As I mentioned in another thread concerning Eureka Stockade I found a book The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads, edited by Russel Ward published 1964. I found it in the library of the school where I teach. I have been reading through it and I came across the following;

'Percy the Poet'' whose real name was P.F. Collins composed, published and sold his own street-ballads in Sydney during the 1920s and 1930s. Some of them like Les Darcy and Phar Lap, passed into oral tradition and have been recorded in different versions as far afield as North Queensland. Learned critics have been known to carp at Percy's prosody, but none have denied his patriotism or that he was possessed by the true furor poeticus.

The book gives the words to four of his compositions; Les Darcy, Phar Lap, Why Women Rule the World, and The Power of a Banana.

The Power of a Banana

Adam and Eve in the garden sat,
They had no cause to hurry -
But something in the mind of Eve
Caused her to sigh and worry.
When she got up and walked about
As handsome as Diana;
Then Adam said to her, my dear,
Do have a ripe Banana.

Chorus
Banana, Banana,
Ripe and sweet Banana.
If your wife is cross with you,
Just give her a Banana.

They were as happy as could be,
And free from earthly care;
They were allowed to eat all fruits,
Except onbe apple rare-
But the Devil came just like a snake,
Some say like a goanna.
Then Adam ate the apple rare,
And Eve had a Banana.

A friend of mine two years ago,
Met with a lovely girl,
Her golden hair and large blue eyes,
Would facinate an Earl.
She is now his wife and happy too,
Her name it is Johanna -
She's proud of him, why so, because
He gave her a Banana.

Sure, fruit is good at any time,
'Twill make one strong and healthy,
The King, The Queen, the soldier boy,
The poor, likewise the wealthy.
There's Peaches, Pears and Passion-fruit:
When next you meet Susanna -
Don't be shy, wink your left eye,
And give her a Banana.

In the version that Con Clerkin gave to me there were other verses but I cannot recall how they went, the third verse in the book wasn't part of Con's version. The version as printed in the book scans well to the air I learned from Con. There are many small differences in the phrasing but essentially they are identical. I would be interested to hear your comments.
Fergus