Jimmy Barnes sings for Holden workers in emotional working class man tribute Shutting Down Our Town

A new single from Jimmy Barnes, written by his close mate Troy Cassar-Daley, has been inspired by the fall of the car industry in his hometown.

Emotional Australian stories are proving inspirational to our songwriters and artists with the demise of the car industry and its impact on his hometown inspiring the new single from Jimmy Barnes.

The Working Class Man’s video for his latest song Shutting Down Our Town captures the boom and the bust of the Holden factory in Elizabeth, South Australia where his family settled in the 1960s when they immigrated from Glasgow.

Barnes played a concert for broken-hearted workers when the factory sounded the final end-of-shift siren on October 20, 2017.

Jimmy Barnes performing at Adelaide Oval for the Holden Employees. Picture: meganjlloyd@holdenaustralia

Shutting Down Our Town was written by Barnes’ close mate Troy Cassar-Daley after the country star read the rocker’s memoir Working Class Boy.

A teenage Barnes worked at the factory for about four days as Cold Chisel began recording their first songs.

“It’s about Elizabeth,” Jimmy said, a town which looms large in his harrowing childhood memoir Working Class Boy.

“I changed a couple of words just because of local knowledge, but it was 99.999% Troy’s song, and he played it to me and I immediately felt the connection.”

Barnes has revisited his hometown since writing the book for the documentary of his childhood.

Not long after Cassar-Daley sent him Shutting Down Our Town, he again connected with his old hometown and felt how the people still battling there needed their story to be told.

Barnes wanted to highlight the struggle of workers in his hometown of Elizabeth. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“I drove through Elizabeth not long after I heard the song, 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,” he said.

“It’s sort of a heartland Working Class Man anthem, but Working Class Man was written by an American (Jonathan Cain).

“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. So it’s like the bookend to Working Class Man, but for me, it’s the real story.”

Adam Goodes and his mother Lisa inspired the new Paul Kelly and Dan Sultan song. Picture by Damian Shaw

Another revered songwriting treasure Paul Kelly has teamed with his longtime collaborator Dan Sultan to record a song for The Final Quarter, the documentary about Sydney Swans champion and Australian of the Year Adam Goodes’ battle against racism.

The song called Every Day My Mother’s Voice captures the close bond Goodes shares with his mother Lisa.

The film’s director Ian Darling commissioned Kelly to pen one of his classic ballads for the doco, which will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

“I’ve always loved the way Paul writes ballads and when I asked him to write a new song for Adam, I knew he would do it in his own original way. Paul saw a rough cut of the film and then a few weeks later this classic song arrived,” he said.

“Every Day My Mother’s Voice’ celebrates the deep bond between Adam and his mother Lisa. And in so doing reminds us of all mothers and children.

“Paul wrote the song specifically with Dan Sultan in mind to perform it with him, which made it even more perfect.”

Barnes’ new album My Criminal Record is out on May 31.