Over the course of his career, he collected more gold and platinum albums than any other Australian artist.
Dusty not only recorded songs written by himself and other fellow Australian performers, but also recorded classic Australian poems by Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson with new tunes, to call attention to the old 'Bush Ballads.' An example is The Man from Snowy River by Paterson.
In 1970, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to music. In 1971 he won Best Single at the Australian Country Music Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival (Slim's wife Joy McKean won Song of the Year as writer of the song for which he won best single). In all, he won a record 35 "Golden Guitars" over the years.
He died at home in St Ives, New South Wales on 19 September 2003 after a protracted battle with cancer, at age 76.
The Slim Dusty Story started back in the 1940s on a remote dairy farm in the hills behind Kempsey, NSW, when a 10-year-old boy dreamed of being a country music singer. His name was David Gordon Kirkpatrick... he called himself "Slim Dusty" and began to live that dream.
But even the most optimistic farm boy would never have imagined the life that was to unfold... a life that would establish Slim as the voice of the nation, the chronicler of Australian history in song.
Slim managed to hold on to those early visions of writing and singing about the bush because during his lengthy career, he always stayed in touch with his audience. And he did this in a very real and meaningful way, so much so that his fans would feel that Slim was one of their mates and his songs "just a good yarn you might hear from a mate at the pub, around a campfire in the bush or at a back yard barbie".
He described his music as "songs about real Australians... "I have to be fair dinkum with my audience. I can't see any other way of doing it," he said. "You have to believe in what you are singing about."
Slim Dusty was the first Australian to have a number one hit record and the only Australian to ever receive a 78rpm Gold Record (for A Pub With No Beer in 1958)...
He was the first Australian to have an international record hit and the first singer in the world to have his voice beamed to earth from space (astronauts Bob Crippen and John Young played Slim's recording of Waltzing Matilda from the space shuttle "Columbia" as it passed over Australia back in 1983).
During an amazingly successful career spanning over six decades, Slims' continued popularity saw him rewarded with more Gold and Platinum Awards for sales of his singles, eight-tracks, cassettes, CD's, videos and DVDs... more than any other Australian artist!
He received an unequaled 37 Golden Guitar Awards, two ARIA's (Australian Recording Industry Association awards), inductions into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown.
Slim was recognized for his long time services to Australian entertainment with an MBE and an Order of Australia. In 1999, Prime Minister John Howard named Slim Dusty Australia's Father of the Year and Senior Australian of the Year. There were many other awards and honors... too many to name here!
Dusty died at his home in St Ives, New South Wales on 19 September 2003 at the age of 76, after a protracted battle with cancer.
A Drover's Life
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For the swag is wet and sodden and the fly has blown in too,
The rain is comin' heavy and the wind is very chill,
And I sometimes feel like howling, with the dingo′s on the hill.
There's a joke that comes from memory, it was written long ago,
"The drover's life has pleasures that the townfolk never know"
When you′re sitting on a night horse, on a dark and stormy night,
You see the white horns glis′n in the lightning's silvery light. (oh yeah)
Tonguing for some nicotine for yoy've done y′ur tobacco in,
You sit out there and wonder, if they jump which way they'll go.
Yeah the drover's life has pleasures that the townfolk never know.
Oh they say it must be thrilling, out beneath the desert stars,
When your only sole companion′s just a mob of mad galahs.
And when you eat the babblers browning, oh, it′s best to close your eyes,
For it's hard to tell the diff′rence between the currants and the flies.
(That's right now)
When the feed is very scanty and the water hole is dry,
The squatter′s sittin' on ya back, it′s enough to make you cry,
When you battle down a dusty stake to a bore that's broken down,
Or a tank shot full of bullet holes by yokels from the town.
Oh they wonder why you hit the grog and curse the lousy station,
Why many a man has cut his throat, in sheer desperation,
So you reckon that you'll chuck it in an′ give something else a go,
Yeah the drover′s life has pleasures than the townsfolk never know.
Oh I sometimes rather doubt it, but then I wouldn't know,
They say this life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.
(Oh yeah)
Slim Dusty's song "A Drover's Life" tells the story of the harsh lifestyle of a drover, a person who moves livestock long distances across the Australian outback. The song's lyrics describe the difficult conditions of life on the road, including being wet and cold in storms, and battling hunger and thirst when water and feed are scarce. The drover's only companions are often galahs, a type of Australian bird, and the babbler bird provides some food, although not without the risk of biting flies. The lyrics suggest the loneliness and isolation of the drover's life, but also describe a sense of freedom and connection to the land that the townsfolk will never experience.
The song is written in a conversational tone, as if the singer is directly addressing the listener. The use of colloquial language and Australian slang adds to the authenticity of the story. For example, "swag" refers to a bedroll used by the drover, "tonguing" means craving, and "yokels" are people from the town who shoot holes in water tanks. The imagery throughout the song is vivid and descriptive, painting a picture of the harsh and unforgiving Australian outback.
Line by Line Meaning
As I write this little story, I may be feelin' blue,
As I write this, I might be feeling sad
For the swag is wet and sodden and the fly has blown in too,
My bedroll is soaked and there's flies buzzing around
The rain is comin' heavy and the wind is very chill,
It's raining hard and the wind is cold
And I sometimes feel like howling, with the dingo's on the hill.
I feel like howling like the dingoes in the distance
There's a joke that comes from memory, it was written long ago, "The drover's life has pleasures that the townfolk never know"
There's an old saying that the life of a drover has unique joys that city folk cannot experience
When you're sitting on a night horse, on a dark and stormy night,
When you're riding a horse in the dark during a thunderstorm
You see the white horns glis'n in the lightning's silvery light. (oh yeah)
You can see the animals' white horns shining in the lightning flashes
The thunder clashes 'round you and you're soakin' to the skin,
The thunder is booming and you're getting completely drenched
Tonguing for some nicotine for you've done y'ur tobacco in,
Craving nicotine when you've smoked all your tobacco
You sit out there and wonder, if they jump which way they'll go.
You sit there questioning which direction the cattle will go if they startle
Yeah the drover's life has pleasures that the townfolk never know.
Once again, emphasizing the unique joys of drover's life
Oh they say it must be thrilling, out beneath the desert stars,
Some people think it's exciting to be under the stars in the desert
When your only sole companion's just a mob of mad galahs.
Your only company is a group of noisy parrots
And when you eat the babblers browning, oh, it's best to close your eyes,
When you eat a bird called a babbler, it's better to close your eyes and not look at it
For it's hard to tell the diff'rence between the currants and the flies. (That's right now)
It's difficult to distinguish between the currants and insects that may have flown onto your food
When the feed is very scanty and the water hole is dry,
When there's not much food and there's no water at the water hole
The squatter's sittin' on ya back, it's enough to make you cry,
The owner of the cattle is pressuring you, which is really frustrating
When you battle down a dusty stake to a bore that's broken down,
When you work hard to get to a well that's not working
Or a tank shot full of bullet holes by yokels from the town.
Or a water tank that's been riddled with holes by inexperienced people from the city
Oh they wonder why you hit the grog and curse the lousy station,
People wonder why you drink alcohol and complain about the bad ranch
Why many a man has cut his throat, in sheer desperation,
Many people have become so despondent they took their own lives
So you reckon that you'll chuck it in an' give something else a go,
You're thinking about quitting and trying something else
Yeah the drover's life has pleasures that the townfolk never know.
The song wraps up with another mention of the unique joys of a drover's life
Oh I sometimes rather doubt it, but then I wouldn't know,
The singer admits that he sometimes doubts the pleasures of the drover's life since he's never lived in a city
They say this life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know. (Oh yeah)
The lyrics restate the common wisdom that the drover's life holds joys that city life cannot match
Writer(s): David Gordon Kirkpatrick, Thomas John Quilty
Contributed by Adalyn F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Dallas-Nyberg
Great times with Barry Thornton & Joy McKean backing him - We will never the likes on these shows again --- they were honest and unforgettable... I am glad I was able to see them when I was young.... RIP Slim & Barry
@brianmcgrath594
II have listen to this song since I was a young man what a great Australian song
@dougf1144
DougF,
This song reminds me of a cook we had (for a short time) while working in Shark Bay late 1960's,
@franklinbryant2746
Doug F I'd like to know more about that!
@cherrimusic7128
Classic song haha, love it RIP Slim :-)
@09brissy
good song,no more like slim left,brings a tear to my eye
@gerarddoyle7772
still have the lp, cassettes, love you Slim,,
@warrenhennessy7684
That is tippercly Australia lwas probably 13/14 and lwill always love slim a music 2021
@EarlJohn61
"The Great Australian adjective" I love it
@darrelclay7641
Loved going to see slim live in concert .never be another like him rip mate