h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Dagg/Clarke version:

http://folksong.org.nz/gumboot/index.html (starts playing sound file)

The Connolly version:

http://freespace.virgin.net/martin.lewis/billy/songs/welly.htm

The weavers' version:

http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiWORKWEAV;ttWORKWEAV.html


Fred Dagg was an iconic kiwi comedic character* created in the 70s by the genius John Clarke (currently on loan to the Australians). His song "If it weren't for your gumboots, where would you be...?" would be known by just about every NZer over the age of 35.

* a little taste: http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/TheNewZealanders/11/ENZ-Resources/Standard/1/en#breadcrumbtop (video)


I just found out recently that Clarke essentially plagarised (?) the song from Billy Connolly, who in turn adapted it from a traditional Scottish workers song.

Just bookmarking the links

If there was no 'plagiarism' there would be no folk music.

Although saying that, there's a traditional musician who is quite well known in Northern Ireland (but not really well). He successfully sued Rod Stewart for claiming to write a song which he said his grandfather wrote.

When he won the case, the common feeling round here was "now we just need to find out who the grandfather stole it from!"

I was thinking the plagarism wasn't so much from the original folk song, as from the fact that Clarke took big chunks of the changes that Connolly made. But perhaps you can't plagarise something that has been created from something out of copyright.

What's a Trev?

Trev is short for Trevor. Fred Dagg's male friends all seemed to be called Trev from what I remember.

Would that be the equivalent of Bruce in Aus?

turvy


PS Hi kea (waves very hard to be seen!!)