You’re the Voice: John Farnham lends song that ‘changed my life’ to yes side advertisement

The Australian music legend John Farnham has lent his iconic song You’re the Voice to the referendum’s yes campaign, backing calls to insert an Indigenous voice to parliament in the constitution.

Farnham is the latest high-profile musician to support the referendum, after singer-songwriter Paul Kelly this week released a new single advocating for a yes vote.

You’re the Voice will soundtrack a new series of ads from the Uluru Dialogue to be released in a nationwide blitz this weekend. It’s believed to be the first time Farnham, who is recovering from cancer, has ever permitted the song to be used in a commercial.

You’re the Voice will soundtrack a new series of ads from the Uluru Dialogue.

“This song changed my life. I can only hope that now it might help, in some small way, to change the lives of our First Nations peoples for the better,” Farnham said.

The Uluru Dialogue co-chair, Prof Megan Davis, one of the architects of the voice, has joked previously about friends saying they should use Farnham’s song to promote the referendum. You’re the Voice plays over the ad, to be released on TV and digital channels, which shows other major moments in Australian history, including the 1967 referendum and Cathy Freeman’s gold medal run at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“You’re the Voice is the nation’s unofficial anthem. I was in primary school when it was released and, as a young girl, instantaneously felt the power of its message about agency and walking together,” Davis said.

“History isn’t just something we witness and observe, but something we ourselves can influence. And now we all have a voice in what happens at this critical moment, and we must use it.”

Tim Wheatley, the son of Farnham’s late manager Glenn and a close friend of Farnham, said the singer’s team had “fiercely protected this song’s use for decades – I think for this very moment”.

The Uluru Dialogue co-chair, Prof Megan Davis: ‘You’re the Voice is the nation’s unofficial anthem.’ Photograph: Mark Brake/AAP

“You’re the Voice is not aligned with any political party. It is aligned with humanity. It’s a song for all Australians. Always has been, always will be,” Wheatley said.

“Win or lose this referendum, this song will for ever remain on the right side of history.”

Kelly on Friday released a song in support of the Indigenous voice, days after he called on voters to back the referendum. Titled If Not Now, the lyrics speak of “a feeling something’s missing”, “business that’s unfinished”, “a simple proposition” and “a chance to make our country larger in its soul”.

“How long can we keep walking with this stone in our shoe? If not now, then when? If not us, then who?” he asks, repeating a phrase used commonly by prime minister Anthony Albanese in advocating for a yes vote.

“Too many falling far behind, shut out of the deal. If you called and no one heard you, imagine how you’d feel. This land was never given, it was taken and then sold. But its ancient songs and stories are a gift greater than gold.”

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Kelly this week shared a statement online, outlining his reasons for a yes vote, including the “huge and stubborn gap” in health and life outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

“That yawning gap is unfair and diminishes us all,” he wrote.

Mitch Tambo came to prominence after singing a bilingual version of You’re the Voice in Gamilaraay and English. Photograph: NITV

Kelly will help mark the launch of the ad with a performance in Melbourne on Sunday. He will be joined by Mitch Tambo, the Indigenous musician who came to prominence after singing a bilingual version of You’re the Voice in Gamilaraay and English.

Indigenous voice referendum AMA: when does the yes campaign start?

Pat Anderson, the co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue, said the new ad was “archival proof of the people of this country using their voice to show up and stand on the right side of history”.

“The voice is a simple proposal. Listening leads to better decisions,” she said. “This is a proposal supported by 83% of First Peoples, because they know when we have a say, it means better outcomes for our communities for generations.”