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.
Along the Road of Song
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the sun went down outback,
I lay at rest in peaceful reverie,
Then I thought of all the songs I'd sung,
About the outside track
And that is how this vision came to me.
As I doze there in the shadows,
'Neath the gumtrees by the road,
Just welcomed into heaven,
Was a soldier and his dog,
Nevermore would he and Rusty say good-bye.
Then along the road came farmer Gray
With his dancin' Jersey cow,
But you'd never know this famous pair have gone all highbrow now,
But their harvest days are over, sad it is to say,
But they're making much more money,
Since the boogie came their way.
And the swaggie who liked good 'baccy,
Was smokin' a big cigar,
'N' braggin' about the fights he had in town,
Then the ghost of old king Bundawaal
With a wild old tribal yell,
Hit him on the head with a killer boomerang.
Frankie and Johnny next came by
Fightin' the way they do,
She said, "Johnny man, you've been making eyes
At that little girl dressed in blue."
He said, "I know I've done yer wrong, be'n doing so for years,"
And the road I travel now, is down the lonesome road of tears."
Then along came farmer Wilson, dressed in a faded suit,
A lifebelt hanging round his neck and a flipper on his boot,
He said, "Well things ain't b'en the same
Since the distant days gone by,
When a certain character wrote a song
About the wet month of July."
So I says to farmer Wilson, "Do ya reckon I'm to blame."
His eyes went wild and his whiskers sand his face went red as flame,
"Yes you're the bloke that wrote the song,
That's made my farm a sea,
And they're catchin' fish with spinners,
Now where my cow-yard used to be."
'Neath the gumtrees by the roadway,
As the sun goes down outback,
I lay at rest in peaceful reverie,
Then I thought of all the songs I'd sung
About the outside track,
And that is how this vision came to me.
The lyrics of Slim Dusty's "Along the Road of Song" tell a story of a peaceful reverie experienced by the singer while lying under the gum trees by the roadway in the outback. As he rests, he thinks about all the songs he has sung of the "outside track," and this thought leads to a vision of various characters passing by on the road. The first character is an angel singing to welcome a soldier and his dog who have just passed on. Then the singer sees farmer Gray with his dancing jersey cow who has turned to boogie music after his harvest days have ended. The swaggie who liked good 'baccy came by, bragging about town fights, but was then hit on the head by the ghost of old king Bundawaal with a killer boomerang.
Frankie and Johnny pass by, fighting as usual. Johnny has been making eyes at a little girl dressed in blue, and Frankie knows it. He confesses that he's been doing her wrong for years, and the road he travels now is down the lonesome road of tears. Farmer Wilson then comes along in a faded suit, with a lifebelt around his neck and a flipper on his boot. He blames the singer for writing a song about the wet month of July, which has made his farm a sea, and his cow-yard is now where they catch fish with spinners. The song ends with the singer back in peaceful reverie, contemplating the vision that came to him along the road of song.
The lyrics of "Along the Road of Song" are about the singer's contemplation of the songs he has sung and the characters he has encountered on the "outside track." The vision that comes to him is a mixture of reality and fantasy, with characters passing by that range from an angel to a ghost to farmer Gray and Frankie and Johnny. The lyrics are a tribute to the tradition of storytelling in country music and the colorful characters who populate it.
Line by Line Meaning
Neath the gumtrees by the roadway,
Lying under the gum trees by the roadside
As the sun went down outback,
During sunset in the outback
I lay at rest in peaceful reverie,
I was lying down and relaxing, deep in thought
Then I thought of all the songs I'd sung,
I reflected on all the songs I've written or performed
About the outside track
About traveling and living a free, nomadic lifestyle
And that is how this vision came to me.
This vision was a result of my deep contemplation
As I doze there in the shadows,
While I was half asleep in the darkness
Neath the gumtrees by the road,
Beneath the gum trees next to the road
I heard an angel singing there on high,
I heard an angelic voice singing up above
Just welcomed into heaven,
A soldier and his dog were just received into heaven
Was a soldier and his dog,
The soldier was accompanied by his faithful dog
Nevermore would he and Rusty say good-bye.
The soldier and his dog will never have to say goodbye again
Then along the road came farmer Gray
The farmer Gray came down the road
With his dancin' Jersey cow,
Accompanied by his cow that seems to be dancing
But you'd never know this famous pair have gone all highbrow now,
Although they appear more sophisticated now, they were already famous
But their harvest days are over, sad it is to say,
Sadly, they no longer work on the harvest
But they're making much more money,
They're making more money than before
Since the boogie came their way.
Since they started dancing to boogie music
And the swaggie who liked good 'baccy,
The traveler who liked good tobacco
Was smokin' a big cigar,
Was smoking a large cigar instead
'N' braggin' about the fights he had in town,
He was boasting about fighting in town
Then the ghost of old king Bundawaal
Suddenly a ghost of old king Bundawaal appeared
With a wild old tribal yell,
He let out a loud and untamed tribal shout
Hit him on the head with a killer boomerang.
He struck him on the head with a harmful boomerang
Frankie and Johnny next came by
Then Frankie and Johnny appeared
Fightin' the way they do,
Engaged in a typical argument the way they normally do
She said, 'Johnny man, you've been making eyes
She accused Johnny of flirting with a girl
At that little girl dressed in blue.'
That girl wearing blue attire
He said, 'I know I've done yer wrong, be'n doing so for years,'
Admitting to his wrongdoing and causing trouble in their relationship for years
And the road I travel now, is down the lonesome road of tears.'
The path ahead of him is now one of loneliness and despair
Then along came farmer Wilson, dressed in a faded suit,
Farmer Wilson appeared, wearing a faded suit
A lifebelt hanging round his neck and a flipper on his boot,
Wearing a lifebelt around his neck and a flipper on one boot
He said, 'Well things ain't b'en the same
He stated that things were no longer the same
Since the distant days gone by,
Since the time long gone by
When a certain character wrote a song
Referring to someone who wrote a certain song
About the wet month of July.'
About the rainy month of July
So I says to farmer Wilson, 'Do ya reckon I'm to blame.'
I asked Farmer Wilson if he thought I was responsible
His eyes went wild and his whiskers sand his face went red as flame,
His eyes widened, his whiskers stood up, and his face turned red like a flame
'Yes you're the bloke that wrote the song,
He confirmed that I was the person who wrote the song
That's made my farm a sea,
That turned his farm into a sea
And they're catchin' fish with spinners,
People are now fishing with lures
Now where my cow-yard used to be.'
On an area that used to be his cow pen
Neath the gumtrees by the roadway,
Lying under the gum trees by the roadside
As the sun goes down outback,
During sunset in the outback
I lay at rest in peaceful reverie,
I was lying down and relaxing, deep in thought
Then I thought of all the songs I'd sung
I reflected on all the songs I've written or performed
About the outside track,
About traveling and living a free, nomadic lifestyle
And that is how this vision came to me.
This vision was a result of my deep contemplation
Writer(s): a., cormack
Contributed by Ruby H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sandra
on One Truckie's Epitaph
My brother Terry Radke was the man Slim wrote the song for after he received a letter from Terry's youngest son, Lync. Thank you
Charley Boyter
on Axe Mark On a Gidgee
With horsebells to keep me company
Jake
on Your Country's Been Sold
You say you belong to Australia my friend
And rightly you’d die for this land to defend
But let us be honest, it’s sad but it’s true
Australia my friend doesn’t belong to you
Our country’s been sold by the powers that be
To big wealthy nations way over the sea
We couldn’t be taken by bayonets or lead
And so they decided to buy us instead
And talking of wars and the blood that was spilled
The widows, the crippled, the ones that were killed
And I often wonder if their ghosts can see
What’s happening now to their native country
I wonder if ghosts of the fallen can see
The crime and corruption and vast poverty
With a lost generation of youth on the dole
Who drift on life’s ocean without any goal
I once had a dream of our country so grand
The rivers outback irrigated the land
With towns and canals in that wasteland out there
And big inland cities with work everywhere
With profit from farming and factory and mine
Was used to develop a nation so fine
Then I woke from my dream into reality
That the wealth of our nation goes over the sea
Yeah you say you belong to Australia my friend
And rightly you’d die for this land to defend
But let us be honest, it’s sad but it’s true
Australia my friend doesn’t belong to you