"Way Out West" is the debut single by Australian band

the Dingoes The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on ...

. It was released in October 1973 and peaked in the top 40 of the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

singles chart, NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

created their own

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...

in mid-1988 reaching number 26 in Melbourne. The song became the band's signature tune.

Lyrics

The song explains the life of mining in Australia, telling the story of a man who has left his job and wife in the city to work for a company drilling for oil and enjoys "living and a working on the land".

Charts

James Blundell and James Reyne version

Australian country artists James Blundell and

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Ro ...

covered the song and released it as a single in 1992. Their version became a hit in Australia the same year, peaking at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was the highest-charting single for both singers. Their version set in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

of G. At the

APRA Music Awards of 1992 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 1992 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of awards held in 1992. The APRA Music Awards were presented by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Me ...

the song won Country Song of the Year.

Chart performance

"Way Out West" debuted at number 28 on 29 March 1992. The next week, it entered the top 10, then reached its peak of number two on 26 April, kept off the top spot by "

Under the Bridge "Under the Bridge" is a song by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and the eleventh track on their fifth studio album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the s ...

" by

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

for two weeks. It remained in the top 10 for four more weeks and the top 50 for a further three weeks.

Track listing

CD single # James Blundell and James Reyne – "Way Out West" (4:03) # James Blundell – "She Won't Let You Down" (4:05) # James Reyne – "Long Yard Rider" (2:14)

Credits

* Bass – Brett Goldsmith * Drums – Davey Porter * Guitar – Mark Punch,

Paul Gildea Paul Gildea (born November 1957) is an Australian musician, music educator and talent manager. He is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the band Icehouse. Early life Gildea was born in Coburg, Victoria Coburg is a su ...

* Harmonica – Justin Brady * Keyboards – Lee Borkman

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

Adam Brand and the Outlaws ''Adam Brand and the Outlaws'' is the thirteenth studio album by Australian recording artist Adam Brand; this one credited to Adam Brand and the Outlaws. The outlaws consists of Australian country musicians Drew McAlister, Travis Collins, Matt C ...

covered the song on the 2016 album ''

''.

References

{{Authority control 1973 singles 1973 songs 1992 singles APRA Award winners EMI Records singles James Blundell (singer) songs James Reyne songs Mushroom Records singles