"The Biggest Disappointment" is an Australian country music song written by

Joy McKean Joy McKean , (born 14 January 1930), is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and wife and manager of the late Slim Dusty. Known as the "grand lady" of Australian country music, McKean is recognised as one of Australia's leading songwrite ...

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 and one of the country's most awarded stars ...

. It has been covered by artists including Missy Higgins,

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 G ...

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

, and

Gina Jeffreys Gina Jeffreys (also known as Gina Jeffries, Gina Hillenberg and Gina McCormack born 1 April 1968) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and radio presenter. Career In 1991, Jeffreys competed in The Toyota Star Maker Quest at the Tamworth C ...

.
Country music great Joy McKean reveals why living with legend Slim Dusty wasn’t always easy
'; Herald Sun, Sep 9, 2020

About the song

The lyrics begin "They had my future wrapped up in a parcel / And no one even thought of asking me" and the song progresses to tell the story of a "quiet country boy" who leaves home to follow his dreams, only to face "a lot more dinner times than there were dinners" as he tries to live on nothing, becoming "the biggest disappointment" to his family. The song features in the 2020 Australian documentary ''

Slim and I ''Slim and I'' is a 2020 Australian documentary film directed by Kriv Stenders about the life of Joy McKean and Slim Dusty, Australia's most successful husband and wife singer-songwriter duo. Making of the documentary The documentary came a ...

'' about the life and musical partnership of

and

. Contemporary artists

and Missy Higgins perform the song, and McKean reveals that she wrote it about Dusty's own experiences in early life, and that he believed it was the best song she ever wrote.

External links

*Troy Cassar-Daley sing
The Biggest Disappointment

References

Slim Dusty songs Joy McKean songs Missy Higgins songs Troy Cassar-Daley songs Year of song missing {{DEFAULTSORT:Biggest Disappointment