Allan Cameron on being worn in and ‘Worn Out’

Allan Cameron is a solo artist, songwriter and guitarist who was a founding member of SaltbushSix, Keith Urban’s first backing band. He has been releasing music independently for several years, and his latest single is ‘Worn Out (Australian Made)’, an anthem that is fundamentally about resilience – and worn in rather than worn out, as Cameron says in this new interview.The song grew from a period of genuine questioning. After grappling with the demands of being an independent artist in the streaming era, Cameron found himself asking whether he wanted to keep going. ‘I asked myself, can I keep doing this?,’ he says. ‘Do I want to keep doing this? And the short answer – the long answer – was yes.’The process of getting to that yes became the song. Its central turn of phrase, ‘I’m not worn out, I’m worn in’, highlights the power of a single word to change meaning.The song went through many drafts, filling pages of Cameron’s lyric book, before arriving at its final form, which is also a celebration of Australian identity. Part of reason for that comes from Cameron’s own recent discoveries about his ancestry, learning that his grandmother was of indigenous heritage, adding that thread to a lineage that also includes Scottish and English roots. The first drafts of the song engaged more directly with this personal history before Cameron broadened its scopt to speak to Australians generally. ‘This land is the same, we’re all here to dream, we are Australian made’ is where he landed.Beyond the new single, Cameron has been releasing music that includes last year’s instrumental, ‘Waxing and Waning’; recorded in open G tuning, it found its way onto playlists around the world. ‘Grandfather’s Guitar’ paid tribute to the instrument that first sparked Cameron’s musical life – and his collection of guitars, which now runs to just over forty instruments. This section of the chat is mainly for guitar aficionados, but I do like to throw in the technical questions when I can!Cameron plays regular cover gigs around Brisbane and Queensland, and has another single planned for later in the year.‘Worn Out (Australian Made)’ is out now.Listen to Allan Cameron on Apple MusicListen to Allan Cameron on SpotifyListen to Allan Cameron on YouTubeFor more Sunburnt Country Music:InstagramFacebook YouTubewebsite Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.