| First Published | 1894 |
| Writer/composer | Fred Gilbert | Roud | RN16734 |
| Music Hall Performers | Tom Costello |
| Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Fellows, Sid; England : Suffolk; 1960s |
Twelve months ago decent chances Prospects of success in life Thro' foolish love of ballroom dances Trouble came I met my Wife Such a noble buxom creature She in my eyes then appeared False she was though fair of feature Like to salmon I was speared. She told me her age was five and twenty Cash in the bank of course she'd plenty I like a lamb believed it all I was an M-U-G At Trinity Church I met my doom Now we live in a top back room Up to my eyes in debt for "renty" That's what she's done for me. In bridal dress with frills and flounces ‘Pon my word she did look fine Quite sixteen stone and some odd ounces Weighed then this dear wife of mine People whispered she had money (Oh what tales some folk will tell) She was simply sixteen stoney What a swindle, what a sell. When she confessed I'd scarce believe her Though at last the truth she told She hadn't got a blooming stiver She was thirty-six years old I can only grin and bear it Poor indeed in my estate She, poor gal, is forced to share it Down will drop her mortal weight.
Another comic Music Hall song popular in the 1900s that was remembered by traditional singers in the pubs of southern England in the 1960s – it appears on collector Neil Lanham’s compilation CD Lavenham, sung by Sid Fellows.
It was written and composed by Fred Gilbert and was a hit for Tom Costello, who continued to sing it on stage right up until the 1930s when he toured with his show Veteran Stars of Variety.
The sheet music cover shown here is for a version of the song re-arranged as a marche comique.
Tom Costello (1863-1943) was born and Birmingham and was a huge star in in the 1880s and 90s. He continued to perform on stage right up until the 1930s when he toured with his show Veteran Stars of Variety. One of the major historians of the Halls, MacQueen Pope was a big fan of Costello:
His songs covered every aspect of life, nothing came amiss to him, for he was a master of Music Hall. One moment he would be the fearless captain of a sinking ship, bidding the crew who had sweethearts and wives, to pull for the shore while he went down in “The Ship I Love,” and the next moment he would bring tears of laughter to his listener’s eyes with “At Trinity Church I Met My Doom.” One of his songs was sung at docksides wherever emigrants took ship to try their luck in what were then called the Colonies; it was “I’ve Made Up My Mind to Sail Away” and held the heartening promise of returning a millionaire. Another told of the sorrows of a ragged, down-and-out man to whom somebody had given a five pound note. He could not change it; everybody looked at his shabby togs, he said mourn¬fully, and thought it was a forgery. Would any woman give him a kiss for it, “For what’s the use of a five pound note to a man like me? ” …. [and] the sentimental yet, as Costello put it over, never mawkish “Comrades.”
MacQueen Pope: The Melody Lingers
Sadly he died in relative poverty in 1943.
Costello filmed in 1934:
Sources:
- VWML entry
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: Bumper Book of Music Hall
- Sheet music cover (c)Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by John Baxter | Published: September 13, 2021
