AKA | I’m not supposed to be all there |
First Published | 1924 |
Writer/composer | Harry Carlton | Roud | RN23530 |
Music Hall Performers | Ella Shields |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Wheat, Morris; Derbyshire; 1970 Griffiths, Pat; England: Buckinghamshire; 1976 Lane, Ernie; England: Gloucestershire; 1996 Modern performances Chas N Dave; |
I'm the softest guy around the town People say I'm rocky in the crown Doing odd jobs don't get folks a fortune in a hurry I've got my own ideas on that, so I should worry Just because I've never been to school I'm looked on as nothing but a fool But being wise like other folks, I found it didn't pay So I simply take no notice when they say. I'm not all there There's something missing I'm not all there So the folks declare They call me Loo by Loo by Nothing but a great big booby Point and say, 'That's where you want it, And that's just where I've got it' I know they think I'm slow But let them think, let them think - I don't care. Sometimes I run errands for the folks up at the Grange With a five-pound note they trust me, perhaps you think that strange But they never fetch a policeman when I say I've lost the change Cos I'm not supposed to be all there. Courting couples in the Park on any night you'll find If you stare they break away, for love's not always blind But they let me stand and watch them and they never seem to mind Cos I'm not supposed to be all there. Fellows kissing other fellows girls are in for it Ten to one they'll be a fight and someone will get hit But when I kiss other fellow's girls, they never mind a bit Cos I'm not supposed to be all there. All the local bookies say I'm up the chimneystack If I back a winner they give me more than my whack If I ever back a loser, they give me my money back Cos I'm not supposed to be all there. All my folks are potty just like me They've retired and live in luxury Acting soft and foolish, they beat all the wise ones hollow So their example was the only thing to follow Some folks go to work to earn their dough I earn twice as much and never go That I've been barmy since my birth I'm willing to confess But there's method in my madness none-the-less.
A hit for Ella Shields in the mid 1920s remembered by several traditional singers in the 1970s. Many, like me, will feel uncomfortable with someone making comedy about a man pretending to be “not all there” in order to advantage of people’s assumptions. On the other hand,for Shields the other aspect of her being “not all there” refers to her cross-dressing: playfully addressing the sexual threat, or perceived lack of it of a woman, dressed as a man. …
The song was written for Shields by Harry Carlton
Sources:
- Entries in the Roud Indexes at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:single[folksong-broadside-books]/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3A23530
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: Lawrence Wright’s 4th Monster Album, p16 (personal copy)
Last Updated on May 12, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: May 12, 2023