His parents were battlers with a dream of one day rising from the dust and hard work they endured to owning their own property and sinking deep, long-lasting roots. It was to this end that young Steve spent most of his early childhood moving from town to town across NSW with his family. Where there was good work to be had, that's where the family would go. It was in these early years that simple life philosophies were deeply ingrained into this young man.
Discipline, hard work and the pursuit of ones dream were the life food served at the Forde's table.
Today Steve Forde is a farmer and landowner in his own right.
He is a singer, a songwriter and a serious touring country star. Although retired now, Steve was a successful bull rider and bareback bronc rider. What ever Steve sets out to do, he does it well and still today draws heavily on his family's ethos of: "Hard Work, Long Days, Hard Work, Hard Play".
Steve Forde is the real deal, make no mistake.
Moving to the South Coast, the rawboned 18 year old with fire in his belly joined his first band and tasted the life of a touring country musician, the late nights, the poor money, the long miles but he was loving it and knew this was something he wanted to do. It was also during this time that like all young, developing sensible, sensitive artists Steve decided that Bull riding looked like a good idea and a heap of fun and so without care or concern to his guitar hands or the rest of his body he climbed on his first angry beast and away he went. As a rising rodeo, singing star, overseas travel appeared on the young mans horizon and in 1998 he boldly said goodbye to the farm and his band and headed to the USA for a bit of a look. Landing in Texas, he did as you do and bought himself a whopping, great, clunky heap of '63 Dodge Polara, filled her up with fuel, checked the oil and set himself loose on the highways and open roads of the USA. Steve lucked into some top blokes, now good mates in Texas and joined their band playing country music and doing the fabled American miles through Colorado, South Dakota and into Canada. When the gigs were lean the young Aussie Bloke from Cowra could be found working in bars, building fences or riding bareback broncos in Lubbock Texas making a name for himself as fearless, tough or just that crazy Aussie guy.
Sadly, tragedy stuck Steve when his traveling mate from Brisbane broke his back riding bareback and had to be flown home to Australia leaving Steve concerned for his mate's welfare but also now short of a traveling companion and his rodeo buddy. That old Dodge was dying, blowing black smoke and money was tight but Steve made it to Kansas in search of Dorothy, but she was long gone so took up a contract harvesting corn instead. Cashed up again and armed with his guitar and a kit bag full of new songs Steve headed off to Nebraska.
On the way the old Dodge dropped its gearbox, curled up its toes and died. Like Woody Guthrie in the dustbowl and a long way from home Steve hitched a ride to Missouri where he met a bloke in a bar heading to a rodeo in Franklin, Tennessee. Steve took another lift to the rodeo and chanced his luck on winning some much-needed money.
A smashed thumb later, a lot of pain and some impressive Australian colloquialisms Steve headed back to Nashville where he was introduced to songwriter Dan Roberts. (Beaches of Cheyenne, The Old Stuff, The Fever, Dan also toured as opener for Garth Brooks for two years.) Hitting it off well with Dan he moved in for a time and had the pleasure of playing songs and working on new material with this wonderful writer and friend.
Steve headed back to Australia when he heard that his father needed help on the farm and he went to work head down bum up on the land only to disappear on weekends to compete in rodeo's around the country.
He bought his farm, near Grenfell and set about getting it cleaned up, stocked up and productive while still helping his father on his farm and finding time to getaway riding broncos.
In 2000 Steve started his band and a new day was upon the busy boy. The band started playing small shows throughout their immediate area, then moved on to Tamworth and then again onto the national Rodeo Circuit, people were talking and the talk was all good.
Steve Forde had arrived.
Enthused by the great response the band was getting Steve sent some demos to Nashville producer Mark Moseley who liked what he heard and contacted Steve and they set about recording the debut album.
Steve Forde's debut album "Livin' Right" was released in May 2002. The first film clip Rodeo Freak was released on the back of the successful debut.
The album continued to build momentum and attract both recognition and accolades including two Golden Guitar nominations at the Tamworth 2003 awards and the second single "What I'm talking about" spending twenty-six weeks in the CMC top twenty.
Overdrive is a good word for what happened next, with the release of "Livin' Right" and successful subsequent tours Steve decided the music was where his heart was and with consultation with his family, his younger brother took over running the farms so Steve could go hard on his rapidly rising popularity.
"Wild Ride" (album two) was again recorded in Nashville in December 2003 with Mark Moseley although this time Steve co-produced the recording process as well as penning all of the tracks. The first single "The Letter" was released and promptly entered the CMC charts in the top ten and it stayed in the No.1 position for three weeks.
"Wild Ride" (VES0001) which was released on July 15 2004, contains a bonus CD enhanced version of CMC's No.1 video clip, The Letter.
So climb on, hang on, close your eyes, and grit your teeth because we are all in for a wild ride.
Summer's Little Angel
Steve Forde Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Her mumma was a waitress, down in "Tiki Daves"
She was born in July, took her first steps in the sand
That's where she found her freeedom,
and that's where it all began
She's got a hula girl dancing on her dashboard
on her ankle there's a string of pukka shells
she's summers little angel
She's got freckles on her shoulders, tattooed by the sun
Little white tan lines where her bikini runs
She puts messages in bottles and sends them out to sea
Looking for her true love, thats how she got to me
She's got a hula girl dancing on her dashboard
on her ankle there's a string of pukka shells
she leaves a trail on broken hearts along the seashore
she's summers little angel
Well summer came and went, just like the perfect wave
But I never will forget how she drove away
With a hula girl on her dashboard, I bet right now
She's got a hula girl dancing on her dashboard
on her ankle there's a string of pukka shells
she leaves a trail on broken hearts along the seashore
Steve Forde's "Summer's Little Angel" is a song that describes the life of a girl who was born in the summer and grew up by the beach. Her father was a surfer, and her mother worked at a local restaurant. From an early age, the girl found her freedom and developed a love for the beach. She has a tattoo of freckles on her shoulder, which she got from spending long hours in the sun. She also wears a string of pukka shells around her ankle, a sign of her love for the ocean, and leaves a trail of broken hearts along the seashore, suggesting that the girl is a bit of a heartbreaker.
The song's protagonist also mentions that the girl puts messages in bottles and sends them out to see, hoping to find her true love. It's possible that the songwriter met the girl in this fashion, as he hints at the end of the song that he never forgot how she drove away. Despite the fact that summer came and went, and the girl left, the songwriter will always remember her vividly, and her hula girl figurine on the dashboard will always remind him of the girl he fell in love with.
Line by Line Meaning
Her daddy was a surfer, she grew up on the waves
She lived a beach-centric life with a father who surfed and spent much of her time in the ocean.
Her mumma was a waitress, down in "Tiki Daves"
Her mother worked at a beach-themed restaurant called Tiki Daves.
She was born in July, took her first steps in the sand
She was born in the middle of summer and learned to walk on the beach.
That's where she found her freedom, and that’s where it all began
The beach was where she discovered her true sense of freedom and started to grow into who she is today.
She's got a hula girl dancing on her dashboard
There is a hula girl bobblehead on her dashboard.
on her ankle there's a string of pukka shells
She wears a bracelet made of pukka shells around her ankle, a common beach accessory.
she leaves a trail on broken hearts along the seashore
She often leaves heartbroken admirers in her wake as she spends her summers enjoying the beach and the freedom it brings.
she's summers little angel
She is a symbol of the joy and freedom that summer brings, a carefree angel of sorts.
She's got freckles on her shoulders, tattooed by the sun
She has accumulated freckles on her shoulders from spending so much time in the sun.
Little white tan lines where her bikini runs
Her bikini leaves small white lines where it sits against her skin, creating tan lines.
She puts messages in bottles and sends them out to sea
As a romantic gesture, she writes messages and puts them in bottles to be sent out to sea in hopes that they will eventually be found and read by someone special.
Looking for her true love, thats how she got to me
By leaving messages in bottles and exploring the beach, she found her true love and formed a connection with the artist of the song.
Well summer came and went, just like the perfect wave
Just as the perfect wave comes and goes quickly, so too did the summer and their time together.
But I never will forget how she drove away
The singer will never forget the bittersweet moment when she left at the end of the summer.
With a hula girl on her dashboard, I bet right now
The singer imagines that she still has the hula girl bobblehead on her dashboard, a small reminder of the time they spent together.
she's got a hula girl dancing on her dashboard
As previously mentioned, she still has the hula girl bobblehead on her dashboard.
on her ankle there's a string of pukka shells
She still wears the pukka shell bracelet on her ankle, a reminder of her time on the beach.
she leaves a trail on broken hearts along the seashore
Though the summer is over, she still leaves admirers heartbroken as she continues to enjoy the beach and live a carefree lifestyle.
Contributed by Brooklyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.