TIE ME ...WHAT? DOWN, SPORT

Apparently the old Rolf Harris many eons ago in the 60's man wrote some rather unacceptable and misinterpreted lyrics as part of his classic "Tie Me Kangaroo Down". The ABC of all organisations has reprinted these lyrics after Rolf himslef disowned them many years ago - oops, what a clanger!

"A controversial verse from Rolf Harris's "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" has resurfaced in an Australian children's songbook.

Verse four is to be found on early recordings of the song by Rolf Harris. But Rolf no longer sings the words. Instead, he repeats verse three or just skips over it. The verse reads: "Let me Abos go loose, Lew. Let me Abos go loose. They're of no further use, Lew. So let me Abos go loose."

612 ABC Brisbane's Spencer Howson (4-6pm) told his listeners: "I'm not the world's biggest advocate of political correctness, because in many ways it has gone too far. But there's no way I was going to sing that line to my child".


What astonished me was the indignace and outrage of some ABC listeners as they expressed their horror that such things could ever be said or written - such lyrics should be destroyed forever!

But wait a minute. If we delete every racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynist, phallocentric patriachal discources from our historical documents, on what basis will the aggrieved parties of the PRESENT have to complain about poor treatment in the PAST? You can't go around saying that you've been treated badly for x number of years when there is nothing to verify those archaic attitudes. What with Wilbur Smith in the Ministry of Truth re-writing the history books every semester, concerned minorities of the present will have NO BASIS for any claim of historical resentment. It's in their own best interest to keep an ongoing record of such outrages as they occur, and not to expunge them from their mental Inbox like so much spam.

Thus, as a service to future generations, I have preserved the lyrics in full, so the gentle reader may make up her / his own mind.