"The Dead Heart" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...

. It was first released as a single in Australia in 1986 and in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1988 after it had been included on the 1987 album, Diesel and Dust

Diesel and Dust

Diesel and Dust is an album by Midnight Oil that was released in 1987 under the CBS record label.The album is a concept album about the struggles of the Australian Aborigines and environmental causes, issues both near and dear to the band, and drew inspiration from the Black Fella White Fella tour...

. It peaked at number four on the Australian singles chart

Kent Music Report

The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...

 and at number eleven on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks

Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

 chart.

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	4
Chart (1988)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	38
UK Singles Chart	68
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	53
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	11

Cover versions

Sydney-based punk rock band, Frenzal Rhomb

Frenzal Rhomb

Frenzal Rhomb are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1992 with mainstay Jason Whalley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. In 1996, Lindsay McDougall joined the line-up on lead guitar and backing vocals. Two of the group's albums have peaked into the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart, A...

 recorded a significantly up-tempo version of the song for the 2001 album, Power & The Passion: A Tribute to Midnight Oil. In 2010, Canadian band Alexisonfire

Alexisonfire

Alexisonfire was a five-piece, Juno-nominated post-hardcore band that formed in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2001. The band consisted of George Pettit , Dallas Green , Wade MacNeil , Chris Steele , and Jordan Hastings .They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls...

recorded a version for their limited edition tour EP.