"Cunnamulla Fella" (sometimes written as "Cunnamulla Feller") is an Australian country song about a fictional stockman from the Queensland town of Cunnamulla that was first recorded by Slim Dusty in 1965 and has been covered by several artists. An eponymous statue was unveiled in 2005 and is a major feature of the Cunnamulla town centre.
| "Cunnamulla Fella" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Slim Dusty | |
| A-side | "A Letter From Down Under" |
| Released | 1965 |
| Recorded | 1965 |
| Genre | Country |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Stan Coster, Slim Dusty |
Background
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The song "Cunnamulla Fella" was written by the Australian country music artist Slim Dusty in collaboration with Stan Coster.[1][2] Recorded in 1965 and released in that year as the b-side to "A Letter From Down Under" (Columbia DO-4633),[3][4] The song's lyrics tell the story of a nomadic and carefree stockman who roams the vast landscapes of the Outback[2] and recall Coster's days working as a sheep-shearing "ringer" around Cunnamulla in the 1950s.[5] The song also refers to other towns in the area besides Cunnamulla such as Adavale, Augathella, Charleville, and Dirranbandi. A live version of the song was later released in 1973 on Slim Dusty's album Live At Tamworth (1973)[6] and the studio version appeared on compilation albums such as ''I'll Take Mine Country Style (1985),[7] The Very Best of Slim Dusty (1998),[8] and Pubs, Trucks & Plains (2007).[9] It was on the soundtrack of The Slim Dusty Movie (1984).[10]
Covers
edit| "Cunnamulla Feller" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Screaming Jets | ||||
| from the album Not So Dusty | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Stan Coster, Slim Dusty | |||
| The Screaming Jets singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song has been covered by the following artists:
- The Screaming Jets (1998) which reached No. 58 on the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart, on the Slim Dusty tribute album Not So Dusty, .[11]
- Lee Kernaghan on Rules of the Road (2000) and Spirit of the Bush (2007)
Eponymous statue
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In honour of the enduring legacy of "The song," the Cunnamulla Fella Statue was unveiled in 2005 by country music personalities Anne Kirkpatrick (Dusty's daughter), Jayne Kelly, and Tracy and Russell Coster.[5][12][13] That year the Cunnamulla Fella Festival was established in its honour.[14] The statue was commissioned by the Paroo Shire Council, with the intent of celebrating the unique character of the Cunnamulla region and paying homage to Slim Dusty's contribution to Australian country music.[5]
The bronze statue was created by Australian sculptor Archie St Clair, a Northern Territorian who had previously worked as a stockman. It was based on a painting by Michael Nicholas, a wildlife painter who was formerly a police officer in Cunnamulla, in response to a national competition by the local Shire of Paroo held after Dusty's death in 2003 to create a sketch of the "Cunnamulla Fella".[5]
The Cunnamulla Fella Statue depicts a larger than life sized stockman sitting on a swag. The statue is strategically positioned in Cunnamulla's town centre in Centenary Park, offering a visual representation of the song's lyrics.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Cunnamulla Fella". Monument Australia. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Gunders, Peter (26 July 2013). "A Cunnamulla fella on the Cunnamulla Fella". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Slim Dusty – A Letter From Down Under (1965, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Cunnamulla Fella (1998 Remaster)". Youtube. Universal Music Group. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d Shrimpton, James (13 November 2008). "Bronzed Aussie president over Cunnamulla". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Live At Tamworth". Slim Dusty Music. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "I'll Take Mine Country Style". Slim Dusty Music. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "The Very Best of Slim Dusty". Slim Dusty Music. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Pubs, Trucks & Plains". Slim Dusty Music. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "The Slim Dusty Movie (Movie Soundtrack)". Slim Dusty Music. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 October 1998". ARIA. Retrieved 22 October 2016 – via Imgur.com.
- ^ "Cunnamulla Fella". Tourism Queensland. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ "Bronze 'Cunnamulla Fella' pays tribute to Slim Dusty". ABC News. 15 October 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "About the Festival". Cunnamulla Fella Festival. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017.
