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.
Relics Of The Past
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Memories take him through the years he fondly does recall
For here his tools of trade have hung, since he used them last
And now the stockman's riding gear are relics of the past
There's a saddle that he rode in that could do with some repair
The leather's cracked and hardened for want of better care
Beside it lies a bridle that's seen a better day
Since the last time that he put them in the corner where thay lay
And a pair of silver spurs he wore, all but rusted through
He thinks about the cattle and the musters that he'd seen
The hard rock life of the stockman in the country where he'd been
Oh he lifts his gaze a moment from the treasures that he found
To where his faithful stockhorse lies beneath a grassy mound
Many years have passed away since he sat astride him last
Time has left her mark upon his relics of the past
Instrumental
There's a battered worn out stetson that's been discarded too
It's faded curled and shapeless and the crown is busted through
Oh the iron there upon the peg it was his branding mark
He seems to see the branding fire and hear the heelers bark
And a stockwhip all unravelled hangs limply on the door
Oh the handle's long been fallen in the dirt upon the floor
And a saddle bag and quart pot that served him through the years
Oh with trembling hands he holds them and his faded eyes show tears
Oh he thought that he'd repair them and shine them like a star
But then again decided that he's leave them as they are
All lying there all old and worn as he had used them last
Brings memories of his younger days these relics of the past
The lyrics of Slim Dusty's song "Relics Of The Past" center around an old man who is reminiscing about his younger days as a stockman in the country. The man gazes at the "gear" or tools of his trade that hang on the wall, and memories of mustering cattle and riding his faithful stockhorse flood back to him. He examines each item, from a worn out saddle to a battered stetson, and reflects on the hard life of a stockman.
As he brushes aside cobwebs and holds each item with trembling hands, the man is clearly moved to tears by these "relics of the past". He considers repairing them, but ultimately decides to leave them as they are, a testament to the hard work and memories of his younger years. This nostalgic song captures the bittersweet feeling of looking back on one's past with both fondness and a sense of loss.
Line by Line Meaning
An old man sadly gazes at the gear hung on the wall
The old man looks at his old equipment on the wall and feels sad.
Memories take him through the years he fondly does recall
Memories bring back good times to the old man.
For here his tools of trade have hung, since he used them last
The old man's tools have been on the wall since he last used them.
And now the stockman's riding gear are relics of the past
The riding equipment of the past is now a relic.
There's a saddle that he rode in that could do with some repair
The saddle he used needs some repairs.
The leather's cracked and hardened for want of better care
The leather is cracked and hard because it was not taken care of.
Beside it lies a bridle that's seen a better day
The bridle has been better in its past.
Since the last time that he put them in the corner where thay lay
They have been in the corner since the last time he used them.
As he brushed aside the cobwebs from the riding boots he knew
He brushes away cobwebs from his riding boots he recognizes.
And a pair of silver spurs he wore, all but rusted through
The silver spurs he wore are almost rusted through.
He thinks about the cattle and the musters that he'd seen
He remembers the cattle and the musters he experienced.
The hard rock life of the stockman in the country where he'd been
He remembers the hard life of a stockman in the country he worked.
Oh he lifts his gaze a moment from the treasures that he found
He takes a break from looking at his old treasures.
To where his faithful stockhorse lies beneath a grassy mound
He looks at where his stockhorse is buried under the grass.
Many years have passed away since he sat astride him last
Many years have passed since he last rode his horse.
Time has left her mark upon his relics of the past
Time has left a mark on his old equipment.
There's a battered worn out stetson that's been discarded too
There is an old and battered Stetson that he discarded.
It's faded curled and shapeless and the crown is busted through
The Stetson is faded, curled, shapeless and the crown is broken.
Oh the iron there upon the peg it was his branding mark
The iron on the peg was his branding mark.
He seems to see the branding fire and hear the heelers bark
He remembers the branding fire and the heelers' bark.
And a stockwhip all unravelled hangs limply on the door
An unraveled stockwhip hangs on the door.
Oh the handle's long been fallen in the dirt upon the floor
The handle has fallen and is in the dirt on the floor.
And a saddle bag and quart pot that served him through the years
The saddlebag and quart pot served him for many years.
Oh with trembling hands he holds them and his faded eyes show tears
He holds them with trembling hands and crying.
Oh he thought that he'd repair them and shine them like a star
He considered repairing and shining them like a star.
But then again decided that he's leave them as they are
He decided to leave them as they are.
All lying there all old and worn as he had used them last
All of them are old and worn, the way he last used them.
Brings memories of his younger days these relics of the past
These relics bring back memories of his younger days.
Contributed by Amelia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@edwardpootchemunka7403
old song but so beautiful thanks val Daley for writing this song
@marlenesullivan3113
L♡VE ❤ Best Singer & STORY TELLER..🎸
@edwardpootchemunka7403
I like the part that goes. brings memories of his younger days these relics of the past it reminds me of my grandfather Bob massy pootchemunka he worked in cattle stations all over cape York & the gulf country back in the 1930s
@allanwhite7731
I love this song written by non other than Val Daley the wife of joe Daley many years ago we used to visit them when joe and Val moved to Tamworth
@pgs907
Allan White I didn't know that Alan. I did know when joe wrote Trumby he called it Jackie..So after slim read it he said I think it'll make a good song Joe but I can't sing it as Jackie because people will think I'm a racist so do u mind if I call it Trumby? Joe said that's fine slim I've got a bit of Murray in me myself but I see what u mean. After it was realeased 1000s of Aboriginal people learned to read and write. That's the admiration indigenous people had for him Allan. slim was more proud of that than the song himself and I suppose I know more about Slim than most people but I didn't know Joes wife wrote this song.
@theonlyone7174
this song makes me happy I guess he his a happy man for his songs
@warrenhennessy7684
this is a mighty song Waz and ingrid Melbourne Australia 😎🇦🇺🇦🇺😳