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.
Been a Fool Too Long
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My sweetest dream of heaven now is gone,
And from crazy paradise I've just awakened
To find out that I'd been a fool too long.
I met her amongst the music of the dance band,
Into my arms she sweetly came along,
And now this curse of mine will end in nothing
it's just to say I've been a fool too long.
Hey there ain't no use in tellin' me that I'm wrong,
Forget folk, get by, gee that's all I say now,
Forget that I have been a fool too long.
(spoken) Yes fiddle now.
She kinda take my money and she’d spend it,
She kinda tell me off when things went wrong,
"For goodness sake don't be a fool too long."
Oh, there's lots 'n' lots of things that I could tell you,
Her name I shall not mention in this song,
'Cos she's not worthy of a single sentence,
Oh, but what's the use, I've been a fool too long.
Oh, there ain't no use in bein' a crying baby
Hey there ain't no use in tellin' me that I'm wrong,
Forget folk, get by, gee that's all I say now,
Forget that I have been a fool too long.
Hey, forget that I have been a fool too looong.
The song "Been a Fool Too Long" by Slim Dusty talks about the aftermath of a failed relationship. The singer reflects on his relationship with a woman who he had believed to be his "sweetest dream of heaven." He recalls meeting her on the dance floor and how she had entered his life "sweetly." However, as the relationship progressed, he found himself trapped in a foolish situation where she would take his money and neglect him when things went wrong. He then admits that after this destructive relationship failed, he realized that he had been a fool for staying in it for far too long.
The lyrics portray the emotional state of the singer accurately, with a touch of remorse and self-criticism. The song is a warning to those who are just getting into a relationship or those who are wrapped up in one that is destructive. The message is to be aware of the signs when your partner is disrespecting you and taking you for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Should have known in laughter she would leave me
I should have realized that her laughter was a sign that she would leave me.
My sweetest dream of heaven now is gone,
The thing that meant the most to me is gone and I feel like I lost the best thing I ever had.
And from crazy paradise I've just awakened
I was living in a dream world that wasn't real and now I've realized that.
To find out that I'd been a fool too long.
I finally realized that I had been making a mistake for a long time and now there's nothing I can do about it.
I met her amongst the music of the dance band,
I first saw her when we were both listening to a dance band.
Into my arms she sweetly came along,
She came up to me and hugged me.
And now this curse of mine will end in nothing
I feel like there's no point in trying to fix things because it won't make a difference.
it's just to say I've been a fool too long.
I'm admitting that I made a mistake and that I should have realized it sooner.
Oh, there ain't no use in bein' a crying baby
There's no point in crying or being upset about it because it won't change anything.
Hey there ain't no use in tellin' me that I'm wrong,
I don't want to hear anyone telling me that I was wrong because I already know it.
Forget folk, get by, gee that's all I say now,
I'm trying to move on and forget about everything that happened.
She kinda take my money and she’d spend it,
She would take my money and spend it recklessly.
She kinda tell me off when things went wrong,
When things didn't go her way, she would blame me and get angry with me.
"For goodness sake don't be a fool too long."
I'm telling myself not to make the same mistake again.
Oh, there's lots 'n' lots of things that I could tell you,
There are many things that I could say about her and our relationship.
Her name I shall not mention in this song,
I don't want to say her name because she's not worth it and I don't want to give her any more attention.
'Cos she's not worthy of a single sentence,
She doesn't deserve to be mentioned or talked about at all.
Oh, but what's the use, I've been a fool too long.
Even though I know she's not worth it, I still feel like I made a mistake and that there's nothing I can do about it now.
Hey, forget that I have been a fool too looong.
I'm repeating myself and trying to convince myself to forget about it and move on.
Contributed by Makayla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
D N
He wrote this song, does a good solo bit at the start of his recording.
bertosvids
@gustl2 hi mate,we appreciate your comment,,,hope your stay in australia is sensational,,cheers from heccy and rob
bertosvids
Thanks, Laz mate. How's your week been so far? Bob and Hec.