Righto. For my 5000th post, this is my favourite Slim Dusty song. My Step Dad was the epitome of the Australian ringer. He could do everything from driving dozers to fencing, horse breaking to rodeo riding, and everything in between. He spent his youth boxing in Sydney and the rest of his life, much to the disappointment of his family in Sydney, ringin' and rodeoing in Queensland.
Through nothing but my own fault, I fell out of contact with him in the (unbeknownst to me) final years of his life in 2010. In late December 2012, I received a message from one of his Sisters in Sydney to tell me he was in palliative care in Baralaba hospital with not long to live. The next day I was at the hospital. He had changed from a 6ft4, solid as a brick outhouse, to a frail old man, riddled with cancer. Cancer is a vile disease. Though it ravages the body, the mind remains firmly intact. I got to spend a final couple of months with him, reliving the past and doing my best to comfort him in the face of his nearing death. My Mum had died in 1991, at age 45 from cancer. His blood relatives had turned their backs on him by then. He died on the 4th of February 2013. Due to prior arrangements, he was buried in the Hetherington plot at the Baralaba cemetery. Jason Hetherington accompanied me as one of the pallbearers. His Father Maurice conducted the eulogy. I have a huge respect and love for the Hetherington family.
My Step Dad's name was/is John "Cowboy" Morris. AKA, "Legend". Born in Moree 1936. I told him I would play this song at his funeral. He knew it well, and I did. I did, and still do dream of the old fella from time to time, and although I remember vividly talking to him in my dreams, I can never clearly recall what we spoke about.
Anyway, I couldn't find this song anywhere on youtube, so I got my young bloke to create it (amongst others) for me tonight ( I am pretty much computer illiterate lol) Massive thanks to my Son Adam!
Talk about digressing....LOL! Here is the song. I hope you can grasp the meaning it has for me. Slim was a genuine genius when it came to songs. Every one of his songs told a story. This one just hits me harder than the rest and I'm glad it has linked me with the old fella.
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