Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree
1932 
Australia 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 gumdrops 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 no monkey, that's me!
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 gumdrops 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 no monkey, that's me!
History and Meaning
Australian music teacher Marion Sinclair wrote \"Kookaburra\" in 1932 for a Girl Guides jamboree competition in Victoria. The cheerful round highlights the laughing call of the kookaburra, a kingfisher native to Australia.
The song spread worldwide through scouting camps and school music books, often sung as a two-part or four-part round to mimic overlapping bird calls.