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"Shutting Down Our Town"
Single by Jimmy Barnes
from the album My Criminal Record
Released	26 April 2019 (2019-04-26)
Length	4:44
Label	BloodLines
Songwriter(s)	Troy Cassar-Daley
Jimmy Barnes singles chronology
"My Criminal Record" (2019) "Shutting Down Our Town" (2019) "I Won't Let You Down" (2019)

"Shutting Down Our Town" is a song by Australian rock musician, Jimmy Barnes. It was released on 26 April 2019 as the second single from Barnes' studio album My Criminal Record.

In the week after its release, the song was the second most added song on radio, behind "Me!" by Taylor Swift.

At the APRA Music Awards of 2020, "Shutting Down Our Town" won the Most Performed Rock Work of the Year.

Background and release

Troy Cassar-Daley wrote "Shutting Down Our Town" for Barnes after finding inspiration from the Barnes' 2016 memoir Working Class Boy. Barnes said "I changed a couple of words just because of local knowledge, but it was 99.999% Troy's song” adding "...he played it to me and I immediately felt the connection." Barnes said "This song has a lot of personal meaning. It's about growing up in Elizabeth and the closing down of the Holden factory where I once worked as a young working class boy in North Adelaide" adding "I drove through there not long after I heard the song for the first time, 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." Barnes admits the song moved him to tears.

"It's sort of a heartland "Working Class Man" anthem... 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."

Barnes premiered the song in November 2018 during his One Electric Day concert and was officially released on 26 April 2019.

Music video

The music video for "Shutting Down Our Town" was released on 6 May 2019.

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "MOST ADDED TO RADIO". The Music Network. April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
2. "Tones and I Leads Nominations for 2020 Virtual APRA Awards". Noise11. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
3. "2020 Awards". APRA. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
4. Cooper, Nathanael (25 May 2020). "Tones and I, Hilltop Hoods dominate 2020 APRA Music Awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
5. "SOTD: Jimmy Barnes unveils hometown single penned by Troy Cassar-Daley". the music network. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
6. "The Story Behind The New Song From Jimmy Barnes". Triple M. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
7. "The Story Behind The New Song From Jimmy Barnes". 92.5 Gold FM. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
8. "JIMMY BARNES RELEASES NEW SINGLE 'SHUTTING DOWN OUR TOWN'". Mushroom Promotions. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
9. "Jimmy Barnes Introduces Two New Songs at One Electric Day". noise11. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
10. "New Jimmy Barnes 'Shutting Down Our Town' Is About Elizabeth, South Australia #Listen". noise11. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
11. "Jimmy Barnes – Shutting Down Our Town (Official Video)". YouTube. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
12. "JIMMY BARNES HAS RELEASED A FILM CLIP FOR HIS NEW SONG ABOUT ELIZABETH". Five AA. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
13. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
14. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 April 2024.

• 2018 songs
• 2019 singles
• Jimmy Barnes songs
• APRA Award winners
• Songs written by Jimmy Barnes