| First published | 1886 |
| Lyrics | Charles Coburn | Music | Italian traditional | Roud | 13631 |
| Music Hall performers | Charles Coburn, 1880s-1930s Stanley Holloway, 1930s-1950s |
| Folk performances | Source singers Michael Leahy 1958 Canada ; Ontario Walter Pardon 1978 England Norfolk Modern Performances Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne 2019 |
Strolling so happily down Bethnal Green This gay youth you might have seen Tompkins and I, with his girl between Oh what a surprise, I praised the Conservatives frank and free Tompkins got angry so speedily All in a moment he handed to me Two lovely black eyes. Two lovely black eyes Oh what a surprise Only for telling a man he was wrong Two lovely black eyes. Next time, I argued, I though it best To give the Conservative side a rest The merits of Gladstone I freely pressed When Oh what a surprise The chap I had met was a Tory true Nothing the Liberals right could do This was my share of that argument too Two lovely black eyes. The moral you’ve caught I can hardly doubt Never on politics rave and shout Leave it to others to fight it out If you would be wise Better far, better it is to let Liberals and Tories alone you bet Unless you willing and anxious to get Two lovely black eyes.
This was written by Charles Coburn as a parody of “My Nellie’s blue eyes“a popular song by the Mohawk Minstrels/Christy Minstrels. The minstrel songsters had in turn lifted the melody from a traditional Italian song, a Venetian ballad called Vieni sul Mar (Come to the sea) a song still heard in the repertoire of many classical Italian singers.
According to Willson-Disher, Coburn spent many hours on stage perfecting the chorus, which eventually turned the song into a huge hit, playing to packed houses who loudly joined in. One summer evening in 1886, with windows and doors open for ventilation, the audience at the Trocadero sang so loudly that it interrupted the performance across Great Windmill Street at the London Pavillion, where the audience also joined in, drowning out the show they had paid to see.
Charles Coburn (1852-1945) is largely remembered for two songs, this one and The man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo. He reckoned that he sang Two lovely black eyes more than 250,000 times and that he could sing the chorus in 14 languages. He first appeared as an amateur actor in the early 1870s, becoming a full-time entertainer in December 1875 in pantomime at the Alhambra, Sandgate. In the Halls he often performed songs in character, dressed as an old man, a costermonger, a drunk et cetera according to the needs of the song. He was unusual in that he successfully performed in France – singing in French in French music halls. He actively campaigned to improve the working conditions of Music Hall Artistes and despite many periods of great success, there were times when he found it difficult to get bookings.
- Willson-Disher: Winkles and Champagne
- Mr Charles Coburn; The Era – Saturday 11 August 1900
- Baker: British Music Hall
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet music: Levy collection
- Folk performances: Mainly Norfolk
Cosmotheka in 2017 (at the lovely Bromyard Festival)
Last Updated on February 1, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: February 13, 2020
