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.
Are the Good Days Gone Forever
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're tuned now to think that we live on the
Brink of destruction since man made the bomb
And our leaders talk peace but their speeches aren′t doing to well
If they don't call a halt
If they don't find the fault
They′re gonna blow ′em selves right into hell
The world's full of tension and strain
With violence increased there′s small hope
For peace and the nature of man is to blame
Where are the rainbows they promised on some future day?
Are the good old days gone forever?
Will our freedom keep slipping away
Hey.
We're so regimented in our everyday lives and our homes
Then with each piece of new legislation
It seems a bit more of our freedom is gone
And we′re led to believe that these things have to be anyway
Are the good old days gone forever?
Will our freedom keep slipping away
Hey
But I'm glad that I′ve lived in this time and that I was born free
May God bless our future,
Children and may they see something that we didn't see
So keep Waltzing Matilda you're the fair dinkum anthem for me
May the good old days come back and we′ll
Sing: we′re strong, we're proud and we′re free
Yeah keep Waltzing Matilda, you're the fair dinkum anthem for me
May the good old days come back and we′ll sing:
We're all strong, yeah we′re proud and we're free
Slim Dusty's song "Are the Good Days Gone Forever?" is a tribute to the innocence of the past, with a touch of worry for the future. The lyrics talk about the harsh reality of the modern world, which is marked by continuing conflict and increasing violence. Dusty sings about how the world is always on the brink of destruction since man created the atom bomb, despite the continuous talk of peace by our leaders.
In the first verse, Dusty mentions how the bad news has become big news, and the world is full of tension and strain. This is because of the increased violence in the world, which gives no hope for peace. As long as the nature of man remains the same, peace will always seem like a distant dream. Dusty asks if we will ever see the promised rainbows on a future day, or whether the good old days are gone forever.
In the second verse, Dusty mentions how every new piece of legislation robs us of a little more freedom. Although we are led to believe that this is necessary, it raises concerns about whether our freedom will keep slipping away. Dusty then acknowledges that he is glad to have lived in this time and to have been born free, but he hopes that God will bless our future children with something that we didn't see.
Ultimately, Dusty ends the song on a hopeful note, with the line "May the good old days come back and we'll sing: we're strong, we're proud and we're free". He urges us to keep Waltzing Matilda, which he calls the fair dinkum anthem, and to hold on to the hope that our good days will return.
Line by Line Meaning
We’ve had two world wars and the fighting is still going on
Despite the two world wars, there still isn't peace.
We're tuned now to think that we live on the Brink of destruction since man made the bomb
The creation of the bomb has led us to live in constant fear of destruction.
And our leaders talk peace but their speeches aren't doing too well
The speeches by leaders about peace aren't enough to actually achieve it.
If they don't call a halt
Unless leaders take action,
If they don't find the fault
Unless they find the root cause of the problems,
They're gonna blow 'em selves right into hell
The result will be catastrophic, leading to disaster.
It seems bad news is big news and
Negative news gets more attention.
The world's full of tension and strain
Tension and anxiety are prevalent.
With violence increased there's small hope for peace and the nature of man is to blame
With violence on the rise, it's difficult to see a peaceful future, and it's human nature to be the cause of it.
Where are the rainbows they promised on some future day?
Where is the hope for a better future that was promised?
Are the good old days gone forever?
Have we lost the 'good old days' forever?
Will our freedom keep slipping away
Are we losing our freedom over time?
Hey.
An exclamation of concern.
We're so regimented in our everyday lives and our homes
We live such structured lives.
Then with each piece of new legislation it seems a bit more of our freedom is gone
New laws seem to restrict us further and further.
And we're led to believe that these things have to be anyway
We are told that these laws and restrictions are necessary.
But I'm glad that I've lived in this time and that I was born free
Despite the problems, the author is happy to have been born free in this era.
May God bless our future, children and may they see something that we didn't see
May the future generations find hope and better things that we didn't experience.
So keep Waltzing Matilda you're the fair dinkum anthem for me
The author finds comfort and pride in their national anthem, Waltzing Matilda.
May the good old days come back and we'll Sing: we're strong, we're proud and we're free
The author hopes for a return of the good old days, where people felt strong, proud, and free.
Yeah keep Waltzing Matilda, you're the fair dinkum anthem for me
A repetition of the author's love for Waltzing Matilda as their national anthem.
May the good old days come back and we'll sing: We're all strong, yeah we're proud and we're free
The author hopes for a future where everyone can feel strong, proud, and free.
Writer(s): slim dusty
Contributed by Daniel F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Harvey Ball
Slim's lyrics - our freedoms just keep slipping away - are prophetic indeed - just the music is left - thanks slim - rip
Brett Geiszler
Spot on friend
shilo39
Great Track it certainly suits the World we live in today. With PC and Human Rights and the Nutcase Wars slowly the Country is gone to the dogs. SLIM must have loved George Orwell.
Aspie2012
This song is so relevant now during this period of Covid 19
watu wombat
RIP OUR GOD FATHER OF AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC
Pac Cur
Words so more true today than even then..
MOTOBULLET154
i think the good old days are gone ='{
Logan Ratley
You could find it online at the Slim Dusty center site
Will Carroll
where can ya find the movie mate?
Logan Ratley
you could find the movie online probly from the Slim Dusty center site