Amy Shark, Jen Cloher, Tash Sultana, Gang of Youths, Paul Kelly among 20 contenders for APRA Song of the Year

Struggling with one’s Christian faith … fuming why perpetrators of sexual assaults are let off … waiting for one’s lover to visit for a meal cooked for them … buying an expensive American car “so I knew I could make it happen” … learning to appreciate being middle aged … being inspired by Leonard Cohen’s songs about the meaning of life … a one night stand … a riff that was around neglected for five years and then suddenly coming to life enough to be included at the last minute in a global breakthrough EP.

These are some of the themes in the 20 songs that have made the shortlist of the APRA Song of the Year.

They were voted for by their fellow songwriter and publisher members of APRA AMCOS.

Announced this morning, the twenty are (alphabetically listed in order of song title):

Boys Will Be Boys (Stella Donnelly), written by Stella Donnelly

Cadillac (All Our Exes Live In Texas), Katherine Wighton, Hannah Crofts, Georgia Mooney, Elana Stone

Everyday’s The Weekend (Alex Lahey), Alex Lahey

Fallin’ (Jessica Mauboy), Kayla Bonnici, Louis Schoorl, Peter Harding

Firewood And Candles (Paul Kelly), Paul Kelly, William Harris Miller

Forgot Myself (Jen Cloher), Jen Cloher

Hold It Together (Dan Sultan), Dan Sultan, Alexander Burnett

Isn’t It A Pity (Bernard Fanning), Bernard Fanning

Lay It On Me (Vance Joy), James Keogh, Dave Richard Bassett

Mended (Vera Blue), Andrew Macken, Thomas Macken, Samuel Telford, Celia Pavey pka Vera Blue, Adam Anders

Murder To The Mind (Tash Sultana), Tash Sultana

Running Second (Ainslie Wills), Ainslie Wills, Lawrence Folvig

Sleep Drifter (King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard), Stu Mackenzie

Snow (Angus And Julia Stone), Angus Stone, Julia Stone

Strangers Kiss (Alex Cameron), Alex Cameron

That Far (6lack), Trevor Slade, Daniel Cartisano, Ricardo Valentine Valdez J AR, Lucian Blomkamp

Weekends (Amy Shark), Amy Billings

What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? (Gang of Youths), David Le’aupepe

Yesterday (360 feat. Hein Cooper), Kaelyn Behr, Matthew Colwell, Martin Nicholas, Hein Cooper

Youth (Tim Rogers), Tim Rogers

The winner will be revealed in April. A playlist of the 20 are on Spotify and Apple Music.

The APRA Song of the Year made its debut in 1991, when Yothu Yindi’s landmark ‘Treaty’ took home the inaugural gong.

Later winners were Neil Murray, Powderfinger, Kasey Chambers, Sia, Missy Higgins, Alex Lloyd and last year’s triumph, ‘Satan’ by D.D. Dumbo.