Two of Australia’s most prolific songwriters come together to collaborate for High Country Snows.
High Country Snows’ is a love story about a horsewoman and how her wild but beautiful nature could not be tamed, much like the wild horses, the brumbies. The song also tells another story, that of the slow demise of the legendary mustering in Australia’s Victorian high country by the many generations of outstanding stockman and their families who drove their cattle high into the mountains to feed their stock, as documented by the award winning films The Man from Snowy River 1 and 2.
Bill Chambers and Kevin Sullivan sat down before a show in 2020 and co-wrote this song which included inspiration from the real life High Country Horseman.
Sullivan recalled working down in the NSW Snowfields some years back as a NSW Police Officer and was asked to assist the National Parks and Wildlife Service who were issuing breaches to a group of High Country Horseman, who were mustering brumby horses and camping in the high country huts. “I remember thinking at the time, these legends of the high country had been driving their stock and mustering the wild brumbies for generations and it seemed unfair that these days were coming to an end.
Chambers and Sullivan collaborated on the lyrics and melody until “High Country Snows” came to life. The duet brings together the nomadic rawness of Chambers and the rich organic vocals of Sullivan. Having both spent extensive time in the outback and on the land, beside campfires, they wanted to recreate this simplicity with their sound, creating an earthy stripped back arrangement, utilising the swag of guitars Chambers travels with and their voices in a compelling duet that takes you into the Victorian High Country, capturing our history in this passionate love story and the untamed wild beauty of our brumbies and the land.
Sullivan’s passion for both research and the high country horseman, led him to legendary horseman, Charlie Lovick whose families over the generations have lived, worked and continue to call the Victorian High Country home. Charlie Lovick was the Master of Horse and featured as one of the mountain horseman in The Man from Snowy River movies.
