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.
Once When I Was Mustering
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had a mob of musterers aworkin' night an' day
Well when the mobs were restin', you wouldn't hear a
But when they started movin' you could hear all around
Hey, stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn the leaders
Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound
In amongst the gorges, the caves an' prickly-pear
We'd bulge 'em through the timber to sweep them down
And if we saw a Mickey break, we'd yell this old
Hey, stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn that blighter
Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound
I had a dog called Bluey, a terrier called Dot
And if I ever wanted them, well, they were on the spot
They'd trot along beside me, as quiet as fallin' snow
And you could see them strainin' when I'd give the word
Hey stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn the leaders
Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound
We'd box 'em in the big yard an' draft 'em through the
We'd hit 'em with the red-hot brand an' leave 'em safe
We didn't mind the sweatin' or workin' rather hard
But boys you'd hear a swearin' when they broke out of
Hey stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn the leaders
Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound
But the boys they liked it tough, an' sure had lots o'
Now if you were to ask me what stood out on my mind
Well if you'd like to wait a tick, I will soon unwind
Hey stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn the leaders
Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound.
The song "Once When I Was Mustering" by Slim Dusty tells a story of a musterer who was working hard to round up a mob of cattle on Carnarvon, an area known for its gorges, caves, and prickly pears. The musterer and his crew had their dogs, Bluey and Dot, who were obedient and helpful in the mustering process. The repetition of the refrain "Hey stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn the leaders, Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound" emphasizes the hard work and relentless nature of the mustering business. The lyrics also mention branding the cattle and drafting them before letting them go. The overall tone of the song is nostalgic, reminiscing on the hard but satisfying work of a musterer.
Line by Line Meaning
Once when I was musterin', out Carnarvon way
One time in the past, when I was rounding up livestock near Carnarvon
I had a mob of musterers aworkin' night an' day
I was supervising a group of livestock gatherers who were working around the clock
Well when the mobs were restin', you wouldn't hear a
During breaks, the livestock were so quiet, you couldn't hear a sound
But when they started movin' you could hear all around
But when the livestock started moving, you could hear them all around
Hey, stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn the leaders
I would give orders to my workforce to gather the livestock, drive them back and sort them out
Then come behind, come behind, come behind, you hound
I would then urge my dog to follow and round up the livestock
Oh, we were under contract to run the scrubbers there
Our team was hired to collect the remaining livestock in the area
In amongst the gorges, the caves an' prickly-pear
We rounded up the remaining livestock that were hiding amongst the valleys, caves, and thorny plants
We'd bulge 'em through the timber to sweep them down
We would push the livestock through the forest to gather them together
And if we saw a Mickey break, we'd yell this old
If a freshly caught animal tried to escape, we would shout out a familiar phrase
Hey, stitch 'em up, fetch 'em back, turn that blighter
We would then instruct the workers to bring back the escaped livestock
I had a dog called Bluey, a terrier called Dot
I owned two dogs named Bluey and Dot
And if I ever wanted them, well, they were on the spot
Whenever I needed them, they were right beside me and ready to work
They'd trot along beside me, as quiet as fallin' snow
My dogs would walk silently beside me while we were working
And you could see them strainin' when I'd give the word
My dogs would show signs of enthusiasm when I gave them instructions
We'd box 'em in the big yard an' draft 'em through the
We would gather the livestock in a large enclosure and sort them out according to their type
We'd hit 'em with the red-hot brand an' leave 'em safe
We would label them with a hot iron stamp and then release them to a safe area
We didn't mind the sweatin' or workin' rather hard
Despite the physical demands of the work, we didn't complain about the labor or the sweating
But boys you'd hear a swearin' when they broke out of
However, when the livestock managed to escape, we would become frustrated and swear
But the boys they liked it tough, an' sure had lots o'
Despite the difficult work, my team enjoyed the challenge and had a lot of memories
Now if you were to ask me what stood out on my mind
If you asked me about a standout memory from those times
Well if you'd like to wait a tick, I will soon unwind
If you're willing to wait a moment, I would be happy to share my thoughts
Writer(s): wave jackson
Contributed by Adeline Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John Dowling
What a singer! I love all those songs from the Outback!
lynne Milburn
my father use to sing this song to me when i was a little girl and i learnt to sing along with him good lord that was so long along
ray benstead
Still got this on an old 45rpm. Great singer.