second song?
Leo: It flips the border story. It teases people who forget their own immigrant past.
Maya: The sound is rough on purpose—like an argument with a beat.
Rosa: Which style works better?
Leo: I like the big chorus that invites everyone.
Maya: I like the sharp questions. They wake me up.
Rosa: Maybe we need both—heart and sting.

Vocabulary — Matching A

Match the word to the best meaning.

Words

  • anthemic
  • reconciliation
  • hypocrisy
  • satire
  • specificity

Meanings

1) an energetic song that many people can sing together
2) repairing a relationship after harm
3) saying one thing but doing another
4) humor used to expose problems
5) using exact names and details

Vocabulary in Context — A

Choose the best word for each sentence. (Top option is an em dash placeholder.)

The song lists real communities; that — adds moral weight.
The sharp guitar and sarcasm feel like — aimed at policy talk.
Fans sang together; the chorus was truly —.
The second song points out — in the debate.

Vocabulary — Matching B

Match more terms.

Words

  • chorus
  • narrator
  • context
  • irony
  • immigrant

Meanings

1) background information that helps you understand
2) the voice telling the story
3) when words mean the opposite of what is expected
4) the part of a song that repeats
5) a person who moves to live in another country

Vocabulary in Context — B

Choose the best word. Top choice is an em dash.

The — in the second song sounds sarcastic and direct.
The first song’s — invites people to sing together.

Multiple Choice (Shuffled Answers)

Which best explains the purpose of naming places in the first song?
What is the main rhetorical strategy in the second song?
Which tone matches each song?

Cloze — Fill in the Blanks

Use the bank. Type the exact word (singular/lowercase). ~25 blanks.

Word Bank: anthemplacesborderironychorusvoicejusticehistoryspecificimmigrationmemorynamescrowdrolereversesatiredoublestandardsurgentargumentnarratorreturncommunitiesmessagerhythm

The first song feels like an with a steady . It uses and from real . Its is about and land .
The second song uses - and to talk about and the . The has a sharp and points to .
Together, both songs ask a to remember and keep alive through a strong and clever in the .

True / False

The first song argues that doing the right thing requires action, not just feelings.
The second song tells a love story with no political message.
Both songs use sound choices (beat, riff, voice) to support ideas.

Sequencing — A (Story Beats)

Arrange the ideas from first to last. Type the order numbers (e.g., 2-1-4-3).

  1. The friends discuss fairness and memory while walking home.
  2. Maya says sharp questions can wake us up.
  3. They listen to two songs about land and immigration.
  4. Rosa and Leo compare how each song makes its point.

Sequencing — B (Rhetoric Moves)

Arrange the analysis steps.

  1. Explain how role reversal reveals bias.
  2. Identify the issue in each song.
  3. Connect sound choices to meaning.
  4. Find a line or image that shows specificity.

“For Example” — Transformations

Rewrite each sentence to match the instruction.

Make it simpler: “Music can help a society remember its complex history.”
Add a cause/effect: “The chorus is catchy; therefore, the crowd joins.”
Use academic vocabulary (role reversal, hypocrisy).

Discussion & Writing

Answer Key (toggle)

Matching A: 1 anthemic; 2 reconciliation; 3 hypocrisy; 4 satire; 5 specificity.

VIC A: specificity; satire; anthemic; hypocrisy.

Matching B: 1 context; 2 narrator; 3 irony; 4 chorus; 5 immigrant.

VIC B: narrator; chorus.

MCQ: 1 concrete/tied to communities; 2 role reversal; 3 first collective/urgent & second sharp/ironic.

Cloze: anthem, rhythm, specific, places, names, communities, message, justice, return; role, reverse, satire, immigration, border, narrator, voice, double, standards; crowd, history, memory, chorus, irony, argument.

True/False: T; F; T.

Sequencing A: 3-1-4-2. Sequencing B: 2-4-1-3.

For Example (sample): “Music can carry history.” / “The chorus invites the crowd to join.” / “Role reversal shows hypocrisy.”

Teachers: adjust accepted variants as needed.