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.
Cattlemen from the High Plains
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The big shearing gun from the west,
They are men who have proven their value,
Whenever they're put to the test,
But if you ever look to the mountains,
And the south where it snows and it rains,
Have you thought of the men from the Snowy,
And the cattlemen from the high plains.
From the high plains away above Dargo
In the alps where the snow daisy grows.
Where the wild mountain herds are grazin'
Beneath the shadow of mountains of snow,
Where the cattlemen searched every cranny,
When they muster at each summer's end,
In their rain batter hats and their oil skins,
From the high plains, come real cattlemen,
They're a part of Australia's history,
Their heritage all be the same,
If nobody cares what is happn'nin',
To the cattlemen from the high plains.
After one fifty years they can take it,
All the hardship the mountains can give,
They hand onto each generation,
Their caring, their live and let live,
All the steep mountain tracks and the gullies,
Which one knows like the palm of his hand,
There's no room here for too many new chumps
In the mountain cattleman's land.
So I guess that you'll never believe me,
When you hear what they're plannin' to do,
Down in town, mate they're writin' the law now,
That the man from the high plains must go,
Take his herds from the mountains and ridges,
Leave the land where his forefathers reigned,
With the sweep of the pen they want to write out,
The cattlemen from the high plains,
And we lose a part of our history,
Of our land built through struggle and strain,
A bit more of our freedom goes with them,
The cattlemen from the high plains,
Just a bit more freedom goes with them,
The cattlemen from the high plains.
In "Cattlemen from the High Plains," Slim Dusty brings attention to a group of unsung heroes, the cattlemen who work in the Snowy Mountains, bush country where the terrain is tough and often hostile. Dusty contrasts the fame and popularity of the ringer from Queensland and the big shearing gun from the west with the relative obscurity of the cattlemen on the high plains. The men on the high plains are a sturdy lot who have spent centuries farming the land and pleasing everyone with their straightforwardness and dignity. Dusty paints a vivid picture of their unforgiving environment, where snow daisies grow, and the wild mountain herds graze under the shadow of mountains of snow. These cattlemen are an integral part of Australia's history and heritage, yet despite their contribution, they seem to be losing their way of life.
The song's second verse centers on the daily lives of the cattlemen during the summers when they muster their herd. Dusty portrays the men going about their business in "rain batter hats and their oil skins," scanning "every cranny" of the terrain. Over time, the cattlemen have become the mantle of Australian history, and they have refused to surrender in the face of many adversities. They endure a life that is hard, but they do it because they believe in the land and the beauty of the Snowy Mountains. The final verse is a warning. Dusty decries the forces of change that threaten the lives of the cattlemen from the high plains. The law is being rewritten, and soon the cattlemen will have to leave the land where their forefathers reigned. The loss of these men's way of life would mark another step towards losing the country's identity.
Interesting Facts:
Line by Line Meaning
You may talk of the ringer from Queensland,
You might speak of the skilled shearers from Queensland
The big shearing gun from the west,
Or the powerful shearers from the west
They are men who have proven their value,
These are men who have shown their worth
Whenever they're put to the test,
No matter what challenge they face
But if you ever look to the mountains,
However, if you gaze at the mountains
And the south where it snows and it rains,
And in the southern region where it gets snow and rain
Have you thought of the men from the Snowy,
Have you considered the cattlemen from the Snowy region
And the cattlemen from the high plains.
And those who herd on the high plains.
From the high plains away above Dargo
From the high plains near Dargo
In the alps where the snow daisy grows.
In the mountains where snow daisies grow.
Where the wild mountain herds are grazin'
Where the untamed mountain herds graze.
Beneath the shadow of mountains of snow,
Below the snowy mountains' shade
Where the cattlemen searched every cranny,
Where the cattlemen hunt through every corner
When they muster at each summer's end,
At the end of summer is when they gather cattle
In their rain batter hats and their oil skins,
Wearing their rain bashed hats and oilskins
From the high plains, come real cattlemen,
From the high plains, genuine cattlemen emerge.
They're a part of Australia's history,
These cattlemen are part of Australia's history
Their heritage all be the same,
Although their background may differ
If nobody cares what is happn'nin',
If no one pays attention to what is occurring
To the cattlemen from the high plains.
The cattlemen from the high plains will suffer.
After one fifty years they can take it,
After more than 150 years they've endured it.
All the hardship the mountains can give,
All the difficulties the mountains can bring
They hand onto each generation,
They pass down to each new generation
Their caring, their live and let live,
Their compassion and respect for all living things
All the steep mountain tracks and the gullies,
All the challenging mountain paths and ravines
Which one knows like the palm of his hand,
Which they know so well, like the back of their hand
There's no room here for too many new chumps
There is no space for inexperienced newcomers here
In the mountain cattleman's land.
On the mountain cattleman's territory.
So I guess that you'll never believe me,
So I suppose you won't believe me
When you hear what they're plannin' to do,
When you hear of their proposed actions
Down in town, mate they're writin' the law now,
In the city, they're drafting laws
That the man from the high plains must go,
To evict the cattlemen from the high plains
Take his herds from the mountains and ridges,
Remove his cattle from the mountains and ridges
Leave the land where his forefathers reigned,
Abandon the land where his ancestors' dominated
With the sweep of the pen they want to write out,
With a stroke of the pen, they want to erase
The cattlemen from the high plains,
The cattlemen from the high plains
And we lose a part of our history,
And we lose some of our heritage
Of our land built through struggle and strain,
Of our country established through hardship and difficulty
A bit more of our freedom goes with them,
A piece of our freedom leaves with them
The cattlemen from the high plains,
The cattlemen from the high plains
Just a bit more freedom goes with them,
A little more of our freedom will be taken with them
The cattlemen from the high plains.
The cattlemen from the high plains
Contributed by Lauren V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@LinedanceOpiAndy
nice song
@rajivdixit2012
splendid....
@Dallas-Nyberg
They got rid of them so the yuppies could go up there and ski...???
@NemoDakkar
pyrofella I wouldn't be surprised if that did happened.
Good song though.
@Isaac-ho8gh
+Dallas Nyberg Yep.. Quite terrible for those cattlemen. I was at a school snow trip excursion at the Snowy Mountains at the end of August last year when I was in year 10 and it was mostly just snow at the top when I was snowboarding down a few hills at Smiggin's holes. Although the excursion was fun, it's quite a shame that the city people bought their land and basically kicked them out from there.