The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #154639   Message #4125213
Posted By: Joe Offer
05-Nov-21 - 02:15 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
Subject: DT Correction: The Reedy Lagoon
The Digital Tradition is more-or-less the same as the lyrics used by Gordon Bok on his Seal Djiril's Hymn. I'm going to post the DT and Bok lyrics side-by-side, with the differences highlighted in italics.
BY THE BANKS OF THE REEDY LAGOON (DT Lyrics)

The sweet scented wattle sheds perfume around
Delighting the bird and the bee
While I lie and take rest in my fern covered nest
In the shad of the currajong tree
High up in the air I can hear the refrain
Of a butcherbird piping his tune
For the spring in her glory has come back again
To the banks of the reedy lagoon

I've carried me bluey for many a mile
Me boot are worn out at the toes
And I'm dressing this season in different style
Than what I did wear last year, God knows
My cooking utensils, I'm sorry to say
Consist of a knife and a spoon
And I've dry bread and tea in a battered Jack Shay
By the banks of the reedy lagoon
Oh where is young Frankie and how he could ride
And Johnnie the light-hearted boy?
They tell me that lately he's taken a bride
A benedict's life to enjoy
And Mac, the big Scotsman, I once heard him say
He'd wrestled the famous Muldoon
But they're all gone away and it's lonely today
By the banks of the reedy lagoon

And where is the lady I often caressed
The girl with the sad dreamy eyes?
She pillows her head on another man's breast
He tells her the very same lies
My bed she would hardly be willing to share
Where I camp by the light of the moon
But it's little I care, for I'd never keep square
By the banks of the reedy lagoon

@Australian
sung by Gordon Bok and Martyn Wyndham-Read
filename[ REEDYLAG
TUNE FILE: REEDYLAG
CLICK TO PLAY
SOF		 BY THE BANKS OF THE REEDY LAGOON (Gordon Bok)

The sweet scented wattle sheds perfume around
Delighting the bird and the bee
As I lie and take rest in my fern covered nest
In the shade of the currajong tree
High up in the air I can hear the refrain
Of a butcherbird piping his tune
For the spring in her glory has come back again
To the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

I've carried me bluey for many a mile
Me boots are worn out at the toes
And I'm dressing this season in different style
From what I did wear last year, God knows
My cooking utensils, I'm sorry to say
Consist of a knife and a spoon
And I've dry bread and tea in a battered Jack Shay
By the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

Oh where is young Frankie and how he could ride,
And Johnnie the light-hearted boy?
They tell me that lately he's taken a bride
A Benedick's life to enjoy
And Mac, the big Scotsman, I once heard him say
He'd wrestled the famous Muldoon
But they're all gone away and it's lonely today
By the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

And where is the lady I often caressed
The girl with the sad dreamy eyes?
She pillows her head on another man's breast
He tells her the very same lies
My bed she would hardly be willing to share
Where I camp by the light of the moon
But it's little I care, for I'd never keep square
By the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

Bok repeats: High up in the air...

Bok recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDW4mOnTpxo


And the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index:

Oh, and I found a rather nice recording by Czech singer Waldemar Matuška - he calls it "Tam, kde jsem jaro měl rád":

And there's a very nice recording of the song at Australian Folk Song a Day, by John Thompson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR9cXMket5M -

Performance by Martyn Wyndham-Read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fts57Rwz99o
I'm unsure of the spelling of "benedick" (from Shakespeare) and "Jack Shea." I suspect there are a variety of spellings, all correct.