NZ Folk Song * We Need Oil
NEW  ZEALAND
FOLK*SONG
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We Need Oil

words Chris Thompson, music Brownie McGhee © 1973

In 1973 came the oil crisis when the oil producing countries raised the price of crude oil from a giveaway $4 to a more reasonable $20 per 200 litre barrel. Soon the Maui field off the Taranaki coast of NZ was being drilled.
They say we found some oil,
And I hope it's true,
It's gonna mean more oil for me and for you,
'cos we need oil to grease the machines,
Nowdays the Arabs are gettin' stroppy,
We gotta get our own little scene.

Mr. Brierley's optimistic,
But he won't say for sure,
Gotta drill down another ten thousand feet or maybe more,
cos we need oil to grease the machines,
Nowdays the Arabs are gettin' stroppy,
We gotta get our own little scene.

Well, Shell BP Todd
Got Mr. Todd upon the spot,
But Todd's just keepin' his mouth shut,
He won't say what we got,
He knows we need oil to grease the machines,
Nowdays the Arabs are gettin' stroppy,
We gotta get our own little scene.

We need Oil on Record

1981 Chris Thompson Hometown Voodoo (cass) 1989 Mike Harding One for You (LP)
1990 Chris Thompson The Road to Raglan (cass)

Brownie McGhee

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Published April 18, 2001