Collected from the singing of: Neal, Riley; USA : Arizona; no date Kaplan, Norman; USA : New York; no date Modern performances Oscar Brand (1950 parody), Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, George Lewis (jazz version 1950s), Slim Whitman
There once lived an Indian maid,
A shy little prairie maid,
Who sang all day a love song gay,
As on the plains she'd while away the day.
She loved a warrior bold,
This shy little maid of old,
But brave and gay he rode one day
To battle far away.
Now the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing,
The breeze is sighing, the night bird's crying,
For afar 'neath his star her brave is sleeping,
While Red Wing's weeping her heart away.
She watched for him day and night;
She lit all the campfires bright;
And under the sky each night, she would lie
And dream about his coming by and by,
But when all the braves returned,
The heart of Red Wing yearned,
For far, far away, her warrior gay
Fell bravely in the fray.
An American Tin Pan Alley song whose melody turns up in all sorts of interesting places. The melody was written by music publishing executive Kerry Mills, based on an earlier piano piece written by German composer Robert Schumann. It comes from a period when romanticised portraits of Native Americans were particularly common, another example is Hiawatha: His song to Minnehaha.
As is the case with other hits imported from America and sung on the British Music Hall stage, this song was not particularly associated with any one performer though Alexandra Dagmar and Ouida MacDermott both sang it.
The tune of this song seems to be particularly useful for parodies – it was famously used both for the wartime Music Hall hit The Moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin and for the Woody Guthrie song Union Maid (1940). A number of bawdy parodies are in circulation – one of the milder ones (from Oscar Brand) is given below:
It has also become something of a bluegrass and country standard. Here it is played by Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel:
When the moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin Red Wing [tune]
First Published
1916
Writer/composer
Edward Stanning / Thurland Chattaway
Roud
RN10558
Music Hall Performers
Lillie Soutter, Lily Lena
Folk performances
Collected from the singing of: unknown soldiers, UK, 1916-17 Cash, Claudie; USA : Virginia; 1936 unknown singer, Australia, 1940 schoolchildren; Scotland : Glasgow; 1950s Robertson, Jeannie; Scotland : Aberdeenshire; 1954 Jewell, Dickie; USA : Arkansas; 1958 Stewart, Lucy; Scotland : Aberdeenshire; 1960 schoolchildren, Scotland : Glasgow; 1960 Siders, Corbin; USA, W Virginia, 1978 Couzsins, Liam; Ireland : Co. Kerry; 1981
Sheet Music published by B Feldman and Co (1916)
You've sung of the boys in blue.
You've sung of their girls so true.
You've marched to the strain
Of the well-known refrain
Of "Who's Your Lady Friend?" and "Tipperary" too.
Our Tommies so brave and strong
Have sung every kind of song,
But what is the lay
They're singing today
As they go marching along?
When the moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin
His boots are cracking for want of blacking
And his little baggy trousers they want mending
Before we send him to the Dardanelles
Some day there will come the time
To wind up "The Watch on the Rhine"
And Tommy and Jack
Will come marching back
And take a cup for the sake of Auld Lang Syne,
But ere that happy day,
The Germans have got to pay.
When we march in
To capture Berlin,
We'll sing them this little lay
Oldham Tinkers versionAnd the moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin
His boots are cracking for t' want of blacking
And his old fusty coat is wanting mending
Until they send him to the Dardanelles
Charlie Chaplin had no sense.
He bought a fiddle for eighteen pence.
The only tune that he could play
Was Ta-ra-ra-boom-di-ay.
Charlie Chaplin, meek and mild,
Swiped a sausage from a child
When the child began to cry,
Charlie socked him in the eye
Charlie Chaplin went to France
To teach the ladies how to dance
First your heel and then your toe;
Lift up your skirts and 'round you go
Charlie Charlie Chuck Chuck Chuck
Went to bed with three white ducks.
One died. Charlie cried.
Charlie Charlie Chuck Chuck Chuck.
One, two three, a lera,
I saw my auntie Sarah
Standing at the door, a lera
Kissing Charlie Chaplin.
The chorus of this song was sung by British troops in World War 1 and it was reprised in the great 1969 film and the earlier stage musical, Oh! What a Lovely War. The chorus has been remembered and sung by traditional singers throughout the English-speaking world….
The earliest reports I can find, starting with one in the Daily News, 15 November 1915, suggest that the song was being whistled and sung by just about everyone and that it had come originally from children on the streets of London. The reports recognised the tune as belonging to an earlier Music Hall hit, Red Wing. On 28 November a story appeared in Reynolds’s Newspaper suggesting the song had been written by the 12 year-old son of a soldier, Edward Stanning, commenting:
It came along when no one was looking… it caught on right away:
The moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin
His boots are cracking for want of blacking
And his little baggy trousers they want mending
Before we send him to the Dardanelles
… All London and the provinces, as well as our soldiers in the trenches and our sailors on the sea are now gaily humming [it].… but it was not until it was in everybody’s mouth … that questions were asked as to the authorship … Miss Lily Lena, the popular comedienne ran the real author to earth.
He is Edward Stanning, a lad of 12, whose father is [fighting] in the Dardanelles… He dressed himself in his father’s old clothes and shuffled about in the style of our old friend Charlie [singing] “The moon shines bright ..”
Reynolds’ Newspaper, 28 Nov 1915.
The newspaper article goes on to suggest that Lily Lena tried to arrange for the boy to perform the song on stage at the Chiswick Empire, even gaining permission from the music copyright holders (Feldman’s) for him to do so. The article goes on to suggest that as an unlicensed child performer, Stanning was not allowed on the stage, and so as not to disappoint the boy, Lily Lena had sung the song herself whilst the boy joined in from the balcony. The article ends with the news that Feldman’s had produced a new arrangement which would be printed in a future edition of Reynolds’ Newspaper. This was all excellent publicity for the publishers and newspaper…. and the attribution of the lyrics to a named individual meant Feldman’s could claim copyright , so its difficult not to be suspicious about the truth or otherwise of the claims.
Whatever their origin, the lines quoted by Reynolds’ Newspaper are a close parody on the original chorus of Red Wing:
Now the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing, The breeze is sighing, the night bird’s crying, For afar ‘neath his star her brave is sleeping, While Red Wing’s weeping her heart away.
Whether the short ditty emerged from street children or soldiers in the trenches, it had to be tidied up before music publishers could make any money from it. This is exactly what Feldman did, adding a couple of non-descript verses to the catchy chorus.
This sheet music shown here associates the song with the performer Lillie Soutter but Feldman’s advertising initially stated it was sung by Lily Lena, before eventually suggesting it was being sung by “everybody”. Contemporary reports suggest this was not far from the truth – it was in virtually every pantomime of the 1915/16 season.
Whilst contemporary reports suggest the song emerged spontaneously out of youthful adoration (Daily News 12 Nov 1915), others felt it reflected bad feeling over his suggested lack of patriotism – Chaplin certainly felt threatened and is quoted as saying: I really thought they were coming to get me. It scared the daylights out of me
Feldman’s version sung by unknown recording artist:
The Oldham Tinkers took the chorus and added a selection of other children’s rhymes – making a far better song I think:
Collected from the singing of: Patching, Alf; England : Sussex; 1960
Sweet are vacations, they bring variations
So thought John Tomkins, a clerk
As off like a rocket went he- cash in his pocket
Released from his dull office work
He went not to seaside, nor to the Dee-side
But to a village less famed
Where he, although married, a love affair carried
On with a girl who exclaimed,
'I'll be there, love, at half-past nine
I'll be there, be it wet or fine
I'm your true love, and you are mine
So meet me down the lane to-night at half-past nine.'
Still they must be pitied, for they both omitted
To mention which end of the lane
So whilst he, 'mid showers, stood at one end for hours
She waited the other in vain
She waited till ten, then said, 'He's like all men, then
I'll meet him tomorrow instead.'
With heart down to zero, she wrote to our hero
And this was the way the note read,
'I'll be there, love, at half-past nine
I'll be there, be it wet or fine
I'm your true love, and you are mine
So meet me down the lane to-night at half-past nine.'
Now, somehow John's missis quite pined for his kisses
So thought she'd run down her John
Arrived unexpected - the note intercepted
Read it, and guessed what was on
Thought she , 'Half-past nine, love, 'll see such a shine, love
For as the clock strikes I'll strike too.'
With horse-whip she waited - met him as stated
Then walloped poor John black and blue.
'I've got here, love, by half-past nine
I've got here - don't you think it fine?
I'm your true love, but you're not mine
I'll give you meeting tarts, you wretch, at half-past nine.'
This song, with lyrics by Wal Pink and music by George Le Brunn, featured in the repertoires of both the great male impersonator Vesta Tilley and of Charles Godfrey. Its popularity was such that it was later republished as a march.
In 1960 it was collected from the singing of Alf Patching by Brian Matthews. This recording has been copied from the Vaughn Williams site:
Collected from the singing of: Webb, Percy? Modern performances Nigel Hobbins
A little girl stood on the bridge one day
Feeding the gulls in childish way,
Hearing they’d come from the far-off sea,
Said to one, “Please take a message for me
To my dear Daddy, a sailor man bold,
In his big ship on the foam.
Tell him his little girl
Does want him so and will he please hasten home."
Seagull, seagull, fly away over the sea,
Seagull, seagull, please take a message for me
If you see a big ship, sailing o’er the foam,
Tell my Daddy that his little girl
Is waiting for him at home.
[Twice]
[I have transcribed the lyrics from a contemporary recording - I am unable to access the sheet music at the moment - when/if I can, further verses may be revealed]
I found this song courtesy of a discussion thread on the Mudcat forum – thanks to all the contributors for the information given there!
Contributors to the Mudcat Forum make it clear that it is a vernacular song which was often sung in maritime families as a lullaby. It also may well be the song called Seagull that traditional singer Percy Webb sang – but all we have is a title in his list of songs, so we can’t be sure.
It was originally written by EW Rogers and Charles Collins. and performed in the Halls separately by Harry Bancroft and JW Ellison. It was immediately popular with amateur performers and there are several contemporary reports of it featuring in early 20th century amateur concerts. The only review I can find is of Bancroft singing it in Hartlepool in 1907:
The Palace, Hartlepool; The Stage; 29 August 1907
It was recorded for Edison in 1906 by Charles Pearce:
This page quotes lyrics which contain offensive language, reflecting attitudes common in the period when this song was first performed.
AKA
There was ham Gilhooly’s supper party
First Published
1888
Writer/composer
J.F.Mitchell with extra verses by EW Rogers
Roud
RN4639
Music Hall Performers
Walter Munroe
Folk performances
Collected from the singing of: Cowboys in New Mexico and shepherds in The Falklands, no date but before 1923.
GILHOOLY'S SUPPER PARTY.
Copyright, 1887, by F. Harding.
Gilhooly gave a supper to his friends a week ago;
There were guests from County Galway and from Sligo And Mayo,
The dining room was elegant with flowers and with fruit,
And Gilhooly was a dandy in his open-vested suit.
He'd everything that grew above or underneath the ground;
He had a dozen naygurs for to hand the grub around.
I never saw such etiquette as was displayed that night:
I swear that it would knock a whitehouse dinner out of sight.
There was ham and lamb, beer by the bucket and imported Cham
And you never saw such a divil of a jam as there was when we all sat down,
With forks and knives, we worked away like working for our lives,
And the boys and girls, and the fellows and their wives nearly ate up half the town
When Father Murphy started Grace our heads we had to stoop.
When Grace was over all the naygurs holler'd, "Who's for soup?"
Maloney with his knife and fork his soup began to ate,
'Till you never saw the whiskers of a man in such a state.
When Burke began to monkey with a bird's anatomee,
It flew right off the table onto Miss Mulcahey's knee,
"Have you ever been to Turkey?" says Gilhooly just for peace,
"I have not," says Miss Mulcahey,"but at present I'm in Greece!"
Bedalia Rooney ate so much we thought that she would die,
Says she, "I'm nearly bustin' but I'll take a piece of pie"
And then to cap the smilax, if she didn't may I sin,
She drank water from the bowl she should have washed her fingers in.
But taken altogether, it's a thing we won't forget,
And wait awhile, my Buckos, you've not heard the finish yet,
Gilhooly says, "You don't get suppers like this ev'ry day,
'Twill cost you just a V apiece" and faith we had to pay.
[“Naygur” is a stage-Irish version of the racist term n****r]
It’s not clear whether this song was first performed in the USA or Britain. The earliest published form I can find is in 1887 in the USA, and the first sheet music was published in the UK in 1888. It is a stage Irish song written by JF Mitchell for Walter Munroe, with additional verses by EW Rogers. The Mitchell/Munroe team were also responsible for The agricultural Irish girl.
Gilhooley’s Supper Party seems to have been taken up enthusiastically by amateur singers in the 1890s and there are multiple reports in British newspapers of it being performed in smoking concerts and on other informal occasions.
Thirty or so years after it was first performed, the chorus was collected by Charles Finger from the singing of a cowboy in New Mexico on the Upper Penasco and from a crowd of boozing shepherds in the Falkland Islands.
Collected from the singing of: Costello, Cecilia; England : Warwickshire; 1967
One night, 'twas in a thoroughfare, well known in London Town
A hansom cab came driving by, which had the windows down
It seemed to be a mystery, and went at such a pace
That people stopped and looked awhile, then, shouting out, gave chase.
Stop the cab; stop the cab, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Somebody hold the horse's head, and don't leave go
Nevertheless they had to confess, although they made a grab
They couldn't discover the mystery of a hansom cab.
Said one 'I wonder what's inside, I think it is a man'
Another fetched his opera glass, the mystery to scan
A masher standing on the curb, then gave a sudden start
And said 'Bai Jove! I'll take my oath, that cab contains a tart.'
This firm opinion soon was shared, by more than two or three
Said one, 'A man's there squeezing her, she's sitting on his knee'
Just then a fearful scream rang out, and then they heard a fall
Said one, 'He's murdering her I know, here Bobby! Dash it all'
The valiant Bobby stopped the cab, and said, 'what's the to do?
Cabby where are you driving?' Said the Cabby, 'To the Zoo'
And who's your fare? Cabby, it's a monkey, ne'er a doubt
He's nearly terrified to death, to hear his brothers shout.
Stop the cab; stop the cab, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Somebody hold the horse's head, and don't leave go
Nevertheless they had to confess, although they made a grab
There wasn't so much of a mystery in the hansom cab.
The year 1886 saw the publication of the best-selling crime novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Australian Fergus Hume. This 1888 parody was written for Irish comedian and dancer Walter Munroe by EW Rogers and AE Durandeau.
Cecilia Costello sang a fragment of this song (the chorus) to Charles Parker and Pam Bishop in 1967. The recording is available on CD: Cecilia Costello “Old Fashioned Songs” (MTCD363-4) or you can listen to it on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library site
This page quotes lyrics which contain offensive language, reflecting attitudes common in the period when this song was first performed.
Writer/composer
Fred Murray and Fred W Leigh / George Le Brunn
Roud
RN23574
Music Hall Performers
Marie Loftus
Folk performances
Collected from the singing of: Neal, Jesse; England : Gloucestershire; 1960 Lammin, Charles; England : Lincolnshire; 1967 Rowe, Cliff; England : Somerset; 1977 Modern performances: Mike Reid, The Punters, Billy Cotton
My sister Sue was always such a silly little coon
She never seemed to understand the proper way to spoon
Her young man asked her recently to sit upon his knee
When she at last consented, she behaved so bashfully.
She'd never been there before, never been there before
She felt so shy till Mr Brown
Started to bounce her up and down
Then it was all serene, it filled her with delight
She'd never been there before, but now she's going there every night.
A curate had a notion once that made him very sad
He used to think that ballet girls were everything that's bad
Said he, 'I'll go and preach to them' he meant to give them 'beans'
But didn't he feel funny when he got behind the scenes.
He'd never been there before, never been there before
He got on well with the ladies there
Some of the beauties curled his hair
Tickled him in the ribs, it filled him with delight
He'd never been there before, but now he's going there every night.
One night a burly policemen was a-strolling on his beat
And chanced to turn his lantern down an 'airy' from the street
The cook was standing on the steps, she cried, "Oh deary me
I feel so very lonely, won't you keep me company.”
He'd never been there before, never been there before
He found the cookie a regular treat
Discovered a lovely joint of meat
Cuddled the slavey's waist, squeezed it nice and tight
He'd never been there before, but now he's going there every night.
A lady friend of mine whose husband's such a stingy man
Resolved at last to work upon the good old fashioned plan
So while the beauty slept one night, she seized upon the chance
Jumped out of bed, and dived into the pockets of his pants.
She'd never been there before, never been there before
She felt so awfully pleased to see,
That Willy was snoring peacefully
Only took half-a crown and nearly died of fright
She'd never been there before, but she's going there every night.
A song collected from several traditional singers in southern England, Never been there before has also been widely sung by folk revival singers in Newfoundland. The Newfoundland version is derived from the repertoire of the renowned local poet/singer/publisher Johnny Burke, who seems to have slightly modified a number of Music Hall and Vaudeville songs and republished them under his own name, other examples are: The Trinity Cake, Cod liver oil, and Old Brown’s daughter.
The song was first sung in the Halls in 1897 by Marie Loftus, lyrics by Fred Murray and Fred W Leigh, music composed by George Le Brunn. It was the subject of a minor dispute over a different song of the same name, as shown in these letters to The Era:
Nov. 20, 1897; The Era Nov. 27, 1897; The Era
The song was revived by Billy Cotton in the early 1950s…
Here’s a recording made for the BBC for its Thirsty Work radio series in the early 1940s – for more information see Katie Howson’s excellent Unsunghistories site . The singer is probably Bill Norledge :
The wild man of Borneo has just come to town The wild man of Poplar
First Published
1890
Writer/composer
Unknown / George Le Brunn
Roud
RN2145
Music Hall Performers
The Two Macs, Tennyson and O’Gorman
Folk performances
Collected from the singing of: Neville, Alfred; England : Somerset; 1908 Hooper, Lorenzo; USA : Maine; 1941 Hawes, L.A.; USA : New Hampshire; c1941 Gallagher, Mrs. Edward; Canada : Nova Scotia; 1949 Phillips, Ben Wales : Pembrokeshire; 1952 Denley, Tom England : Gloucestershire; 1957 Ford, Mary; Canada 1963 Cook, Viola; USA : Kentucky; 1929-35 Modern performances The Corries
THE WILD MAN OF BORNEO.An Eccentric Comic Song or duet
Sung by The Two Macs.
The wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken- The Wife
The wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The daughter
The daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The child
The child of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The dog
The dog of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The tail
The tail of the dog of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The hair
The hair on the tail of the dog of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The flea
The flea on the hair on the tail of the dog of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
Spoken - The whiskers
The whiskers on the flea on the hair on the tail of the dog of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town.
The whiskers on the child of the ....
[break off in confusion]
Repeat each line four times
A cumulative song sung by traditional singers throughout the English speaking world. Its origins are on the American vaudeville stage but it was widely sung in the British Halls. I recommend singing the Poplar variant to avoid the casual racism associated with the original….
The Wild Man/Men of Borneo was a name given to the Dayak peoples of Borneo, later used to name several American circus “freak show”acts going back to the 1840s. In the 1870s American-Irish comic Pat Rooney included “The ape-like antics of the Wild Man of Borneo” in his vaudeville performances.
The song came much later and was almost certainly first performed in the USA in the late 1880s America, its only relation to the circus performers may be that it draws on the language used to advertise circuses when they arrive in a new town. It was a big hit in American vaudeville theatres, as suggested by this extract from a comic piece in a 1889 Seattle newspaper:
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 23, 1889
In the British Music Halls it was sung by two different comedy duos: The Two Macs and Tennyson and O’Gorman: according to the British sheet music both acts sang it to a musical arrangement by George Le Brunn. (The Sheet Music gives no indication of who wrote the American version of the song)
Tennyson and O’Gorman very quickly changed their version to The wild man of Poplar perhaps to distinguish themselves from that of The Two Macs. It apparently featured in the repertoire of the politician Lloyd George!
Collected from the singing of: Costello, Cecilia; England: Warwickshire: 1967
The fashion nowadays and quite the latest craze
Among the smartest people is ballooning
The Bike has lost its spell, the motorcar as well
The up-to-date sensation is ballooning
How glorious it must be thro' the skies to sail all day
And very soon each young man to his lady love will say:
Come little girl for sail with me
Up in my balloony balloon!
Come little girl for a sail with me
Round and round the moon!
No one to see us behind a cloud
Oh what a place to spoon
Up in the sky! Ever so high!
Sailing in my balloon
[twice]
The young man and the miss who long for lonely bliss
Won't go for country walks all go ballooning
And Edwin will be seen with pretty Angeline
Behind a bank of fleecy clouds ballooning
Instead of going to Europe for the honeymoon, he'll say
"To spend that happy time I know a more romantic way!"
When pater gets his pay for two weeks holiday
He'll take the family party all ballooning
If wifey doesn't care to journey in the air
She'll go down by the sea, he'll go ballooning
Then some sweet charmer will be rung up on the telephone
And thro' so why these words he'll say in such a tender tone:
Another song from the early 20th century when “free songs” became more common – previously songwriters tended to sell exclusive performance rights to a single performer. This one featured in the repertoire of a number of performers including Florrie Forde, Rosie Lloyd and Ada Jones. It was written by the alarmingly prolific AJ Mills and Bennett Scott.
In the latter part of the 20th century it was remembered by traditional singer Cecilia Costello whose repertoire featured a number of these early 20th century songs.
Collected from the singing of: Scott, Harry; England: Bedfordshire; 1950 – 69
Bless me, how the years roll away
It seems but a day or two past
Since I revelled in youth's happy day
And fancied it always would last
But old Time has been very busy with me
And with wrinkles has furrowed my brow
Tho' round me life's battle and strife I can see
I am rather too old for it now.
With a sigh my bright youth I recall
But to natures decree I must bow
I was once as nimble and gay as them all
But I'm rather too old for it now.
As a youngster I mostly was first
At cricket and games such as that
But now I should soon get the worst
If I e'er tried to handle a bat
My nerves were as strong as could be
I would always delight in a row
At dear Oxford we'd many a boisterous spree
But I'm rather too old for it now.
I was known as the gayest young spark
At courtship I never was beat
I have flirted with fair girls and dark
And Oh, the rash vows I'd repeat
The money I've squandered in dress
When I shone as a dapper young beau
Now I'm not so free with the cash I confess
For I'm rather too old for it now.
Of five noble sons I can boast
And such girls as the world never saw
I am grand-dad to quite a small host
I count them almost by the score
Their secrets to me they confide
And each childish treasure will show
And my heart warms with pride as they play at my side
For I'm not quite too old for that now.
A song written, composed and sung by comedian Charles Coburn in 1880, who performed it dressed as a septuagenarian. As the following review shows, it would have been performed as one of a series of character songs:
Apr. 11, 1880; The Era
The song seems to have remained popular well into the 1890s. In 1891 it was still being promoted as one of Chas. Sheard and Co’svery latest comic and other songs for smoking concerts and described as Charles Coburn’s favourite song.
It was collected by David Shaw from the singing of Harry Scott the 1950s.
