Town with No Cheer (2015)

Serviceton is a small town in Victoria, Australia, located near the Victorian-South Australian border, 437 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

Faster trains, increased road haulage and decreased passenger numbers saw the railway refreshment rooms close in 1981, and the brick station with its 300 yard platform was closed in 1986.

The town is the subject of a Tom Waits song entitled "Town With No Cheer" from his album Swordfishtrombones. The song takes inspiration from the Aussie drinking song "The Pub with No Beer" by Slim Dusty.

“When my wife heard that for the first time she said: "Oh gee, you must have loved her very much." So I said: "Wait a minute. This is not a love song. This is about a guy who can't get a drink!" It's about a miserable old town in Australia that made the news when they shut down the only watering hole." - Tom Waits