( Away in Australia's history there's a story called
The Dog On The Tucker Box ..
But this is how I heard it went from very old
souls when I was very young )
There was an old man and his faithful dog
They lived together in a old mostly bark and tin hut~
Away out along the highway road
Just this old man and his mutt~
They lived out there from always
Or so it seemed to most~
An old man and his dog in an old hut
That was on one side held up by a post~
Now this old man had once been wed
Or so the true story went~
But one day his wife received her gods instructions
And to heaven she was sent~
He had once a family as well
A son and two daughters sweet~
But life went on and they all grew
And I guess they got itchy feet~
A heart attack was then next for him
His trusty old dog stayed right there by his side~
And he d known most of life's woes its so
But took it all within his stride~
They said he d worked out along the highway road
To earn his daily bread~
And I guess age and illness
Put this old man into bed~
His old dog still stuck by him
And never left his masters side~
And this old man wasn't one for excepting help
They say he had far too much pride~
One day a then traveling salesman of the day
Noticed this old man had not been around for awhile~
And thought he d wander out and have a look
Away out along that country mile~
But when he got close to the hut
The old mans dog barked like mad~
And the very sight that this salesman seen next
They say made the whole town feel so very sad~
There was the old man dead upon his floor
And his trusty dog right there by his side~
That old dog had almost starved to death
But like his master took it all in his stride~
That old dog would not let the salesman near
His old mate of all his life~
And the old man had that dog since when
Way back when he d lost his wife~
Well they had to shoot that poor old dog
So they could get then to his old mate~
and everyone was feeling oh so bad
That they d left the visit way too late~
They then put that old man to rest
Up on that slopey hill beneath the sky~
And eventually built a monument to that dog
Nine miles from Gundagai~.
Written By Terrence Michael Sutton
copyright 1967.