Novelty Time: "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" Rolf Harris (1963)

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Some of you probably remember this one from youth. Though labeled a novelty song, “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” is hardly fun or a chuckle with lines like “Tan me hide when I’m dead Fred.” Rolf Harris is an Australian relocating to the UK in 1952 where he enjoyed decades of being a popular performer and TV presenter. In 1957, he wrote “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” which became a #1 hit in Australia, New Zealand and the UK in 1960. Harris worked with producer George Martin for the version reaching US #3 in 1963. The song is about an Aussie stockman on his death bed giving final instructions to his mates like feed his wallabies and tie down his kangaroo. Controversial lines about aborigines were eliminated. That weird sound is Harris’ invention the “wobble board,” a 2x3 hard board that he “plays.” In 2000, Harris joined the Wiggles for a new version of “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” minus death references that became popular with kids. At age 84 in 2014, Harris was sentenced to prison for sexual offenses and will likely never leave. Elvis Costello did an amusing guest shot on “Frasier” in which he performs “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport.”