THE DYING FETTLER

A strapping young fettler lay dying
With a shovel supporting his head
The ganger and crew round him crying
As he let go his pick-handle and said:

Ch.
Wrap me up in a tent or a fly, boys
And bury me deep down below
Where the trolleys and trains won’t molest me
To show there’s a navvy below.

There’s tea in the old battered billy-can
Place the dogs spikes out in a row
And we’ll spike to the next merry meeting
To show there’s a navvy below.

Hark, there’s the wail of a trolley
Far, far away it seems
It sounds like the inspector is coming
And hopes to see us all here.

So back to your shovels, my boy-lads
And bend your backs with a will
For this inspector has no time of judgement
But there is a navvy below.


“The Dying Fettler” was collected at Lappa Junction, N.Q., August 21, 1966. It will be readily recognised as a parody on “The Dying Stockman”.
It was sung by Vic Leonard, who in turn had learned it from Frank Stock of Koorboora, a now extinct mining centre.”
Ron Edwards, To the North – Pt 5 of The Overlander Songbook, 1966

The town of Koorboora (east of Herberton), was in an area of Tin and Wolfram (Tungsten) mining, extant from the late 1800s to maybe 1930s.   A Fettler (in this song), is someone who repairs or maintains a Railway.

***[Horace Flower, 1st published, Portland Mirror, 1885].

“The Dying Stockman”*** has collected a fair few parodies and the tune (and its variations) is, I think, very well-known, but I have included two links. One to Dave de Hugard’s singing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxZ5EARLsQ8

And one, from a more classical voice. I am not normally drawn - at all - to the use of this type of singing style in folk music, but, I suspect that is probably a Baby Boomer penchant!!   
This chap, as well as being a singer and writer, is a geologist and Australia does a pretty good line in Singing Geologists!!
So here is Robert Pyper : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INCf9_YXFYA

I might post his own song about gold mining in 1930s Meekatharra, sometime soon.


R-J