"Shutting Down Our Town" is a song by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician,

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...

. It was released on 26 April 2019 as the second single from Barnes' studio album '' My Criminal Record''. In the week after its release, the song was the second most added song on radio, behind " Me!" by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

. At the

APRA Music Awards of 2020 The APRA Music Awards of 2020 are the 38th annual series, known as APRA Awards, in 2020. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the year: the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards ...

, "Shutting Down Our Town" won the Most Performed Rock Work of the Year.

Background and release

Troy Cassar-Daley Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer. Cassar-Daley has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums over 30 years, including the platinum-selling '' The ...

wrote "Shutting Down Our Town" for Barnes after finding inspiration from the Barnes' 2016 memoir Working Class Boy. Barnes said "I changed a couple of words just because of local knowledge, but it was 99.999% Troy's song” adding "...he played it to me and I immediately felt the connection." Barnes said "This song has a lot of personal meaning. It's about growing up in

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

and the closing down of the Holden factory where I once worked as a young working class boy in North Adelaide" adding "I drove through there not long after I heard the song for the first time, and I felt a pain in my heart for the people there who are battling, trying to make a living when everything is stacked up against them." Barnes admits the song moved him to tears. "It's sort of a heartland "

Working Class Man "Working Class Man" is a song performed and made famous by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "Working Class Man" is generally considered Barnes' signature song as a solo artist. At the 198 ...

" anthem... This was written by somebody who feels the pain, and who's writing about the darker side of Australia which I never wanted to face before." Barnes premiered the song in November 2018 during his One Electric Day concert and was officially released on 26 April 2019.

Music video

The music video for "Shutting Down Our Town" was released on 6 May 2019.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Jimmy Barnes 2018 songs 2019 singles Jimmy Barnes songs APRA Award winners Songs written by Jimmy Barnes