Holy Dan

DESCRIPTION: "It was in the Queensland drought"; there is no water or grass. Bullock drivers watch their animals die. Most curse, but Holy Dan refuses to blaspheme as animal after animal dies. Finally, with one bull left, he swears -- and is drowned by a burst of rain
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Beatty)
KEYWORDS: animal death flood curse humorous
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Ward-PenguinBookOfAustralianBallads, pp. 133-134, "Holy Dan" (1 text)
Stewart/Keesing-FavoriteAustralianBallads, pp. 83-84, "Holy Dan" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Bill Beatty, _A Treasury of Australian Folk Tales & Traditions_, 1960 (I use the 1969 Walkabout Paperbacks edition), pp. 304-305, "Holy Dan" (1 text)
Davey/Seal: Gwenda Beed Davey and Graham Seal, _A Guide to Australian Folklore_, Kangaroo Press, 2003, p. 154, "Holy Dan" (partial text)
NOTES [25 words]: This is a very popular Australian piece, recorded by Slim Dusty but with words anonymous. I have seen no evidence that it has entered tradition. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.5
File: Bea0304

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