Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport

The opening recitation by Harris: is similar to the first verse of a song, The Dying Stockman, collected in Australia by Banjo Paterson and published in 1905: In Harris' version, a dying Australian stockman instructs his friends to take care of his affairs after he is gone. The first of these is to watch his wallabies’ feed, then to tie his kangaroo down, since they jump around (which is the chorus). "Sport" is an Australian term of address, alluding to "good sport", which often, as in this case, praises someone for carrying out a small favour one is asking of them. The lyrics mention animals and objects associated with Australia, including cockatoos, koalas, platypuses, and didgeridoos. His last dying wish is "Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred". By the end of the song, the stockman has died and his wish has been carried out: "So we tanned his hide when he died, Clyde, and that's it hanging on the shed". ==Deleted verse==

The fourth verse caused some controversy in 1964 because of its use of the word "Abo", an offensive slang term for Aboriginal Australians. The lyrics of this verse (not found on Harris's official website) were as follows: The stockman thus emancipates his indigenous offsiders at his death because they are "of no further use" to him. Fellow Australian Horrie Dargie objected to this verse and when he released his cover version in May 1960 Dargie deliberately removed the offensive lyrics. Dargie's rendition reached No. 34 on the Kent Music Report (back-calculated) Australian singles chart. This verse did not feature in Harris's 21st-century versions of the song and, in a 2006 interview, Harris expressed regret about the racist nature of the original lyrics. ==Performances by Harris==

Many parodies, variations, and versions tailored for different countries exist of the song, and Harris performs excerpts from some of them on a 1969 live album released only in the UK called Rolf Harris Live at the Talk of the Town (EMI Columbia SCX 6313). He recorded a version with The Beatles on 18 December 1963 for the BBC programme From Us To You Say The Beatles in which each Beatle is included in the lyrics: "Don't ill-treat me pet dingo, Ringo"; "George's guitar's on the blink, I think"; "Prop me up by the wall Paul"; "Keep the hits coming on, John". In the final verse, the stockman's tanned hide is used to replace Ringo's drumheads. It was broadcast on 26 December. Harris performed the song during the Opening Ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, he removed all reference to aboriginals and explained, "It had no special overtones when it was written ... a stockman was dying and he wanted his Aboriginal helpers to be released from their employment commitments." To replace it a special verse of lyrics was written for the event; they are as follows: ==Covers==

The song has been covered by numerous artists over the years • Horrie Dargie, as a single, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" (1960) – Aus: No. 34 • Pat Boone, on the album Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport • Slim Dusty, on the album Aussie Sing Song • Ray Conniff, on the album Somewhere My Love • The Brothers Four, on the album The Big Folk Hits • The Wiggles, with Harris, on the album and video ''It's a Wiggly Wiggly World, and on the album Celebration''. (The song was removed from all digital releases of said material following Harris' conviction.) • The Beatles The song was recorded by Rolf Harris, backed by The Beatles, on 18th December 1963 at the BBC's Paris Studios, and broadcast as part of the group's "From Us To You" on the BBC Light Programme on 26th December 1963. The songs from this performance have since been released on bootlegs. The song was also referenced in the Australian horror movie Wolf Creek 2 during the torture scene. ==See also==