G'day,

Sian: Is I have found a friend in Jesus the hymn which contains the line:
" \He's the lily of the valley, He's the bright and shining star ..." ? I have seen this refered to (by A.L. Lloyd?) and I presumed it to be far back in the history of hymnody - until I mentioned it at a session and a ady proceeded to sing it right through! I would be interested in tracing it back to its printed sources and dating the first appearance.

Callie: Insofar as folk lore gets anything 'right' or 'wrong' ... yes. There is a place called Numeralla and it is in New South Wales, which is where the song originates. Eumeralla could be any of: a mis-spelling, an old spelling of a badly heard Aboriginal word for the area or a totally different place that doesn't make it onto my map.

Regards,

Bob Bolton