Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 26 Apr 05 - 02:09 AM

Hmmm...

We don't seem to be getting any nearer the parody version sought by duellingbouzoukis ...

It just struck me that I much regret not chasing up, at the time, a good parody of Botany Bay - heard way back when The Selectors, a band I played with back in the '80s and '90s did a gig for North Sydney Temple Emmanuel (liberal Jewish) ... presumably arranged with our Guitarist Eric ... by his Dad.

In one of our breaks, we were summoned back to the stage to accompany Eric's Dad and a friend doing their parody Singing Tooraly, Ooraly Lie Oy Vey! - and very funny it was, too. I obviously allowed too much of a "purist" streak to stand in the way of chasing up a copy - and now regret it!

Just a few more thoughts on a much-parodied song.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 22 Apr 05 - 03:35 AM

G'day Nutty,

Quite a lot of 'sets of words' - either poems or songs (broadside ballads / early 'music hall' / &c) exist from the late 18th / early 19th centuries on the general subject of "Botany Bay", which persisted in the British mind as the destination for transported convicts - despite the fact that only the "First Fleet" went there ... rejected it immediately and headed north to Sydney Cove, which became the first point of arrival for most later transport ships.

The only song of this group that seems to have come down from that period as a 'folk song' is Farewell to You Judges & Juries. More rural (usually poaching-related) songs of the Van Diemens Land group do seem to have persisted, but the "Botany Bay" theme was revived, well post-transportation, in the 1880 musical play "Little Jack Shepherd" - from which we have the rather jolly Botany Bay.

Its 'music Hall' feel is obvious and this makes it all the easier for it to be parodied by forces and similar groups. I'm sure that is the background of duellingbouzoukis's Dad's song ... and that's why I don't think we will see those specific words - unless someone finds them in the specific histories of the particular group from which that parody came.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)
From: GUEST,nutty
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 11:28 AM

There is a different set of words on this Bodleian Broadside

Printed by W. Armstrong of Liverpool between 1800 and 1824

BOTANY BAY

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 02:31 AM

G'day duellingbouzoukis,

The specific version you seek doesn't seem to be ringing any bells out here. The version you link seems like a forces 'rewrite' ... as must have happened to any popular song ... separately - in almost every arm and unit of the forces in wartime. (Admittedly, this one sticks closer to the 1880s original ... in fact it sounds more like an entertainment group / concert party version than a bunch of rough nuts in the wet canteen.)

BTW: I can't easily fit the linked words to the Villikins tune ... presumably the one you seek has been bent a bit to suit the different tune.

Can you give any idea of the background from which your dad would have learned his version of the song? (Forces / industry / construction / &c) ... ?

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)
From: Chris Green
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 08:03 AM

I will refresh zis only wance!

Subject: Lyr Req: Botany Bay (not the ones in DT)
From: Chris Green
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:33 PM

Hi all

My dad used to sing a song called "Botany Bay" with a chorus sort of like this one here , but the verses were different, and fitted the tune for the verses to Villikins and his Dinah. It wasn't any of the ones I can find in the DT or any of the related threads, so does anyone know any other versions? I can't remember any of the lyrics for the verses, unfortunately, as I was about five the last time I heard him sing it, and I can't ask him because he shuffled off the mortal coil four years ago. Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers

Chris

PS - On reflection, it's entirely possible that he may have written it himself - in which case I may have to undergo hypnotherapy to drag it out of my sublim!

PPS - ...or take up spiritualism. :-)