Johnny Ashcroft wrote Little Boy Lost, a song that has become part of Australian folk lore.

Although the song topped the Australian charts longer than A Pub With No Beer and Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport combined, Ashcroft failed to gain the overseas recognition that was his due, because people in other countries had their own ideas on the meaning of words and how their locals should treat a story that was uniquely Australian.

Four-year-old Steven Walls became lost on the morning of Friday, February 5, 1960. Despite the efforts of thousands of people in what has become probably the best-known search in this nation’s history, he was not found until well into the following Monday.

The original Ashcroft version was delayed in the United States until American singer Jimmy Dean “covered” it.

When the original Ashcroft version finally made it to the United States it was seen as just another version of the Dean song. In fact, Cash Box said of the Ashcroft version “the Britisher debuts with an effective version of the song released by Jimmy Dean”.

Ashcroft commented to me later, with disappointment: “No mention that I was the originator and that it was number one in Australia.”

The most controversial version was that sung by Michael Holliday in England using rewrite lyrics requested by Tommy Steele. Ashcroft told Steele the rewrite stripped the believability from the song and it would not be a hit in England – “and it wasn’t”.

The first line of the Ashcroft version “in the wild New England ranges” was changed to “in the wild and distant ranges”.

The second verse originally had “the wild bush horses” but the rewrite changed the words to “saddle horses”.

Johnny Ashcroft’s “a lad of just four summers, Steven Walls that is his name” was changed to “they searched the rugged ranges, rising high above the plain”.

The verse about the delightful Guyra character Dorrie Walls included “and a mother weeps in silence as she kneels before the cross and she prays to God in heaven for her little boy lost”. The Holliday version went “as she kneels beside the bed, her tears fall on the pillow where he’d laid his little head”.

Later the “scrubby gully” becomes a “hidden valley” and the final verse gets another rewrite. The “far New England ranges” become the ludicrous “far and distant ranges”. The line “there’s a story that the townsfolk and the bushmen often tell” becomes “and at night around the campfire there’s a story people tell”.

Steven Walls, still at Guyra, sometimes feels a bit embarrassed about the trouble he caused, but I pass on Johnny Ashcroft’s thoughts as expressed to me: “I indicated to Steven that when he became the focus of the nation’s attention and his welfare was a matter of deep concern for millions, those searching for him became the coalface of that concern.

“Far from being uncomfortable about the event, he should consider that the search brought us together as a nation, reminding us of who we are and of the things in life that really mattered.

“During the search, people suddenly seemed to have a renewed sense of pride in being Australian because of the vast numbers who willingly gave of their time and expertise in that search. Most have slipped into obscurity but, like Steven, they are still there.”

lauriebarber.com;lbword@midcoast.com.au