"Lights on the Hill" is an

Australian country music Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass, to yodeling to folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English folk music, the Australian bush balla ...

hit song written by

Joy McKean Mildred Geraldine Joy Kirkpatrick (née McKean; 14 January 1930 – 25 May 2023), was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and wife and manager of Slim Dusty. Her daughter is country singer and musician Anne Kirkpatrick. McKean was ...

and made famous by her husband,

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...

. It won the first

Golden Guitar The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England. It is also a major attraction duri ...

in January 1973 at the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wale ...

, held in Tamworth. It has been covered by

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

and

Mental as Anything Mental As Anything was an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of its charting singles and albums) was Martin Plaza (birth name Martin ...

. The song describes a truckie driving at night with a heavy load being blinded by lights on the hill, hitting a pole, falling off the edge of a road and realising his impending death. The song won for

the first ever

Award for "Song of the Year" at the first

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, New South Wales. The f ...

in January 1973, and

's rendition won the award for Best EP or Single.

Certifications

The Lights on the Hill Truck and Coach Drivers' Memorial

A memorial which bears the name of the song was erected in

Gatton, Queensland Gatton is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Lockyer Valley Region, situated in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland, Lockyer Valle ...

, in remembrance of truck and coach drivers and other members of the transport industry who have lost their lives in accidents or in other ways. It is located at Lake Apex Park on the outskirts of the town. Before

died, he and his wife

agreed to the use of the name, Lights on the Hill, and to be patrons of the memorial. File:Slim Dusty with Golden Guitar.jpeg, Slim Dusty File:Lights on the Hill Memorial.jpg, Lights on the Hill Memorial, Gatton, Queensland

References

External links

Keith Urban Sings Lights on the Hill at Slim Dusty Tribute Concert, 2004Lights on the Hill Truck & Coach Drivers' Memorial official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lights on the Hill Slim Dusty songs Joy McKean songs Keith Urban songs Songs about truck driving Vehicle wreck ballads Year of song missing

Certifications

The Lights on the Hill Truck and Coach Drivers' Memorial

See also

References

External links