When Bruce Woodley hopped in the shower back in the mid-1980s, he had no idea the little ditty he belted out would become a national rallying cry amidst a global pandemic nearly four decades later.

Really, why would he?

Yet the Seekers guitarist and co-writer of the ballad, I Am Australian, is watching as yet again his song becomes a source of comfort in tough times.

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"It certainly surprised me how deep it went into the national consciousness over the years," he said.

"But then it keeps doing it, and at various critical times for us as Australians — none more so than right now, of course.

"People are, perhaps, looking for little rays of sunshine, things to hang on to."

The 1987 hit, co-written with Dobe Newton of The Bushwackers, evokes Aussie themes and identities, like Indigenous artist Albert Namatjira and outlaw Ned Kelly.

It's been performed and remixed for everything from drought appeals to bushfire fundraisers and the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal.

And it is often cited alongside Waltzing Matilda as Australia's "unofficial anthem", even getting the backing of former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett to replace Advance Australia Fair.

"Within its words and its music, it actually embodies the soul of Australia and it involves the soul since pre-white settlement and recognises what has happened since," Mr Kennett told The Advertiser in 2011.

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It has found renewed popularity this year after dozens of Australians recorded themselves singing the tune in home isolation as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe.

The crowd-sourced ABC video has since had millions of views and thousands of shares, which has been a matter of overwhelming pride for Woodley.

"It brought me undone, to be quite honest," he said.

"It is so emotional to see that, because they're real people in their own homes and backyards, just voluntarily expressing an idea.

"There's no doubt it is a real struggle for everybody, feeling isolated, and here is something that just expresses an idea that we are, all of us, in this together."

Bruce Woodley said the song's success had been humbling. ( Supplied: Darren James )

The song was originally a bit of an afterthought for Woodley, who was producing an album of traditional Australian songs and poems.

He needed a theme to tie them together and so turned his mind to penning I Am Australian. It was all rather organic, he said.

"The chorus ... I actually wrote in the shower, which is one of my favourite places to sing," he said.

"Like most people, the acoustics are pretty good and you just go for it, you know.

"But it's like someone was guiding the hand that held the pen, if you will.

"So it's just gone on to be what it is and it's a really humbling experience for me."