Exciting news! The Top 30 songs in the 2018
Australian Songwriting Contest are listed below. Please note that songs are in alphabetical order only. Also be aware that the Top 10 results will be announced at the National Songwriting Awards, so if you want to be the first to know about those, book your tickets now using the following link:
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-38th-national-songwriting-awards-tickets-49166357900
Please also note that the reason some of the Top 30 lists contain more than just 30 songs, is that where there was a draw between songs in the earlier judging stage, we keep all the songs rather than culling them at that point. We believed the best way is to allow a further, fresh set of judges to make the final call. BE VERY PROUD if you are in these lists. Hundreds of strong songs have had to be excluded already, and this year’s standard was high!
AUSTRALIA
| A Changing Landscape | Stephen | Phillip | QLD | |
| Australia | David | Reeve | Philip Arthur Warren | NSW |
| Australia | Sani | Bolton | QLD | |
| Australia Free | Yantra | de Vilder | NSW | |
| Back In The Day | Robert | McIntosh | NSW | |
| Ballad of the Coal Pit Ponies | Terry | Bennetts | Ashley Cooke | WA |
| Barbed Wire And Bullets | Jim | Van Fleet | QLD | |
| Barunga: Together Forever | Emanuele | Mamo | Christian Luke | VIC |
| Best Friend ‘Round The Block | Kylie | Adams-Collier | NSW | |
| Between The Suns | Andrew | Travers | Robert Souter | NSW |
| Borrowed Time (The war of the Rodents) | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Brooks Soak | Stephen | Sarre | ACT | |
| Charles Phillips | Donna | Dyson | Damien Leith | QLD |
| Crumbliing Stones | Lola | Brinton | Graham Howle | NSW |
| Dinki Di Cobbers | Wayne | Sprlyan | WA | |
| Future History | Ana | Key | Dennis Aubrey | ACT |
| I Won’t Be Back | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| I’m Australian | Stephen | Phillip | QLD | |
| Jack Keagan’s Pub (You can’t keep a good man down) | Steve | Montgomery | Tony Montgomery, Tim Montgomery, Mike Montgomery, Joan Montgomery, Colin Roberts | NSW |
| Mataranka Milky Way | Brian | Stitt | NSW | |
| Old Chimney | Brendan | Smoother | NSW | |
| Only In Australia | Andrew | Cavanagh | Benn Gunn | QLD |
| Paddle Wheel Man | Ray (Rusty Strings) | Smith | VIC | |
| Red Red Dirt | Sadie | Jones | David Penman | QLD |
| Schools In | Shawn | Fracchia | Johnny Huckle, Francesca Kibria | QLD |
| She’s A Picture | Paul | Grierson | Chris Reiger | NSW |
| Sugar Cane Town | Rob | Imeson | NSW | |
| Sweet In The Morning | Karen | Law | Murray Law | QLD |
| Take me back to Melbourne | Kieran | O’Connell | VIC | |
| Take Me Home | Donna | Dyson | Damien Leith | QLD |
| The Endless Memories | Mick | Fernandez | NSW | |
| The Mighty Murray River | Samantha | Bellamy | NSW | |
| The Old Ghost Road | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Through The Eyes Of A Boy | Wendy | Wood | NSW | |
| Together Forever | Phil | Splitter | Susie Davies-Splitter | VIC |
| Turn Off The TV (and forget all you’ve seen) | Melvyn | Moll | NSW |
BALLAD
| A Life That Ain’t Lived | Andrew | Cavanagh | QLD | |
| A Magical Place | Hannah May | Bartle | Matt Boden | TAS |
| Ball of String | Lloyd | Back | QLD | |
| Beautiful Attraction | David | Reeve | David Highet | NSW |
| Best Thing You Never Had | Kylie | Ryan | Michael Carpenter | NSW |
| Brand New | Kristy | Davis | Damien Leith | NSW |
| Broken | Jo | Cooper | NSW | |
| Candle Moth | Lola | Brinton | Felicity Urquhart | NSW |
| Come Back To Me | Garry | Hardingham | VIC | |
| Counting Down The Days | Tony | Bogan | Wes McKinnon, Stewart Peters | NSW |
| Dance Devil Dance | Skii | Harvey | NSW | |
| Don’t You Try To Say Goodbye | Jacques | Gentil | Michael Zammit | VIC |
| I Can’t Unlove You | Susan | Muranty | Sven Tydeman, Ritchie Neville | NSW |
| I Don’t Know | Jim | van Fleet | QLD | |
| I Say You Don’t | Julie | Prowse | NSW | |
| If I Don’t Have Love | Peter | Christie | Roger Corbett | NSW |
| Looking Through The Eyes of a Child | Heath | Watts | NSW | |
| Love Of My Life | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Miss You | Mercy | Mercy | John De Laurence | NSW |
| No Matter How Far Away | Chris | Murphy | NSW | |
| On The Corner Of Hope And Divine | Catherine | Dobson | VIC | |
| One More Night | Alex | Tobin | NSW | |
| Only In My Dream | Annemiek | Wilson | QLD | |
| Push | Quentin | Clark | QLD | |
| Rolling Over | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Somebody’s Someone | Katie | Hardyman | NSW | |
| Something I Know | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Spark | Lucy | Burke | NSW | |
| Sunset Boulevarde | Ocean | Street | NSW | |
| Take Me Home | Donna | Dyson | Damien Leith | QLD |
| The Heart You Break The Hardest | Susan | Muranty | Elena Giordano | NSW |
| The Touch of Your Wings | Samantha | Mooney | QLD | |
| This Love Can Conquer Anything | Sam | Vartuli | NSW | |
| What It’s All About | Jacques | Gentil | VIC | |
| When The Leaves Turn From Green To Gold | Samantha | Bellamy | NSW | |
| When You’re In Love With Another Girl’s Guy | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Why Can’t You Love Me | Ricky | Muscat | James Leigh, Vince Leigh | VIC |
| Words I Cannot Speak | Carmelita | Lees | Jim Shipstone | NSW |
| Words We Never Say | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| You’re Leaving Town | John | Greenwood | VIC
|
CONTEMPORARY POP DANCE
| AEIOU | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Believe It Be It | Dene | Menzel | D Small | VIC |
| Black Dog | Donna | Dyson | Tyrone Noonan | QLD |
| Chillagoe | Skii | Harvey | NSW | |
| D.A.M.N. | Jemma | Siles | VIC | |
| Daydream | Joker on Jack | NSW | ||
| Demolition | Chris | Murphy | Travis Bryant | NSW |
| Departure Lounge | Paula | Punch | NSW | |
| Fooled Enough | Matt | Coleman | WA | |
| I Dream | Ferlein | VIC | ||
| I Hate to Say Goodbye | Siddhant | Janwalikar | Darryl Vaz | NSW |
| Leaving On A Lie (Tonight) | Lucy | Burke | NSW | |
| Mindless Consumption | Clinton | Barrett | Joshua Green, Amber Scates | WA |
| My Love | Jo | Cooper | NSW | |
| Need An Answer | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Paper Mache | Jade | Goodge | VIC | |
| Paradise | Joseph | Robson | NSW | |
| Promise Me | Elisa | Kate | NSW | |
| Rollercoaster | David | Hinds | Lyn Hinds | NSW |
| Sailor Bay | Lucy | Mckinnon | VIC | |
| Selfish | Ricky | Muscat | James Leigh, Vince Leigh | VIC |
| Set Me Free | Leea | Nanos | Frank Dixon | VIC |
| Shake Don’t Stir | Cill | Van Der Velden | D J Gosper | NSW |
| Smiling Assassin | Celeste | Newman | Mark Crocker | VIC |
| Sucker For Punishment | Alex | Tobin | NSW | |
| The Know | Quentin | Clark | QLD | |
| True Love | Sandra | Doolan | NSW | |
| Unsung Hero | Aislinn | Sharp | QLD | |
| War Child | Abbey | Gardner | NSW | |
| What You’ve Done | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Whatever It Takes | Andrew | Bertoia | NSW | |
| When You’re In Love with Another Girl’s Guy | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Yesterday | Isabella | Porter | VIC |
COUNTRY
| A Bottle Of Then | Sani | Bolton | QLD | |
| A Friend Forever | Carmelo | Cacciola | QLD | |
| A Long, Long Time | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| A Moment Like This | Catherine | Dobson | VIC | |
| Again and Again | Andrea | Robertson | VIC | |
| Bartender and Bottle of Jack | Stephanie | Wade | VIC | |
| Best Thing You Never Had | Kylie | Ryan | Michael Carpenter | NSW |
| Billy The Drunken Shearer | Neil | Andrews | VIC | |
| Dark Sunglasses | Kristy | Davis | NSW | |
| Drifting | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Fancy Shirts | Stephen | Phillip | QLD | |
| Friend of Mine | Samantha | Mooney | QLD | |
| Goodbye Never Felt So Good | Spencer | Kelly | Stacy Hogan | WA |
| Gypsy Highway | Rhonnie | Tant | QLD | |
| It Takes A Lot Not to End Up Dead | Lizzie | Flynn | QLD | |
| Library on Livingstone Street | Wendy | Wood | NSW | |
| Little Country Town | Brian | Stitt | NSW | |
| Little Pieces | Rick | Hart | VIC | |
| Love Game | Tom | McCoy | NSW | |
| Love Street | Brendan | Smoother | NSW | |
| Mrs Murphy | Jeff | Gibson | NSW | |
| My Turn Now | Della | Harris | Clive Young | VIC |
| One Phone Call Every Year | Lloyd | Back | QLD | |
| Red Head At Heart | Melissa | Robertson | NSW | |
| Red Red Dirt | Sadie | Jones | David Penman | QLD |
| Send A Hug | Sandra | Doolan | NSW | |
| Six String Drifter | Spencer | Kelly | WA | |
| Station Minderoo | Terry | Bennetts | Keith Lethbridge | NSW |
| Streets of Old Kilsyth | Thomas Tessa | Libreri | Tessa Libreri | VIC |
| Sucker For Punishment | Alex | Tobin | NSW | |
| Taking A Stand | Noel | Gardner | QLD | |
| Tequila Romeo | Catherine | Dobson | VIC | |
| That Dear John Song | Lola | Brinton | Christopher Matthews | NSW |
| The Old Ghost Road | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Those Good Ol Days | John | Blok | VIC | |
| Time Stands Still | Nick | Charles | Pealing | VIC |
| To The Grave | Rick | Hart | VIC | |
| Watch It Burn | Sally-Anne | Whitten | Alwyn Aurisch | NSW |
| When You’re In Love with Another Girl’s Guy | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| You’re Leaving Town | John | Greenwood | VIC |
FOLK ACOUSTIC
| Beast Beneath The Bed | Nathan | Seeckts | VIC | |
| Before Twilight Turns To Night | Carl | Cleves | NSW | |
| Black Dog | Donna | Dyson | Tyrone Noonan | QLD |
| Can I Have The Last Dance With You | Pete | Scully | NSW | |
| Fairytale Law | Julia | Michaels | Susan Muranty | NSW |
| Feelings In My Pocket | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Good Things | Karen | Law | QLD | |
| Heartache | Jake | Howman | Jake Jaspen | VIC |
| Heartland | Ben | Ransom | Alan Caswell | NSW |
| I Married Someone Just Like You | Lizzie | Flynn | QLD | |
| I Say You Don’t | Julie | Prowse | NSW | |
| I Used To Love You | Lucy | Parle | NSW | |
| I Won’t Be Back | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| If You Only Knew | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Just Wanna Say Hello | Katie | Hardyman | NSW | |
| Lost and Found | Eleanor | Tucker | TAS | |
| Love It That Way | Julie | Prowse | NSW | |
| Love Street | Brendan | Smoother | NSW | |
| Monday Mornings in May | Wendy | Kenbeek | VIC | |
| Old Welcome Feeling | Rob | Imeson | NSW | |
| Put Your Money In Your Shoes | Lola | Brinton | NSW | |
| Rogue Folk | Sadie | Jones | David Penman, Sadie Gwynn Jones | QLD |
| Salt On My Pillow | Ian | Muir | Glennys Briggs | QLD |
| Sarah | Dean | Ramsay | NSW | |
| Something I Know | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Sunshining Down On Me | Kerrie | Garside | QLD | |
| Taking A Stand | Noel | Gardner | QLD | |
| The Hand | Daniel | Higgins | NSW | |
| The Old Ghost Road | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| The Secret Angel (Rosie and the Kid) | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| The Stillman | Cielle | Montgomery | James Church | NSW |
| Twilight | Stephen | Kermode | NSW | |
| Washcloth | Amy | Kermode | NSW | |
| What I Learned | Stephen | Kermode | NSW | |
| When You Lose Someone You Love | Steve | Montgomery | NSW | |
| Where I’m Meant to Be | Lloyd | Back | QLD | |
| Wollondilly Blues | Alex | Varlow | NSW |
INSTRUMENTAL
| A Song Of Life | Manjia | Luo | NSW | |
| A Walk Down Ragtime Lane 2 | Tom | Anderson | NSW | |
| Chicken Pickin’ | Terry | Bennetts | NSW | |
| Colours of the Kimberly | Ray | Pratley | NSW | |
| Confusion | Ray | Pratley | NSW | |
| Cooley’s Run | Hana | Vuko | John Hollywood | WA |
| Cow Waddle | Ray | Pratley | NSW | |
| December Mood | Manjia | Luo | NSW | |
| Eastern Silk | Lee | Trengove | SA | |
| Ferny Grove | Peter | Salata | QLD | |
| Fingers Of Bliss | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Fishing Pole | Andrew | Travers | NSW | |
| Fly | Michael | Axiotis | WA | |
| Gunnars Path | Ben | Saler | NSW | |
| Home Again | Ben | Bowen | NSW | |
| Inspired by Love | Sasha | Sekuloski | NSW | |
| Lightning Strikes Twice | Jim | Ottaway | QLD | |
| Memories | Hana | Vuko | WA | |
| Moonlit Night | Philip | Gardner | VIC | |
| My Ragtime Journey | Tom | Anderson | NSW | |
| Ragtime Palpitations 4 | Tom | Anderson | NSW | |
| Rhapsody In Rag 3 | Tom | Anderson | NSW | |
| Sagittarius 2018 | Michael | Axiotis | WA | |
| Sarah’s Sky | Jason | Wilson | VIC | |
| Skies Rain Down | Jim | Ottaway | QLD | |
| The Jewel | Jim | Ottaway | QLD | |
| True Love | Raymond | Clarke | QLD | |
| Violin Into A Journey Of No Man Space | Manjia | Luo | NSW | |
| Walking With The Wise | Alex | Varlow | NSW | |
| Waves | Lee | Trengove | SA | |
| What Darkness Hides | Jim | Ottaway | QLD |
INTERNATIONAL
| AEIOU | Anirban | Banerjee | Australia | |
| Antre | Jozsef | Terek | Hungary | |
| Be You (The Anti-Bullying Song) | Jordan | Spivack | USA | |
| Best Days | Marc | Ekins | Canada | |
| Brace Yourself | Stuart | Thompson | Australia | |
| Fate | Jozsef | Terek | Hungary | |
| Feel So Alive | Dane | Owen | Australia | |
| Feelings In My Pocket | Anirban | Banerjee | Australia | |
| Hello Sunshine | Rhonnie | Tant | Darrel Beasant | Australia |
| In This Town | Samantha | Mooney | Australia | |
| Is That Too Much To Ask | Andrew | Cavanagh | Marc-Alan Barnette, Christine Parri | Australia |
| It’s His Blood | Alex | Varlow | Australia | |
| La Potenza Di Ora | Antonio | Corea | Australia | |
| Lay You Down | Willie | McCracken | P Lavender | Australia |
| Love Of My Life | Anirban | Banerjee | Australia | |
| More Like Jesus | John | Blok | Joanna Fuchs | Australia |
| Mr Fancy Pants | Willie | McCracken | P Lavender | Australia |
| Not Ok Corral | Wendy | Ford | Wendy Ford | Australia |
| On Grace I Stand | Peter | Christie | Roy Hall (USA), Roger Corbett | Australia |
| Open Up Your Heart | Brian | Baker | Australia | |
| She’s Got A Pistol In Her Pocket And High Heels In Her Handbag | Renee | Jonas | Australia | |
| Smooth | David | Pilbeam | Australia | |
| Social Media Distraction | Colin | Dodds | Australia | |
| Start Lovin’ Everybody Tonight | David | Watson | Australia | |
| Sucker For Punishment | Alex | Tobin | Australia | |
| The Wall ft Joel Turner | Aislinn | Sharp | Joel Turner | Australia |
| TheTouch of Your Wings | Samantha | Mooney | Australia | |
| This Could Be Magic | Rhonnie | Tant | Darrel Beasant | Australia |
| Toys | Roy | Williams | Karen Gregory | Canada |
| Travelling With You | Lloyd | Back | Australia | |
| Undecided | Anirban | Banerjee | Australia | |
| You Lift Me Up | Anirban | Banerjee | Australia | |
| You’re Not There | Keri | McInerney | Australia |
LYRICS
| A SUNRAY ON YOUR BROW | Carmelo Cacciola | QLD |
| BABY’S MAGIC CLOCK | Heath Watts | NSW |
| BAD AT BEING GOOD | Steve Montgomery, Jane Gibbs | NSW |
| BECAUSE OF HER | Donna Hotz | QLD |
| BENEATH | Claire Foster | NSW |
| COCKTAIL OF HEARTS | Anirban Banerjee, Allan Caswell | ACT/NSW |
| DREAM REWARD (THE FARMER’S LIFE) | Kieran Roberts, Katelyn Newlands | ACT/WA |
| FADED STAR | John Walsh | NSW |
| FEELINGS IN MY POCKET | Anirban Banerjee | ACT |
| HE’S A WRITER OF SONGS | Melissa Robertson | NSW |
| HOPE WILL LEAD YOU HOME | Denise Silk | NSW |
| I CAN’T UNLOVE YOU | Susan Muranty | NSW |
| I WON’T BE BACK | Steve Montgomery | NSW |
| IF YOU ONLY KNEW | Steve Montgomery | NSW |
| KICK N BACK | Catrina McCaghern | NSW |
| LIBRARY ON LIVINGSTONE STREET | Wendy Wood | NSW |
| MAN IN THE MOON | Robert McIntosh | NSW |
| MISTAKE | Wendy J Barnes | VIC |
| MUSIC HEALS | Ian Bruce Speirs, David Anthony Reeve | NSW |
| MY ANGEL HERE ON EARTH | Sandra Doolan | NSW |
| MY JULIET | Ossie Martinez, Deirdre Martinez | VIC |
| NO ONE ELSE NEEDS TO DIE | Kay Bell | NSW |
| SOMETIMES A FRIEND | Stephen Kiely, Roxanne Kiely | NSW |
| TAKING A STAND | Noel Gardner | QLD |
| THE BATTLE OF CORAL AND BALMORAL | Carmelo Cacciola | QLD |
| THE DISAPPEARING MAN | John Walsh | NSW |
| THE HEART YOU BREAK THE HARDEST | Susan Muranty | NSW |
| THE LIST | Robert McIntosh | NSW |
| THE NEXT ROUND’S ON ME | Olivia Corish | NSW |
| THE OLD GHOST ROAD | Steve Montgomery | NSW |
| THE RHYTHM OF THE WIND | Alec Raymer | QLD |
| THE RIVER | Kerry Maher | VIC |
| THE SECRET ANGEL (ROSE AND THE KID) | Steve Montgomery | NSW |
| THEY WON’T LET HIM DOWN | Steve Montgomery, Tony Montgomery | NSW/QLD |
| TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON | Kay Bell | NSW |
| TWILIGHT | Stephen Kermode | NSW |
| WHAT I LEARNED | Stephen Kermode | NSW |
| WHEN THE NIGHT IS DONE | Rachel Starr | QLD |
| YOU’RE THE ONE | Dane Owen | NSW |
| WRITTEN IN STONE | Cill Van Der Velden | NSW |
OPEN
| A Break In The Clouds | Catherine | Dobson | VIC | |
| A Ring Of Roses | Randall | Olgers | James Higgins | NSW |
| AEIOU | Anirban | Banerjee | ACT | |
| Bad at Being Good | Steve | Montgomery | Jane Gibbs | NSW |
| Boys Don’t Cry | Skii | Harvey | NSW | |
| Candle Moth | Lola | Brinton | Felicity Urquhart | NSW |
| Charles Phillips | Donna | Dyson | Damien Leith | QLD |
| Crazy | James | Hampton | VIC | |
| Daddy Have You Talked With God | Robert | McIntosh | Paul McIntosh | NSW |
| Demons of my Own | Carmelita | Lees | John Roy | NSW |
| Don’t You Try To Say Goodbye |