Blind Boy, The

AKA
First Published 1871
Lyrics R.Lee Music GW Moore Roud RN24512

Music Hall Performers GH Chirgwin 1880s-1919
Folk performances Source Singers
Ernie? 1960, Sussex England
unknown male, 1950 – 69, Worcestershire England
Frank Hinchcliffe, 1970, Yorkshire England
Stanley Marsden, 1972 Yorkshire England		 

I am but a poor blind boy
Still my heart is full of joy
Though I never saw the light
Or the flowers they call so bright
I can hear the sweet bird sing
And the wild bee on the wing
Bird and bee and summer wind
Sing to me because I'm blind.

They love me, yes they love me
And to me they are so kind
They love me, yes they love me.
Because I am blind.

With my fingers I can trace
Every line on Mother's face
Oft her smile upon me beams
I can see it in my dreams
Father takes me on his knee
Brothers Oh so kind to me
Sister's arms around me twinned
Kisses me because I'm blind.

This morning as in bed I lay
Mother softly came to pray
Said for me such pretty prayers
And I felt her holy tears
Falling gently down on me
And she kissed me, so you see
Every one to me is kind
And they love me for I'm blind.

It may seem strange looking back at Victorian entertainment, that the blackface minstrel troupes were far more respectable than the Halls. Queen Victoria regularly attended these entertainments in which white performers would cover their faces with burnt cork and mimic what they thought of as the comic antics of black people. Within such entertainments, as well as broad comedy there would always be a tear-jerking sad song or two. This schmaltzy number was originally written for the Moore and Burgess minstrels, though it was later adopted by GH Chirgwin a blackface comedian who performed on the Music Hall stage.

A number of folk songs were originally written for minstrel shows, and that might be a suitable subject for a different website. That said, even limiting the discussion to the scope of this site, there are a significant number of folksongs which come from the minstrels via the Halls, another famous example would be Buttercup Joe.

George H Chirgwin (1854-1924) first appeared in a minstrel troupe at the age of six years old. Blacked-up white performers were a regular feature of musical entertainment until the late 20th century. Chirgwin sported a blackface with a white diamond shape around one eye, and was promoted as “The White-eyed Kaffir”. He was known for singing in a high falsetto voice, and pun laden humour which he supplemented with a number of tear-jerking songs including this one, and My Fiddle is My Sweetheart.

The Blind Boy has been found in the repertoire of late 20th-century source singers in Yorkshire and Sussex, and it’s included in a list of “old songs” collated from the readers of a Canadian newspaper.

Sources:

GH Chirgwin sings it: