1955 (song)


"1955" is a song by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, featuring Montaigne and Tom Thum. It was released as the second single from the group's second remix album, Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung. In Australia, "1955" peaked at No. 2 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Hilltop Hoods' highest charting single to date. The song was rated number four in Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2016. The song's accompanying music video was released on 7 February 2016 via their Facebook page.
To celebrate the release of the album, "1955" along with the other tracks on Drinking from the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung were performed in the Restrung Tour. This tour went to Australia's five capital cities and featured Australia's best symphony orchestras and choirs along with special guest Maverick Sabre and Montaigne.

Background

Inspiration for the song came when Matthew Lambert and his wife went to see comedian Dylan Moran. Moran opened the show by stating that he'd always wanted to come to Adelaide to see what it would've been like in 1955. Lambert later commented on Moran's performance:
Hilltop Hoods collaborated with Australian singer Montaigne and beatboxer Tom Thum for the song.
In an interview with Triple J, Suffa commented on what the song was about:

Composition

"1955" is a hip hop song which is written in the key E major and has a tempo of 84 beats per minute. The track goes for 3 minutes and 59 seconds.

Music video

The music video was initially released on 7 February 2016 and was produced by Anna Bardsley-Jones and directed by Richard Coburn. It features a cameo from rapper Briggs as "Grill Murray" and is set in a 1950s diner. The video depicts a wholesome environment where everything seems perfect and peaceful and all the people are happy and polite. However, the viewers of the video observe the diner through the eyes of a young girl and how, beneath the surface, everything is not what it seems to be. This is shown through the various emotional outbursts that occur throughout the video by the patrons of the diner. The music video was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2016.

Chart performance

In Australia, "1955" debuted at number 25 on the Australia ARIA Singles Chart in the week beginning 21 February 2016. It peaked at number 2 four weeks later in the week beginning 13 March 2016. The track managed to stay on the charts for a total of 28 weeks. In 2025, the song placed 73 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.