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.
Road Train Blues
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here am I a'drovin' on the big beef train,
There's drivers there before me, some behind me too,
Just like me I know they've got the road train blues.
You drive all night and listen to the engine groan,
With lots of time to think about the folks back home,
I've always been a wanderer, got these ramblin' shoes,
Guess that I was born to know the road train blues.
I hope there's nothing going or about to break,
No time to boil a billie, got no time to lose,
Gotta keep a rollin' with my road train blues.
You drive all night and listen to the engine groan,
With lots of time to think about the folks back home,
I've always been a wanderer, got these ramblin' shoes,
Guess that I was born to know the road train blues.
I'll bet in every wagon, there's a beast that's down,
You've got to get him on his feet and turned around,
You sweat and curse and struggle, get knocked about and bruised,
Your temper's getting shorter with the road train blues,
You drive all night and listen to the engine groan,
With lots of time to think about the folks back home,
I've always been a wanderer, got these ramblin' shoes,
Guess that I was born to know the road train blues.
Your eyes are nearly blinded by the red bulldust
I hope there's nothing going or about to bust,
Tourist buses passing, on a pleasure cruise,
They wave and seem to mock your rollin' road train blues.
You drive all night and listen to the engine groan,
With lots of time to think about the folks back home,
I've always been a wanderer, got these ramblin' shoes,
Guess that I was born to know the road train blues.
I guess that I was born to know the road train blues.
In Slim Dusty's "Road Train Blues," the singer describes his experience as a driver of a large beef train, transporting cattle across the vast, lonely plains of Australia. He sings about the toll that this kind of work takes on a person, with long hours spent driving and listening to the engine groan, which gives him a lot of time to think about his family and other aspects of his life. He also talks about the physical labor involved in driving a road train, such as getting out to check for potential issues with the train or dealing with a downed beast in one of the wagons. As the song progresses, the singer's frustration begins to show through. He describes how he's blinded by the red dust of the plains and how he's passed by happy-go-lucky tourist buses.
Overall, this song provides an insightful look into the difficult and often frustrating experience of driving a road train in Australia. The singer captures the feeling of being both isolated from the outside world and physically exhausted from the hard work required to keep the train running. He also touches on the emotional toll this kind of work can take, as he thinks about his family and loved ones back home.
Line by Line Meaning
Another day is dawning, out on the lonely plain
It's another day in a vast, isolated place.
Here am I a'drovin' on the big beef train
I'm driving a massive train carrying lots of beef.
There's drivers there before me, some behind me too
Other drivers on the road before and after me.
Just like me I know they've got the road train blues
They, like me, are feeling a bit down and lonely on this long, difficult journey.
You drive all night and listen to the engine groan
I spend all night driving and listening to the engine noise.
With lots of time to think about the folks back home
I have plenty of time alone to reflect on those I miss back home.
I've always been a wanderer, got these ramblin' shoes
I've always been a person who likes to explore new places and experiences.
Guess that I was born to know the road train blues
I was probably destined to experience this type of loneliness and struggle on the road.
I better stop and get out, careful check to make
I need to take a careful break and inspect my vehicle.
I hope there's nothing going or about to break
I hope there isn't any damage or mechanical problems happening.
No time to boil a billie, got no time to lose
There's no time for luxuries like boiling a kettle - I must keep going.
Gotta keep a rollin' with my road train blues
I must keep moving forward, even though I'm feeling down about this long journey.
I'll bet in every wagon, there's a beast that's down
I'm willing to bet that in every truck on this road, there's a broken vehicle or piece of equipment.
You've got to get him on his feet and turned around
I must try to fix it and get it back on track.
You sweat and curse and struggle, get knocked about and bruised
I work hard and get frustrated and injured while trying to fix the broken equipment.
Your temper's getting shorter with the road train blues
My patience is wearing thin due to the difficulties of this journey.
Your eyes are nearly blinded by the red bulldust
The red dust on this road is so thick that it's impairing my vision.
I hope there's nothing going or about to bust
I hope there are no sudden mechanical failures or breakdowns about to occur.
Tourist buses passing, on a pleasure cruise
Tourists on a comfortable bus are passing by, enjoying a relaxing vacation.
They wave and seem to mock your rollin' road train blues
The tourists seem to be waving and poking fun at my difficult and lonely journey.
I guess that I was born to know the road train blues
I feel as though I was meant to experience this difficult and trying journey on the road.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID GORDON KIRKPATRICK, STANLEY ALFRED COSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Troy Fraser
This is a bloody good driving song on those big long straight roads, thanks Slim
Edward Pootchemunka
Love Slim's trickie songs he was the best Australian country singer
Jobergg
Thanks for uploading, this is a great song.
Barry Atkinson
Listened to Slims truck songs during the long runs in my road train, when the kids came along they loved the truck songs, now my son drives trucks and my grandson just loves the truck songs by Slim Dusty
Edward Pootchemunka
miss you slim & coster Aussie legends
Kevin Stuart
Old slim and Baz play great together missing you mate
Dana Marshall
Sure do. Slim Dusty sang it. I like it. I've been on some dusty roads, but I'm pretty sure The Aussie's got me beat.
KTMRider138
best music for driving!!
John Colville
Yes indeed a great song, but credit for the words and music are due to Stan Coster who wrote the song in 1965.
About 70 songs recorded by Slim Dusty were actually written by Stan Coster.
Lee O'Neill
And to think that if it wasn't for his wife Joy, he would have stayed with his original songs. Lights on the Hill was the one that got him into trucking songs.