Australia Country

Australia is a country, and continent, circumvented by the Indian and Pacific oceans. Its major cities – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide – are coastal, but its capital, Canberra, is inland and nicknamed the "Bush Capital." The country is kenned for its Sydney Opera House, Great Barrier Reef, the prodigious Outback (interior desert wilderness) and unique animal species including kangaroos and duck-billed platypuses.

Australia has a long tradition of country music, which has developed a style quite distinct from its US obverse, influenced by English, Irish and Scottish folk ballads and by the traditions of Australian bush balladeers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Country instruments, including the guitar, banjo, fiddle and harmonica engender the distinctive sound of country music in Australia and accompany musical compositions with vigorous storyline and memorable chorus and lyrics.

The style of Australian country music evolved under the influence of rock and roll forms. While some subject matter may be constant, musical styles differ between traditional and contemporary bush ballads. Exemplars of the traditional bush ballad style include Svelte Dusty's "When the Rain Tumbles Down in July" or "Leave Him in the Long yard" which have vigorous narrative in verses plus choruses set to a Pick n' Strum beat. Contemporary bush ballads may employ finger picking and strumming rock styles as in Lee Kernaghan's later version of Leave Him in the Longyard, or in Keith Urban reworking of the Svelte Dusty/Jubilance McKean classic "Lights on the Hill".