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.
Paddy Gramp
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Paddy Gramp
Work out on cattle station longa white man mustering
camp
I chase and throw the scrubber bull, ride buckjump
horse for sport
This ringer job I learn'em well when knee high to a
quart
Ten day alonga week I work and sometime longa still
Boss say I catch'em overtime when government pass the
bill
There's sand mixed longa flour and my meat left longa
bone
When damper cooked to me he taste all same alonga
grindstone
Oh ohhhhh in wintertime one blanket job all night
alonga freeze up
Maybe bullock jump the rush and Paddy get the breeze up
Old packhorse cook he all time growl but me still none
the wiser
Policeman catch him plurry quick alonga breathalyser
Head stockman boss I tell ‘im quick I pullout longa
station
Go walkabout alonga creek once more with all the
‘laitions
Boss take me to his office then and this is what he say
Oh I'll read your statement Paddy, before you get your
pay
Ohhhhh ohhhh there's a pound of black terbaccer and a
shirt and trouser set
A pair of boots you never got and a hat you didn't get
There's a stockwhip and a quartpot, what you didn't get
you spent
And of course there's our commission roughly 25 percent
There's a dozen stubby bottles, let me see that's 24
And the refund on the empties means you're down a few
cents more
There's sales tax plus the duty and the freight we
multiply
There's your cheque a dollar fifty cost of living
getting high
Oh so there you have it Paddy wrote down in black and
white
But I'd like you just to check it and convince yourself
its right
Oh then I knocks the slab right out of the old Kentucky
home you know
I say to him "It looks alright to me boss I call back
through the door
I been selling clean skin mickeys for the last 12
months or more"
The song "Paddy Gramp" by Slim Dusty is a ballad about a cattleman named Paddy Gramp who works on a cattle station in Queensland, Australia. The song's chorus asserts that the singer is Paddy, who is proud of his station work and his ability to catch and ride scrubber bulls and buckjump horses. He learned from a young age to work long hours and to chase cattle on horseback, which led to his becoming a skilled ringer. He works ten days a week and sometimes more, and when the government passes a bill for overtime, his boss makes him work longer. The song describes the harsh working conditions that the singer and his fellow station workers face.
The second verse finds Paddy working in the wintertime, where he's cold and has only a single blanket to keep him warm. Sometimes he has to chase after bullocks that have escaped from the station, and that brings some warmth to his bones. Paddy's boss is unhappy with him and accuses him of misconduct, but he doesn't take him to court. Instead, he takes Paddy to his office and reads him his statement, which lists his earnings, including deductions for tax, auction fees, and commissions. The final lines of the song reveal that Paddy has been selling moonshine whiskey illegally and has made a substantial profit, which he uses to pay his bills.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh ohhhhh I come from plurry Queensland and my name is Paddy Gramp
Paddy Gramp is from Queensland and that's his name.
Work out on cattle station longa white man mustering camp
Paddy works on a cattle station where White men are involved in mustering.
I chase and throw the scrubber bull, ride buckjump horse for sport
Paddy chases and throws the scrubber bull and rides buckjump horses for fun.
This ringer job I learn'em well when knee high to a quart
Paddy learned his ringer job when he was really young.
Ten day alonga week I work and sometime longa still
Paddy works ten days a week and sometimes more.
Boss say I catch'em overtime when government pass the bill
Paddy's boss makes him work overtime when the government passes a bill.
There's sand mixed longa flour and my meat left longa bone
Paddy's food has sand mixed in the flour and the meat is left on the bone.
When damper cooked to me he taste all same alonga grindstone
Paddy's damper tastes like it was made on a grindstone.
Oh ohhhhh in wintertime one blanket job all night alonga freeze up
During winter, Paddy only gets one blanket to keep warm at night.
Maybe bullock jump the rush and Paddy get the breeze up
Sometimes the bullock jumps and Paddy gets startled.
Old packhorse cook he all time growl but me still none the wiser
The old packhorse cook complains a lot but Paddy doesn't really understand why.
Policeman catch him plurry quick alonga breathalyser
The police catch the old packhorse cook really quickly when he is caught drunk driving.
Head stockman boss I tell ‘im quick I pullout longa station
Paddy tells his boss that he is leaving the station.
Go walkabout alonga creek once more with all the ‘laitions
Paddy wants to go on a walkabout along the creek with all the other people.
Boss take me to his office then and this is what he say
The boss takes Paddy to his office and says the following.
Oh I'll read your statement Paddy, before you get your pay
The boss reads Paddy's statement before he gets paid.
Ohhhhh ohhhh there's a pound of black terbaccer and a shirt and trouser set
Paddy gets a pound of tobacco, a shirt, and a trouser set.
A pair of boots you never got and a hat you didn't get
Paddy didn't get the boots or the hat he was supposed to.
There's a stockwhip and a quartpot, what you didn't get you spent
Paddy has a stockwhip and a quartpot but he spent money on things he didn't get.
And of course there's our commission roughly 25 percent
The boss takes a commission of roughly 25%.
There's a dozen stubby bottles, let me see that's 24
Paddy has a dozen stubby bottles which equals 24.
And the refund on the empties means you're down a few cents more
Paddy gets a refund on the empties but he still owes a few cents more.
There's sales tax plus the duty and the freight we multiply
The sales tax, duty, and freight are multiplied together.
There's your cheque a dollar fifty cost of living getting high
Paddy's cheque is only a dollar fifty and the cost of living is getting higher.
Oh so there you have it Paddy wrote down in black and white
Paddy's boss tells him that everything is written down in black and white.
But I'd like you just to check it and convince yourself its right
Paddy's boss encourages him to double-check the statement and make sure it's accurate.
Oh then I knocks the slab right out of the old Kentucky home you know
Paddy makes a joke about the old Kentucky home.
I say to him "It looks alright to me boss I call back through the door
Paddy tells his boss that everything looks fine to him and he says it through the door.
I been selling clean skin mickeys for the last 12 months or more"
Paddy reveals that he has been selling clean skin mickeys for the past 12 months or more.
Contributed by Mia C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@markobrien5808
The only reason why I lissing country music