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30 Dec 05 - 02:08 AM (#1637196) Subject: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: Swagman When i was a kid we used to sing this song but we had some variations of the lyrics, which i cant remember, these are the original lyrics. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Merry, merry king of the bush is he Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra! Gay your life must be Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Eating all the gum drops he can see Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra! Leave some there for me! Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Counting all the monkeys he can see Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra! That's not a monkey that's me Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail Gets a boo-boo in his tail Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra! Oh how life can be I was wondering if anyone else had variations on the verses and if so could the please post them. |
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30 Dec 05 - 04:52 AM (#1637219) Subject: RE: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: masato sakurai Previous threads include: Lyr Add: Frere Jacques and Kookaburra Lyr Add: Kookaburra Laughed (Aussie song) |
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30 Dec 05 - 06:44 AM (#1637245) Subject: RE: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: Wilfried Schaum At (a German) school we learned only the first verse and sang it as a round for four voices. |
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30 Dec 05 - 08:23 AM (#1637286) Subject: RE: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: Susan of DT verse 3 for Kookabuura as I learned it in the 1950s: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree With a toothache big as can be Ha, Kookaburra, ha, kookaburra Didn't save any for me I don't have your verse 3 or 4 |
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30 Dec 05 - 08:35 AM (#1637299) Subject: RE: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: freda underhill Kookaburra flies from the old gum tree Flapping his wings for all to see Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra! Flying oh so free. Kookaburra lands in the old gum tree Fluttering his wings for all to see Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra! Happy as can be! |
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30 Dec 05 - 08:39 AM (#1637304) Subject: RE: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: freda underhill ..and.. Kookaburra sits on the electric wire, Tears in his eyes and his pants on fire, Ouch Kookaburra, Ouch Kookaburra, Hot your tail must be. "Kookaburra sits on the railroad track Along comes a train and smashes him flat Poor kookaburra, poor kookaburra That's the end of that!" Kookaburra sits on the electric wire Jumping up and down with his pants on fire Scorched kookaburra, scorched kookaburra Gay your life must be." |
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30 Dec 05 - 04:51 PM (#1637616) Subject: RE: Kookabarra Sits in the old gum tree From: Swagman Thanks everyone for the input, there where some verses which i didnt recognise but i do remember singing the "electric wire" verses, as a kid. |
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27 Feb 07 - 05:35 PM (#1981189) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Katie Rogers |
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27 Feb 07 - 07:15 PM (#1981280) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Tattie Bogle For the second verse shown in the first posting, we used to sing, "Starve, Kookaburra, starve, Kookaburra, Leave some there for me." |
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28 Feb 07 - 01:32 AM (#1981479) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Rowan At primary school in Victoria in the 40s & 50s we sang only the one verse (the first verse in Swagman's original post) when in class, but we sang it as a round with four entries as also mentioned above. Out in the school yard, however, we sang it (again with only the one verse) very similar to the last verse of Freda's second posting. June Factor (?) published it in her "Cinderella dressed in yella" in the 60s, as I recall. Cheers, Rowan |
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28 Feb 07 - 11:57 AM (#1981896) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Scrump Tommy Steele recorded a song called Kookaburra, but it was different from the one here. IIRC the lyrics went something like: Kookaburra, kookaburra, why the laughing? Kookaburra, kookaburra, I can see The reason why you think you're funny Don't you dare to laugh at me. I don't know anything else about the song, I can just remember it from yonks ago (probably the 1950s). |
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03 Oct 07 - 08:24 PM (#2163233) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Trish When I learned this song, I learned the railroad tracks verse a bit differently: Kookaburra sits on the railroad track Better get off or he'll be flat Run, Kookaburra run, Kookaburra-(at this point slap both hands together to make a loud noise) Well that's the end of that (Pretend to wipe hands clean/dust off hands) I also learned the eating gumdrops verse as: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Eating all the gum drops he can see Stop, Kookaburra stop, Kookaburra Save some of those for me. |
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03 Oct 07 - 08:45 PM (#2163244) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Bee Sometime in the eighties that song made its way into the regular sing times in day care centres in Nova Scotia. Amazing, how music travels |
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04 Oct 07 - 11:47 PM (#2164143) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Allan I learnt recently that the flute riff in Men At Work's song Down Under is based on the melody line of this little ditty, specifically the second line. |
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05 Oct 07 - 12:03 AM (#2164150) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Rowan Allan, you probably learned that from watching Spick & Specks. Cheers, Rowan |
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05 Oct 07 - 01:16 AM (#2164167) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Joybell I sang a slightly different verse about the burning pants: Kookaburra sits on the telephone wire Jumping up and down with his pants on fire Help! Fireman. Help! Fireman. Put my undies out. Cheers, Joy |
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06 Oct 07 - 08:53 PM (#2165538) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,allan Spot on, Rowan |
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07 Oct 07 - 05:38 AM (#2165713) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Mr Red Folk process - thread should be above the line! |
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25 Mar 08 - 05:24 PM (#2297570) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Wickedgood Up near Boston there's a version where we included the verse about the railroad tracks and this one as well: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Watching Mickey Mouse on Channel Three Poor, Kookaburra. Poor, Kookaburra. A waste your life must be. |
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25 Mar 08 - 05:35 PM (#2297582) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Rowan Correction to June Factor (?) published it in her "Cinderella dressed in yella" in the 60s. "Cinderella dressed in yella" was edited by Ian Turner. Cheers, Rowan |
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07 Aug 08 - 02:06 AM (#2407293) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,GUEST Jon Graber When I was in the first grade, the substitute music teacher sang this song for us, with five verses. The fourth and fifth were: "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, He fell out and broke his knee! Ouch, Kookaburra! Ouch, Kookaburra-- Oh, how life must be. Kookaburra sits on a railroad track, He'd better run or he'll go smack! Run, Kookaburra! Run, Kookaburra-- *Clap!* (slower) That's the end of that. *Wiping hands.*" |
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02 Oct 08 - 12:26 PM (#2455640) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,amyeleshin CUCA BEARA SITS ON AN ELEECTRIC WIREE MERRY MERRY KINWITH HIS PANTS ON FIRE LAUGH CUCA BEARA LAUGH CUCA BEARA HOT YOUR LIFE MUST BE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA CUCA BEARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA |
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02 Oct 08 - 12:53 PM (#2455673) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Tom Bliss We sang this in choir practice as a vocal warm-up, just the first verse then into a couplet, in a minor key, presumably from another song Ah poor bird, take thy flight Far above the sorrows, of this sad night. Might have just been a fancy of our eccentric choirmaster Mr Lumb. Anyone else come across it? Tom |
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02 Oct 08 - 10:24 PM (#2456043) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Melissa If Mr Lumb had been a girl scout, he probably would have had you singing "Ah, Poor Bird" with "Rose, Rose, Rose" |
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04 Feb 10 - 04:42 PM (#2830156) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Warren Fahey Thank you to all those who have either congratulated or cursed me over the court decision on Kookaburra attacks Men At Work. For the record I SOLD Larrikin Music way back in 1988 (way before they bought Kookaburra) and, besides, if I did own it now I would not have created this case. Colin hay is a mate of mine. For those interested I have added a history of Larrikin Records - including a partial catalogue of the some 500 LPs I produced. Any help with the missing numbers and info would be appreciated. |
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04 Feb 10 - 05:53 PM (#2830215) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Gerry Warren, it would help if you let people know what you have added your history to. Any help with the missing URL would be appreciated. |
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05 Feb 10 - 08:58 AM (#2830576) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Sandra in Sydney Warren's post to ausworldfolk ================= Folks, Now that Larrikin is in the headlines I am relieved to advise that there is now a complete section on my site devoted to its history. Over the years under various record labels I have released over 500 albums of Australian music. In truth many of them should probably never have been released - there's a limited market for albums like 'The Complete Bird Life of Antarctica' or 'Nyalgodi Scotty Martin (the last of the Aboriginal songmen) etc but there is little doubting the label's cultural contribution. The section http://www.warrenfahey.com/larrikin-1.htm has a potted history of the label, a bit of philosophy, and, most importantly, a list of as many catalogue numbers as I could locate with their album title and artists. This was a nigh impossible challenge as Festival Records, when they took over the company in 1995, sent all the files (along with most of their own) to the tip. Cultural vandalism gone nuts! I would welcome any corrections to the various lists which I had to compile from internet searches and using some old catalogues I had retained. The catalogues are also up on the site and also make for interesting reading. ALSO new to the site: Smelly Old Sydney. a nostalgic waltz through the Sydney of my youth and the smells that were associated with it. http://www.warrenfahey.com/city-smells.htm Spooky New South Wales: some ghostly tales and superstitions from NSW. Additions, as always welcome. http://www.warrenfahey.com/spooky-nsw.htm Polly Waffle - a history. http://warrenfahey.com/tucker-pollywaffle.htm Convict life. this section has been greatly enhanced with some fascinating segments from first-hand accounts. http://warrenfahey.com/convict-life.htm As always my sincere appreciation to the marvellous Valda Low of Mountain Tracks who make the site travel. Enjoy. Warren Fahey |
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05 Feb 10 - 04:40 PM (#2830964) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Jim McLean Can anyone point to the melody of the Welsh folk song which is purported to be the tune used for Kookaburra? |
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09 Feb 10 - 04:46 PM (#2834449) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Rowan From the Ausfolk List LARRIKIN RECORDS AND LARRIKIN MUSIC FOUNDER SPEAKS OUT. The founder of Larrikin Records and original owner of Larrikin Music, Warren Fahey, has suggested a way of resolving the dispute over the use of Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree by Men at Work in its iconic: Land Down Under" hit. Fahey wants the copyright owners, Larrikin Music, to "gift" the song to Australia, arguing that most Australians believe they already have public domain ownership. Having remained silent during the lead-up to the now infamous court ruling on Men At Work's use of the Marion Sinclair children's composition, Kookaburra Sits On An Old Gumtree', Larrikin's founder, the cultural historian, Warren Fahey, said today he had been forced to enter the fray. "The past week has seen thousands of emails, letters to the editor, radio commentary and internet forums criticising the judgement," Fahey said. "Many of these incorrectly criticise Larrikin Records and myself as the protagonist asking, "how could someone so dedicated to Australian music do such a thing?" Warren Fahey sold Larrikin Music to Music Sales Corporation in 1988 and, in 1995; Larrikin Records was sold to Festival Music. Warren's internationally recognised folk ensemble, established in 1969, is still called The Larrikins. He comments, "The Larrikin brand has certainly been tarnished by what many see as opportunistic greed on behalf of Larrikin Music/Music Sales." The Court has ruled that Larrikin Music indeed owns the 'Kookaburra' song and that Men At Work used part of that melody in their internationally successful song 'Land Down Under'. Although many dispute this ruling it is now legally sanctioned. The point at issue here is a cultural copyright issue, says Fahey. "Like 'Happy Birthday' this song is seen as being in the Public Domain. The fact that there are so many parodies in circulation and that Australians have been singing the ditty for so long is testament to this anonymous circulation. Fahey continues, "Happy Birthday is a good comparison because it was written under similar circumstances and entered the oral tradition before being taken up by a commercial publisher. Composed by two American kindergarten teachers in 1893 as 'Good Morning To All' the original composers never claimed copyright or publishing. Even when published as sheet music in 1912 it was never claimed by composer of publisher. In 1935 a publisher named Summy Music published an arrangement, changing the title to 'Happy Birthday To You', and credited two new composers. By this time the song had really entered Public Domain. In 1990 Warner Chappell Music purchased Summy Music for $15,000,000 and has tried, unsuccessfully, to enforce its publishing right (which expires in 2011). Several Law Professors in the USA have already defended the song as Public Domain and any publishing claim unenforceable." "The above reinforces the 'Kookaburra' claim of Public Domain in Australia. Copyright is a strange beast and Public Domain even stranger. Australian musicians are rightfully angry about the decision because the creation of music is always influenced to some degree by other music. This ruling is seen as a threat to musical creativity and, to some extent, the Australian spirit of larrikinism. Warren Fahey has what he says is a solution. "Larrikin Music, as the legitimate publishers of the Marion Sinclair song, have a right to claim for its use – even if many see this Men At Work claim as inappropriate and aggressive. "As a cultural historian and one who has specialised in music I call upon Larrikin Music to 'gift' this song to the nation - which obviously already believes it has public domain ownership of it. "Larrikin Music should be entitled to collect an appropriate settlement if they see fit but then should allow the song its own life so as to ensure future young Australians can sing and perform it for generations to come, without limitation. "As an assessor for the Commonwealth Cultural Gift Program I would suggest that there might even be an attractive financial benefit to Larrikin Music from such a cultural gift. Such a gift would also been seen as an appropriate larrikin action!" Warren Fahey Cheers, Rowan |
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10 Feb 10 - 08:22 AM (#2834822) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Sandra in Sydney 2nd editorial - Sydney Morning Herald, Wed - Making the law a laughing jackass
Making the law a laughing jackassROCK music fans all over Australia are glowering over their beers, men and women alike, at last week's Federal Court ruling that the band Men at Work plagiarised the children's song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree in its iconic 1981 song Down Under. Whether they will feel like a ''chunder'' depends on the damages that Judge Peter Jacobson awards in a hearing later this month. Larrikin Music Publishing, which owns the copyright to Kookaburra, is arguing for between 40 per cent and 60 per cent of the band's earnings from its song, although it appears that legalities will allow it to claim for only six years of retrospective royalties. The similarity of the flute riff in Down Under to the melody in Kookaburra did not attract comment for some 26 years, until it was discussed in the ABC music quiz program Spicks and Specks. Then Larrikin brought its legal action, first establishing that it had acquired the copyright to Kookaburra in 1990 from the public trustee administering the estate of the composer, a Melbourne teacher named Marion Sinclair who had written it for a Girl Guides jamboree in 1934. That Kookaburra is entirely original is also debatable, as it resembles a Welsh folk song about a blackbird, but the copyright ownership is clear. The bar-room question, as at the legal bar, is whether the riff - added, in a minor key, by the flautist Greg Ham, who is not even listed among the song's composers - is a substantial part of Down Under or a minor ''tribute'' or ''reference''. The judge decided that a shorter musical reference in a Qantas commercial was not a copyright infringement, but this one was. How big a one, Justice Jacobson is yet to decide. While finding that Larrikin was entitled to recover damages, he emphasised this did not amount to ''a finding that the flute riff is a substantial part of Down Under or that it is the 'hook' of the song''. Larrikin's managing director, Norman Laurie, has called the ruling a victory for ''a small independent company'' against big recording companies. Larrikin was once that, under its founder Warren Fahey. Since he sold it in 1985, it has been a subsidiary of a much larger music publishing and copyright owner, the Music Sales Group, privately owned by the London entrepreneur Robert Wise. It got the rights to Kookaburra for $6100. Fahey for one thinks this action is just ''opportunist greed''. Larrikin deserves something like a Vegemite sandwich. |
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10 Feb 10 - 01:07 PM (#2835140) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Jim McLean I have found this melody but can't link it close atall to Kookaburra A Ei Dir Deryn Du |
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10 Feb 10 - 02:19 PM (#2835238) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: McGrath of Harlow The resemblance between "Land Down Under" and the Kookaburra Song seems pretty far-fetched to me. If it means money going to good people that's fair enough maybe - but I believe we should all be free to use any music we've ever heard in the process of creating new songs. That's been part of how music and song have always developed, and it's a sad thing if we're going to slam down the shutters now and for ever. It's a kind of death. |
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05 Aug 10 - 08:32 PM (#2959144) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Zemmie.Mirah. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree crumbling to ash, cause' he got hit by lightening in the tree stop kookaburra, stop kookaburra what a sad life it has been. |
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06 Aug 10 - 02:02 PM (#2959577) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: Crowhugger Tom Bliss, I've sung "Ah poor bird" as a choral warm-up too, but I wonder if it had another couplet--I was a guest at the time, it wasn't my regular chorus so I don't have the words available. As one who often seeks new & different, yet still effective vocal warm-ups for both my a cappella quartet and for chorus, I'd say it's pretty common for directors and warm-up personnel to put bits of this together with bits of that to address the particular needs of the singers at hand. |
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24 Oct 10 - 05:02 AM (#3014076) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,pujya kookuburra sits in the old gum tree merry merry king of the bushes he laght kookuburra laght kookuburra gay your life must be. kookuburra sits in the old gum tree eating all the gum nut he can see stop kookuburra stop kookuburra leave some their for me. |
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24 Oct 10 - 07:42 AM (#3014140) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,ArranBrownButterfly Used to sing that in the Guides as a round. You know, I remember thinking there was something vaguely familiar about the afore-mentioned flute bit when I heard the song in the 1980s, but couldn't pin it down. I ken noo. |
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03 Jan 11 - 01:24 PM (#3066349) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Mom in the US I noticed the similarity between "Land Down Under" as soon as it was released, and used to sing the Kookaburra song when I heard "Land Down Under" on the radio. Kinda startling to discover that it just recently became an issue. I can't imagine why no one said anything about it decades ago. Hmmm. Love singing all of those Kookaburra verses to my kids. They are laughing at all of the variations on the song they learned as kids. |
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23 Mar 11 - 06:35 AM (#3119621) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Elise&Aimee a.k.a. Alex. Kookaburra sits on the old train track, Train comes along and squashes him flat, Flat, Kookaburra, Flat, Kookaburra, Flat your life must be. Kookaburra sits on the Electric Wire, Jumping up and down with his pants on fire, Hot, Kookaburra, Hot, Kookaburra, Gone your life must be... |
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06 Mar 12 - 10:27 PM (#3318477) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST I love kookaburra's and find these variations offencive |
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23 Apr 12 - 12:26 AM (#3341970) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Isabella Kookaburra sits on the old gate. Getting prosecuted when he's awake. stop kookaburra ,stop kookaburra. Dont sit on that gate |
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03 Jul 17 - 11:12 PM (#3864156) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Georgia We sang this att school Kookaburra sitting with his pants on fire Merry merry king of the bush is a liar Laugh, kookaburra laugh, kookaburra Gay your life must be |
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04 Jul 17 - 05:34 PM (#3864329) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: GUEST,Ebor Fiddler The version of The Wild Colonial Boy which I sing has the line "Listening to the Kookaburra's pleasant cheerful song". Is this really some other bird I wonder? |
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05 Jul 17 - 08:12 AM (#3864429) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree From: JennieG Considering that the kookaburra's call is a territorial warning to other birds and not laughter, it could be any bird! |