The Lepage Primary school in Melbourne has removed the world gay from Australia's iconic song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree", to stop children tittering when they sing it. The school's head, Garry Martin, said he did not mean to insult gay people by replacing the word "gay" in the chorus, with the word "fun". He added, "if we sing 'Gay your life must be' the kids will roll around the floor in fits of laughter,".
The song goes:-
Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,
Gay your life must be!
There are other alternative versions though:-
Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,
Eating all the gum drops he can see.
Stop Kookaburra, stop Kookaburra
Save some there for me!
Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,
Counting all the monkeys he can see.
Laugh Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra
That's not a monkey, that's me!
Kookaburra sits on the electric wire,
Jumping up and down, with his pants on fire.
Ouch, Kookaburra, ouch! Kookaburra,
Hot your tail must be!
Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail,
Gets a boo-boo in his tail.
Cry, Kookaburra, cry, Kookaburra,
Oh how life can be!