Kookaburra Song "Kookaburra Sits on the Old Gum Tree"

Kookaburra bird with gumdrop
Kookaburra bird with gumdrop

The Kookaburra Song is a children's nursery rhyme about an Australian kookaburra bird eating gumdrops. Written in 1934 by Marion Sinclair, its catchy melody and lyrics have made it popular among children. It is taught in schools and camps worldwide as a fun and easy-to-sing tune. Marion Sinclair originally titled the lyrics for this song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree, but the shorter title is used today.

Kookaburra Song 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

Save some there for me!

 

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,

Counting all the monkeys he can see.

Stop Kookaburra, Kookaburra stop.

That's not a monkey, that's me!

• Listen to the Kookaburra Song Here


Meaning of the Words in Kookaburra Song What Do the Words Mean?

Listed below are some of the words in the ' Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' which may not be familiar to some readers.

Kookaburra – The kookaburra bird is a large Australian kingfisher. It is sometimes also referred to as the Laughing Kookaburra because it makes a sound like a human laughing.

Gum Tree – This is another name for the Eucalyptus tree, which is very common in Australia.

Bush – The people of Australia refer to parts of the country outside the major cities and towns as " the bush". The phrase probably originated because there are lots of bushes and scrub when you go into the Australian country-side.

gum drop

Photo: Gum drop

Gum Drops – When some types of eucalyptus trees are damaged by insects, they ooze blood-red sap (like humans ooze blood). This sap forms large drops that harden when they dry. The dried sap globules from these trees are called gum drops. You can't eat sap. You would get sick if you did. Actually, kookaburras don't eat them either. Gum drops are also a type of candy. So in this song, it means candy.

Gay –When this song was written in 1934 , the word "gay" meant "happy and carefree". Since about 1955, the term has taken a different meaning. Today, the word refers to a homosexual person, or sometimes the word is used by the younger generation to mean "lame" or "stupid".

Monkeys – There are no wild monkeys in Australia. The closest animals that climb trees in Australia are koalas or possums. The word was probably used because it rhymed well.


Listen to the Kookaburra Song What does the Kookaburra Song Sound Like?

There are numerous versions of the Kookaburra Sitting in the Old Gum Tree. We have selected just two for you the listen to. Click on the photo-links below to hear them.


History of the Kookaburra Song Marion Sinclair Wrote the Song

The song ' Kookaburra' also known as ' Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' was written by Marion Sinclair in 1934. She titled the song Kookaburra Sits in an Old Gum Tree , but over time, it evolved into its present name.

Marion Sinclair (1896-1988) was born on 9 October 1896 in Werribee, Victoria. She was educated at home until the age of 14 and spent a lonely childhood without much contact with other children. She found comfort in playing the piano and writing her own stories and rhymes. She attended Toorak College between 1911 and 1913. In 1920 she joined Toorak College as a music and drama teacher and involved herself with the school's Girl Guides group. Marion obtained a diploma of Music from Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music in 1924.

In 1934 Marion entered her own composition Kookaburra Sits in an Old Gum Tree in a Girl Guides competition for 'a typically Australian round' (a home-grown Australian song). She won the contest. It was sung later that year at a Girl Guides jamboree held in Australia. Visiting guides and scouts liked it so much they took the catchy tune back with them. It was soon gained worldwide popularity and was translated into many languages.

Marion left Toorak College in 1943 and worked in many welfare roles, mostly with the YWCA. While not officially taking out copyright, throughout her life, Marion frequently acknowledged ownership of the song and often gave permission to others to use it. In 1987 she assigned copyright and ownership of all her private records to the Libraries Board of South Australia. Marion Sinclair died on 15 February 1988. The Libraries Board of South Australia sold the copyright to the Kookaburra song to Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd. for $6,100. Larrikin Music was bought by Music Sales Corporation in 1988.


Kookaburra Song Controversy Copyright - Was It Plagiarised?

This little Australian nursery rhyme was recently involved in a major court case. The legal episode started in 2008 when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV show Spicks & Specks asked the question, " What children's song is contained in the song Down Under? " The answer supplied was Kookaburra. Only becoming aware of the similarity when raised by the TV show, Norman Lurie, the managing director of Larrikin Music, which had acquired the copyright for the song in 1988, launched the legal action claiming copyright infringements – namely plagiarism.

On 6 July 2010, the court ruled that the flute riff in the song Down Under was indeed a copyright infringement as "Down Under reproduced a substantial part of Kookaburra". The band was ordered to pay royalties backdated to 2002 and future royalties at the rate of 5% to Larrikin Music. (It should be noted that Larrikin was acting within the law in trying to protect its copyright). Because of the negative publicity generated by the court case Larrikin Music, in 2014, changed its name to Happy as Larry.

• About the Song - Down Under by Men at Work


Is the Kookaburra Song based on an Old Welsh Folk Song?

There are claims that the tune for the Kookaburra Song actually came from a Welsh folk-song " Dacw ti yn eistedd, y 'deryn du". But recent research suggests that there are no known recordings of this Welsh tune before 1989. It has been suggested that the kookaburra tune was copied instead. Here is a YouTube clip of the Welsh song.



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