Origins: Banks of the Reedy Lagoon

Subject: The Famous Muldoon
From: Don Meixner
Date: 01 Jul 99 - 11:51 PM

In an Australian song that Gordon Bok sings he mentions, .

" And Mac, the big Scottsman, I once heard him say, he'd wrestled The Famous Muldoon...."

And in The Glory Road by Robert Heinlein, he mentions a character called "The Strong Muldoon".

Are they the same people? Is it coincidence? Was there a Famous Muldoon?

Don

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: Martin _Ryan
Date: 02 Jul 99 - 02:55 AM

"Muldoon, the Solid Man"?

Regards

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: The Shambles
Date: 02 Jul 99 - 02:50 PM

You must know, the FAMOUS one.

Sorry I don't know, but the late Peter Cook wrote a song about one of his characters, called 'Spotty Muldoon'?

He was "famously spotty".

Not, I suspect the one you are looking for?

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: The Shambles
Date: 02 Jul 99 - 08:42 PM

http://www.scream.demon.co.uk/pcook/dom.html.For a brief mention of said 'Spotty Muldoon'.

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: GUEST,Don Meade
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 02:11 PM

The Famous Muldoon, the wrestler was a fellow named William Muldoon, a New Yorker of the late 19th century. He won renown by winning bouts in Harry Hill's, a famous concert saloon on Houston Street. He was also a cop and later an actor. He was also a boxing trainer (John L. Sullivan was one of his trainees), a member of the NY State athletic commmission and the operator of the "Muldoon Institute," a fitness outfit that catered to celebrities. Edward Harrigan's song "Muldoon, the Solid Man" was not written about him (it was about a fictional politician), but many people thought it was.

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: Amos
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 03:57 PM

Dang, Don, the things you learn on the 'Cat! Thanks!

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: DonMeixner
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 08:14 AM

Aye, Amos ,

I have learned some considerable stuff. Now I need to know who Strong Muldoon is/was. :-), And it only took nine months.

Don

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: GUEST,georgina muldoon
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 12:36 PM

hi ma names georgina muldoon and iam looking for the song muldoon the solid man , if any one knows where i could get a copy from plaese email me as i have been looking for this song for many years as my father and gradfather (who are both dead) who where irish men used to sing this song i have the words but i would really like to listen to this song again i come from scotland its really hard to try and find. my email adress is [e-mail] thank you if some one can get intouch and lead me in the right direction

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: Ernest
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 01:56 PM

Hi Georgina,

there are several versions by Mick Moloney

here

or here

The book should contain a cd which has the song on it - but be careful, there is a cd without the book by the same name (also by Mick Moloney) that comes without the song.

Best
Ernest

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: Frank_Finn
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 09:07 PM

Georgina, I have the words and sheet music of Muldoon The Solid Man in PDF format. If you PM me , with an email address, I can send it to you. I think because you are a guest, I cannot PM you.
It's a great song that I sing quite a lot.

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: kendall
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 06:38 AM

That song is "The Reedy Lagoon". I used to sing it too, but I got it from Gordon. Nice song.

Subject: RE: The Famous Muldoon
From: GUEST,georgina muldoon
Date: 27 Jun 08 - 06:55 AM

hi frank thank you for replying my email is [e-mail]

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BANKS OF THE REEDY LAGOON
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 03:37 PM

As Kendall says, it's from this song.

THE BANKS OF THE REEDY LAGOON

The sweet scented wattle sheds perfume around,
Enticing the bird and the bee,
As I lie and take rest, in a fern-covered nest
In the shade of a Currajong tree.
High up in the air I can hear the refrain
Of the butcher bird piping his tune,
For the Spring in her glory has come back again
To the banks of the reedy lagoon.

I've carried my bluey for many a mile,
My boots are worn out at the toes,
And I'm dressing this season in different style
From what I did 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 Shea
On the banks of the reedy lagoon.

Oh where is poor Frankie (and how he could ride!)
And Johnny the kind 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 wrestled the famous Muldoon.
But they're all far away, and I'm lonely today
On the banks of the reedy lagoon.

Oh where is the lady I often caressed,
The girl with the sad dreamy eyes?
She pillows her head on another man's breast
Who tells her the very same lies!
My bed she would hardly be willing to share
Where I camp in the light of the moon!
But it's little I care, for I couldn't keep square,
On the banks of the reedy lagoon.

If you want to hear it sung to perfection, listen to Martyn Wyndham-Read singing it.


JM

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR9cXMket5M -recording by Lionel Long- (Joe Offer)

Subject: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Fergie
Date: 30 May 14 - 09:52 AM

Hi all,

For the spring in it's glory has come back again,
To the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

Was singing this song to myself (it's a beautiful morning here in Dublin) when I came to the line that goes; "a Benedict's life to enjoy" and I thought what does that mean? I consulted my copy of The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary, but alas no mention of a Benedict and no explanation in Lionel Long's -Favourite Australian Bush Songs- from which I learned the song when residing in Sydney almost forty years ago. So my question is, what does "a Benedict's life to enjoy" actually mean?

Fergus

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: GUEST,#
Date: 30 May 14 - 03:25 PM

ben·e·dict [ben-i-dikt] noun

a newly married man, especially one who has been long a bachelor.


Please note that the B in benedict should be lower case.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 May 14 - 10:51 PM

It's clearer in context:

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.

I believe this term comes from Shakespeare's 'Much Ado about Nothing,' in which Beatrice and Benedick are first at each other's throats, then are finagled into falling in love. There's a will-known line something like, "Here comes Benedick, the married man."

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 May 14 - 10:55 PM

No, it's:

DON PEDRO: In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke.

BENEDICK: The savage bull may, but if ever the sensible Benedick bear
it, pluck off the bull's horns and set them in my forehead,
and let me be vilely painted, and in such great letters as they
write "Here is good horse to hire" let them signify under my
sign "Here you may see Benedick the married man."

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: GUEST,Phil
Date: 31 May 14 - 02:34 AM

Perhaps in this context it simply means a blessed life. Being married brings with it a blessing.

Subject: ADD Version: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 May 14 - 02:57 AM

This version is almost exactly the same as that posted by John MacKenzie. Only the punctuation and capitalization is different.

THE REEDY LAGOON

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

I've carried my bluey for many a mile,
My boots are worn out at the toes,
And I'm dressing this season in different style
From what I did 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-Shea
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

Oh where is poor Frankie (and how he could ride!)
And Johnny the kindhearted 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 wrestled the famous Muldoon.
But they're all far away, and I'm lonely today
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

Oh where is the lady I often caressed,
The girl with the sad dreamy eyes?
She pillows her head on another man's breast
Who tells her the very same lies!
My bed she would hardly be willing to share
Where I camp in the light of the moon!
But it's little I care, for I couldn't keep square,
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

Source: The Penguin Australian Songbook, compiled by J.S. Manifold (Adelaide: Penguin Books Pty Ltd, 1964), pp 144-145

Notes: from the Queensland Pocket Songbook where full details of source are given.

Gee, thanks a lot for that explanation, Penguin....anybody have a copy of the Queensland Pocket Songbook so we can find out where this song comes from?

Subject: ADD Version: On the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 May 14 - 05:13 AM

& here's the earliest known version of the song, as located by Graeme Smith, a correspondent of OzCatter Mark Gregory & published by Mark on his Australian Folk Songs site

On The Banks Of The Reedy Lagoon

ON THE BANKS OF THE REEDY LAGOON

The bloom of the wattle sheds perfume around,
Enticing the bird and the bee ;
I lie at full length on the fern-covered ground
In the shade of a Kurrajong tree;
And high overhead I can hear a sweet strain
'Tis the butcher-bird singing a tune,
Spring, in her glory, has come back again
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

My swag I have carried for many a mile,
My boots are worn out at the toes;
I'm dressing, this season, in different style,
To my dress of last season, God knows:
Away, sad reflections, I mean to be gay
As I was, on that morning is June,
In a Northern bay, on the coast, far away
From the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

From over the mountain a westerly wind
Is bringing me pure oxygen;
I sigh for some salmon that's lately been tinned,
Or even the thigh of a hen.
My cooking utensils, I'm sorry to say,
Ah lacking a fork and a spoon.
I've dry bread and tea, in a battered jack shay
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

I think of poor Edgar and Willie the brave,
Together we oft sang a song;
They're wrapped in the slumber that's found in the grave
Down them In the shades of Toowong.
That dark road I'll travel some day, soon or late,
Bus if death be tardy or soon,
My probable fate I'll not contemplate
On the bank of the Reedy Lagoon.

I wonder where's Frank ? Ah, could'nt he ride
And Georgie, the kind-hearted boy;
Old Jim, I heard lately has taken a bride
A benedict's life to enjoy.
And Jack, the big Scotchman ; I once heard 'em say,
He wrestled the famous Muldoon:
They're all far away, and I'm lonely to day
On the bank of the Reedy Lagoon.

Oh, where is the woman I often caressed -
The one with the dreamy sad eye;
She rests with her head on another man's breast,
She told me, when saying "Good-bye."
She'd love me and think of me, everywhere;
The jade has forgotten me soon.
(I didn't keep square.) But it's little I care
On the bank of the Reedy Lagoon.

Notes

From the Queensland Times 14 September 1893.

J.A.C.
Redbank Plains.



Many thanks to Graeme Smith for sending me his discovery of this song. He writes:

You might be interested in an early printed version, probably the original, of The Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
Later it is sent in to Vennard for his On the Track column, in the North Queenland Register, (and other papers that ran it) in 1923, and it was republished in one of his "Bill Boyang" Bush Recitations volumes, in 1933.

An article in 1935 identifies the author of the poem as Jimmy Connors, who is described as a prolific contributer of newspaper verses, and noted as having died a couple of years before. The song has been collected a few times from oral sources, all in Queensland or NT I think. Some of the wryness of the original verses has not survived oral transmission. Current singers might like to use some of the original text.

sandra

Joe, I've emailed Hrothgar to see if he has that songbook

---

Sandra, your text appears to be the same as the one Fergie linked to below at TROVE - including the two mistakes I've underlined above in your text and corrected at Trove. I think it has to be "in June," and "are lacking."
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Hrothgar
Date: 31 May 14 - 05:42 AM

I don't think I have that book, but I'll have a look. My library is a bit chaotic at the moment (too many bloody books, and a big second-hand book sale coming up next week!!).

I haven't seen that fourth verse

I think of poor Edgar and Willie the brave,
Together we oft sang a song;
They're wrapped in the slumber that's found in the grave
Down them In the shades of Toowong.

before, but I have a suspicion that "Willie the brave" is Willie Stone, who was a jockey killed in a fall around 1890, and who is buried in Toowong cemetery in Brisbane. A couple of us, guided by the late Bob Michell, did some research on him a long time ago.

I'll see if I can pick up a likely reference for "Edgar".

Subject: ADD Version: On the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
From: Fergie
Date: 31 May 14 - 12:09 PM

Hi all,

Thank to everyone for your interest and help. Thanks to TROVE I found the the older version as published in 1893. That site and search engine is a brilliant and I've been using it this morning so search for old Bush Songs with a lot of success. I'll start a new thread to demonstrate some of what I have found.

Fergus Russell

---

ON THE BANKS OF THE REEDY LAGOON.

The bloom of the wattle sheds perfume around,
Enticing the bird and the bee ;
I lie at full length on the fern-covered ground
In the shade of a Kurrajong tree;
And high overhead I can hear a sweet strain —
'Tis the butcher-bird singing a tune,
Spring, in her glory, has come back again
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

My swag l have carried for many a mile,
My boots are worn out at the toes ;
I'm dressing, this season, in different style,
To my dress of last season, God knows!
Away, sad reflections, I mean to be gay
As I was, on that morning in June,
In a Northern bay, on the coast, far away
From the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

From over the mountain a westerly wind
Is bringing me pure oxygen ;
I sigh for some salmon that's lately been tinned,
Or even the thigh of a hen.
My cooking utensils, I'm sorry to say,
Are lacking a fork and a spoon.
I've dry bread and tea, in a battered jack-shay
On the banks of the Reedy Lagoon.

I think of poor Edgar and Willie the brave,
Together we oft sang a song ;
They're wrapped in the slumber that's found in the grave
Down there In the shades of Toowong.
That dark road I'll travel some day, soon or late,
But if death be tardy or soon,
My probable fate I'll not contemplate
On the bank of the Reedy Lagoon.

I wonder where's Frank? Ah, couldn't he ride !
And Georgie, the kind-hearted boy;
Old Jim, I heard lately has taken a bride
A benedict's life to enjoy.
And Jack, the big Scotchman ; I once heard 'em say,
He wrestled the famous Muldoon :
They're all far away, and I'm lonely to day
On the bank of the Reedy Lagoon.

Oh, where is the woman I often caressed -
The one with the dreamy sad eye;
She rests with her head on another man's breast,
She told me, when saying "Good-bye."
She'd love me and think of me, everywhere ;
The jade has forgotten me soon.
(I didn't keep square.) But it's little I care
On the bank of the Reedy Lagoon.

J.A.C
Redbank Plains.

Source: Queensland Times, Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, Thu 14 Sep 1893, page 2

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 May 14 - 10:29 PM

fergie - if you look on Mark Gregory's site you'll see over 50 songs & poems he found

I have a complete list as I'm on his email list. He has posted some finds here - check out his posts, either Mark Gregory, or Guest, Mark Gregory

I'm putting the complete list onto the Bush Music Club Blog sometime soon

Joe - I cut & pasted the poem from Mark's site & we've been corresponding about the OCR typos.

Verse 5 - I wonder where's Frank ? Ah, could'nt he ride

I noticed "ah" in verse 3, but missed "is" (oops), & had an idea I'd seen "would'nt" in the past & he knew it was common, so we left that "typo" alone.

sandra

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 31 May 14 - 10:36 PM

posts by Mark Gregory I only found one post for 'Guest, Mark Gregory'

Here he is announcing the earliest version of Click go the Shears. Origins: Click Go the Shears -

Subject: DT Correction: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 02:15 AM

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:

Reedy Lagoon, The


DESCRIPTION: "The sweet scented wattle sheds perfume around Delighting the bird and the bee, While I lie and take rest in my fern-covered nest." The rambler relaxes and thinks back on the friends and the girl he has left behind. He misses them, but cares little
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: rambling Australia separation
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Manifold-PenguinAustralianSongbook, pp. 144-145, "The Reedy Lagoon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Stewart/Keesing-FavoriteAustralianBallads, pp. 52-54, "The Reedy Lagoon" (1 text)
DT, REEDYLAG*
NOTES [106 words]: Although the author of this seems to be unknown, Manifold in his various writings is somewhat sarcastic about how it is treated as a folk song despite a lack of real evidence of traditionality. I agree that it sounds composed.
Gwenda Beed Davey and Graham Seal, A Guide to Australian Folklore, Kangaroo Press, 2003, p. 266, say of the Wattle "Folk name of the native [Australian] plant species Acacia. Wattle is a popular Australian icon, and is also favoured in folksong and popular verse for romantic and sentimental death scenes. Possibly due to this association, some people believe it is unluck to have wattle in the house. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.2
File: PASB144

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTEvEQ_xZ8I

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.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 02:45 AM

Dick Miles sent me a message saying he prefers "enticing the bird and the bee." Note that the 1893 newspaper version that Fergie posted has "enticing." Any other corrections, Dick?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Origins: The Reedy Lagoon
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 02:50 AM

the currajong tree is a fascinating tree, it stores water in its bark, so if you are thirsty you can drill a few holes and take a drop and plug the hole up.
Butcher birds. They get their name from their habit of impaling captured prey on a thorn, tree fork, or crevice. This "larder" is used to support the victim while it is being eaten, to store prey for later consumption, or to attract mates.
i do not like Gordon Boks variation of the tune. The version i learned comes from the PENGUIN BOOK OF AUSTRALIAN FOLK SONGS, Which i have mislaid, the tune i use is a version of Blow the man down,
I think enticing the bird and the bee, is better than delighting, and i believe was what was in the Penguin book,.

---

Penguin (click)

Subject: RE: Origins: Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 04:12 AM

I feel this song is best approached in an understated style, it is quite sentimental and i think by understating, stops it from being mawkish.
I love songs connected to nature and that mention birds, but the song also has an opitimstic feel despite being down on his luck, this guy is a survivor and has values other than materialism

Subject: RE: Origins: Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
From: JennieG
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 05:07 PM

Actually, Sandman - it's Kurrajong tree with a K, not currajong.

We also have a Currawong bird, not to be confused with the tree.

Subject: RE: Origins: Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 05:40 PM

Jennie, according to lyrics available on the net it was spelled with a C, So i was repeating other peoples mistakes, have you thought about contacting Gordon Bok, perhaps you should correct him too

Subject: RE: Origins: Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
From: GerryM
Date: 05 Nov 21 - 10:44 PM

Macquarie Dictionary, 3rd edition, gives both spellings (but says the "k" spelling is the more common).