He saw an advertisement in the newspaper for the Banjo Patterson Writing Awards and picked up an application form from the library before a recent trip to Orange.

For Pat, the competition was never about financial gain, but the fun of being part of it.

The 77-year-old entered his song, Carry Me, Carry Me Home, as a poem for the writing competition. 

After years of experience submitting songs as poetry he realised that removing the chorus was the secret to success.

This is what he did for Carry Me, Carry Me Home.

Pat’s inspiration for the poem came from his keen interest in Australian colonial history and his knowledge of his grandfather’s experiences leaving Scotland. 

“This fellow is on his way to Van Dieman’s Land and didn’t want to leave Scotland,” he said.

Pat received $200 prize money for the bush poetry section of the competition.

He grew up on a farm in Oberon as part of a large family. 

“It was a fantastic childhood,” he recalled.

His mother, a trained pianist, encouraged him to pursue music.

It was the piano lessons she gave Pat that enabled him, at the age of 19, to put chords together on guitar.

These guitar accompaniments helped him to write lyrics and songs.

Pat’s musical career then took an interesting, and unexpected, turn. 

If you grew up with the musical likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, then you will have heard of Slim Dusty and his song ‘Duncan’.

True blue Slim Dusty fans have commented that the song doesn’t suit his usual bush ballad style.

The reason?

Pat Alexander was the creative force behind that song.

He was working on an EMI demo disc in 1980 for a song about Bob Hawke and ‘Duncan’ had been put on the flip side of the disc.

Pat sent a copy to Slim Dusty Enterprises.

It was Dusty’s wife, Joy, who heard the song first, and she encouraged her husband to take it on despite his initial reservations.

Dusty recorded the song and the second take was pressed by EMI.

The company then released it to radio presenter John Laws in October, 1980.

Mr Laws was seemingly taken by the song; he played it 11 times on the first morning. 

To this day, Pat is surprised that the song, which was number one in Australia for two weeks during 1980, achieved such fame.

“It’s amazing Slim Dusty recorded it,” he said. 

“‘Duncan’ is not a bush ballad.”

Pat has tried his hand at getting more songs recorded, but hasn’t had any luck, despite submitting them wherever he could.

As he says: “They don’t seem to fit into a box at all.” 

Pat and his wife moved from Wagga Wagga to Bathurst, where he is living out his golden years. 

Music is still a huge part of Pat’s life and he continues to write songs and poems.

“I write them all the time, not seriously, but I do it all the time,” he said.

Aside from his writing, he still plays the guitar and is a member of the Macquarie Male Singers, which he describes as a “good hobby”.

The group has been around for about 10 years and meets once a week in Bathurst.

Over the years Pat has discovered that his voice harmonises well, but is not designed for a solo career, which is why he enjoys being part of the Macquarie Male Singers. 

The group is available to perform covers of old classics, generally at retirement villages and church halls, so keep an ear out and you may get to experience Pat’s talent for yourself.