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.
Dry Weather Wind
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Over the mountains and plains
The grass is brown and withered,
Everything is crying out for rain
The sunrise is like a big fireball,
And sets in the west just the same
Dry weather wind you keep a blowin',
dry weather wind why don't you change?
Oh oh oh dry weather wind you keep a blowin',
Dry weather wind you bring me pain
We don't need you but you're hangin' around,
When we so badly need the rain
There's a big cloud of smoke over yonder
And the haze is thick on hill and plain
Dark man called you willy willy,
But I just called you old dry weather wind
The stockman with keen eye is watching,
The storm clouds that might bring up some rain
He knows that his stock will soon be dying,
The waterhole is just a boggy drain
He knows that his hopes are gettin' slimmer;
It seems that he can never win
You're sure to fan up a bushfire,
why don't you change old dry weather wind
Oh oh oh dry weather wind you keep a blowin',
Dry weather wind you bring me pain
We don't need you but you're hangin' around,
When we so badly need the rain
There's a big cloud of smoke over yonder
And the haze is thick on hill and plain
Dark man called you willy willy,
But I just called you old dry weather wind
Yes I just called you old dry weather wind
In "Dry Weather Wind," Slim Dusty paints a vivid picture of a drought-stricken land. He speaks of his surroundings: over the hills and valleys, across the mountains and plains, the grass is nothing but a dry and crumpled brown. The skies are a deep, suffocating blue, scorching the land beneath, and the wind that blows is a dry one, bringing pain and suffering to the people of the area, a mere reminder of a time when the land was fruitful and the water was abundant. The sunrise and sunset bring no beauty, but only a dusty haze enveloping the region. Dusty wonders why this dry weather wind continues to blow, causing so much damage and pain to people and animals alike, when everyone eagerly awaits a change, a ray of hope, for rain to come and bless the land once again.
Dusty enlists the help of the stockman, who watches the skies for signs of rain clouds. His keen eye can see that the storm clouds are gathering and may bring rain, but also that the waterhole is drying up and his stock will perish if it does not rain soon. His hopes are slim, and it seems that he will never win. Though the man's hopes are not wholly gone, the dry weather wind continues to blow, bringing the threat of bushfires and further despair. Dusty muses that the Indigenous people of the area called this wind "willy willy," but he himself has dubbed it "old dry weather wind."
Overall, "Dry Weather Wind" speaks to the hopelessness and pain that a severe drought can bring to a land and its people. It highlights the crucial importance of rainwater to a community and its livestock and carries a sense of reflection on a time when life was plentiful but has since been reduced to a mere memory.
Line by Line Meaning
Over the hills and the valleys,
The dry weather wind has spread throughout the region - from the hills and valleys to the mountains and the plains.
Over the mountains and plains
Dry weather wind has no mercy on the people and agriculture of that region. It's impacting the ecosystem in entire geographic location.
The grass is brown and withered,
The absence of rain has dried out the grass causing it to turn brown and wither.
Everything is crying out for rain
Flora and fauna, both conventional and contemporary, are waiting and hoping for rain - the only rescuer.
The sunrise is like a big fireball,
The sunrises are fiery and red because of bush fires and smoke.
And sets in the west just the same
Although the sunsets dramatically, the day ends the same way each day, without moisture to nourish the land.
Dry weather wind you keep a blowin',
The dry weather wind is constantly blowing causing more distress to the parched land.
dry weather wind why don't you change?
The artist is frustrated with the constant and unpropitious presence of the dry weather wind and implores it to disappear.
Oh oh oh dry weather wind you keep a blowin',
The chorus repeats, emphasizing the uninvited presence of the dry weather wind.
Dry weather wind you bring me pain
The artist sees the dry weather wind as an agent of pain and laments its constant presence.
We don't need you but you're hangin' around,
The singer recognizes that the dry weather wind offers no assistance, despite its stubborn refusal to leave.
When we so badly need the rain
The artist knows that the people and the fauna in the region are in dire need of rain to recover and to thrive.
There's a big cloud of smoke over yonder
Due to the drought conditions, fires are commonplace and produce thick clouds of smoke all around.
And the haze is thick on hill and plain
In addition to the smoke, dryness also leads to the haziness, ultimately affecting the visibility and making things difficult.
Dark man called you willy willy,
Indigenous Australians have their name for the dry weather wind, traditionally called ‘willy willy’ – an intense, localized whirlwind.
But I just called you old dry weather wind
The author dislikes the wind and addresses it directly.
The stockman with keen eye is watching,
A watchful herdsman spies the horizon, waiting for any sign of hope that the drought will be over.
The storm clouds that might bring up some rain
The stockman keeps an eye out for any looming, dark and promising cumulonimbus clouds that could lead to precipitation.
He knows that his stock will soon be dying,
The stockman is aware; he knows that the thirsty cattle will die without rains to fill depleted water holes.
The waterhole is just a boggy drain
In addition to the dried grass, the intense heat, and unrelenting wind, the lack of rain has also resulted in waterholes turning into muddy, uninhabitable messes.
Contributed by Ella J. 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