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.
From Here to There and Back
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is anything but good,
But we’d never see you stranded,
We'd do the best we could,
Yeah we push 'em through the cities,
From coast to coast and back,
We drive the mighty semi's
The Volvo and the Mack.
Oh it may not be the brightest one,
This job we have to do,
But still there must be someone,
To get the semi's through,
Here we take them through the country,
We push 'em constantly,
We drive the mighty semi's,
The Merc and BMC.
Oh the miles are long and many,
And the comforts short and few,
But the wheels are kept a-rollin',
To get the cargo through,
Oh we shove 'em o'er the desert,
We do the best we can,
We drive the mighty semi's,
The Leyland and the Man.
The thankless miles are many,
That we steep behind the wheel,
But a cap nap in the cabin,
Will straighten out the keal,
Oh we push 'em on regardless,
We roll 'em day and night,
We drive the mighty semi's,
The Transtar and the White.
Instrumental
Oh the purring of the Jimmies
Three hundred horses strong,
Makes the mighty Kenworth,
Move the load along,
Oh we push 'em 'cross the country,
To get from here to there,
With the boys that drive the semi's,
From here to ”lord knows where”.
The heavy rig beneath us,
We handle, no mistake,
No matter what condition,
No matter what the make,
Hey we tail them through the hardships,
And every western track,
We're the boys that drive the semi's,
From here to there and back.
The song "From Here to There and Back" by Slim Dusty is an ode to the truck drivers of Australia who brave long distances, difficult terrain, and unsafe conditions to transport goods from one end of the country to the other. The lyrics, which extol the drivers' reliability, efficiency, and sheer grit, acknowledge the fact that truckies have a less-than-stellar reputation, and yet they remain the backbone of Australia's economy. Slim Dusty doesn't shy away from the fact that the job is tough and unforgiving, but he affirms that it's a necessary job and someone's got to do it. He praises the different kinds of trucks used by drivers, from the Volvo to the Kenworth, the Leyland to the Man, and recognizes the signature sound of each one. The song is an homage to the truckies' camaraderie, perseverance and unwavering dedication to their job, no matter the obstacles they face.
Line by Line Meaning
A truckies reputation,
Truck drivers are often viewed negatively.
Is anything but good,
Their reputation is not good.
But we’d never see you stranded,
Despite the reputation, truck drivers will not leave you stranded.
We'd do the best we could,
They will always try their best to help.
Yeah we push 'em through the cities,
Truck drivers travel through cities with their cargo.
From coast to coast and back,
Their routes cover the entire country.
We drive the mighty semi's
Truck drivers operate semi-trucks.
The Volvo and the Mack.
These are two of the many brands of semi-trucks driven by truck drivers.
Oh it may not be the brightest one,
Truck driving may not be the most glamorous job.
This job we have to do,
Despite the nature of the job, it still needs to be done.
But still there must be someone,
Someone has to transport goods across the country.
To get the semi's through,
The job requires moving semi-trucks from one location to another.
Here we take them through the country,
Truck drivers travel through rural areas as part of their job.
We push 'em constantly,
Truck drivers work diligently to transport goods across the country.
We drive the mighty semi's,
Driving semi-trucks is a crucial part of the job.
The Merc and BMC.
These are two other brands of semi-trucks driven by truck drivers.
Oh the miles are long and many,
The distance truck drivers travel is extensive.
And the comforts short and few,
Despite the long distance, there are not many amenities available to truck drivers.
But the wheels are kept a-rollin',
Despite the challenges, the trucks must keep moving in order to deliver goods.
To get the cargo through,
The goal is to transport the cargo safely and efficiently.
Oh we shove 'em o'er the desert,
Truck drivers travel through deserts with their cargo.
We do the best we can,
Truck drivers always do their best to transport goods.
We drive the mighty semi's,
Semi-trucks are essential to the job of truck driving.
The Leyland and the Man.
These are two additional brands of semi-trucks driven by truck drivers.
The thankless miles are many,
The distance traveled by truck drivers is extensive and often taken for granted.
That we steep behind the wheel,
Truck drivers spend many hours driving and away from home.
But a cap nap in the cabin,
However, they can take brief naps inside the truck's cabin when needed.
Will straighten out the keal,
A quick nap can help a tired driver feel more alert and focused.
Oh we push 'em on regardless,
Truck drivers keep moving forward, despite hardships and obstacles.
We roll 'em day and night,
Truck drivers must work around the clock to transport goods.
We drive the mighty semi's,
Semi-trucks are crucial to the job of truck driving.
The Transtar and the White.
These are two other brands of semi-trucks driven by truck drivers.
Instrumental
There are no words in this part of the song.
Oh the purring of the Jimmies
The sound of the engines of semi-trucks can be soothing.
Three hundred horses strong,
The engines of semi-trucks are very powerful.
Makes the mighty Kenworth,
Kenworth is another brand of semi-truck driven by truck drivers.
Move the load along,
The power of the truck's engine is necessary to transport heavy loads.
Oh we push 'em 'cross the country,
Truck drivers transport goods across the entire country.
To get from here to there,
The goal is to transport goods from one location to another.
With the boys that drive the semi's,
Truck drivers work hard to transport goods across the country.
From here to ”lord knows where”.
Truck drivers may not always know their final destination, but they work hard to transport goods as far as they can.
The heavy rig beneath us,
Truck drivers operate very large and heavy semi-trucks.
We handle, no mistake,
Truck drivers are skilled and well-equipped to operate these heavy rigs safely.
No matter what condition,
Truck drivers can handle driving in various weather and road conditions.
No matter what the make,
Truck drivers are skilled at operating diverse types of semi-trucks.
Hey we tail them through the hardships,
Truck drivers work through difficult situations and obstacles to transport goods.
And every western track,
Truck drivers travel through various regions and terrains.
We're the boys that drive the semi's,
Truck drivers are proud of the work they do, driving semi-trucks across the country.
From here to there and back.
Truck drivers travel across the country and back, transporting goods for others.
Contributed by Aaliyah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@brendanwilliams7291
Excellent song, I think many truckers feel like singing songs like this one.
@masonwalmsley9830
Jameson my baby cousin is died today at 4 pm we where playing mums and dads and baby's today rip Jameson
@10lugthug67
Mackvskenworth you still kicking mate in 2021
@MackvsKenworth
yea mate, know all bout it, when i was a young fella too i listened to this song a lot, and still do~!!
@fontheking5
Best song ever by Slim Dusty i think
@roostersbays95
so many..
@barankarpat3327
Slim Dusty ❤
@stephentaege6255
Sadly missed mate 🤠but we still have your amazing music when I got my red KELPIE as a puppy I said her name will be DUSTY I HAVE TO AUSTRALIAN ICONS IN ONE 🦘🦘🐨🐨
@rino6711
Great song love it decently a. Song for me
@peterr.7429
Great song, thank you for putting it up