Cod liver oil

AKA Dear Doctor John
Dr de Jongh
I’m a poor married man
First Published 1876
Writer/composer unknown Roud RN4221

Music Hall Performers Walter Laburnum
Folk performances Collected from the singing of: (selected from 29 instances in VWML)
Willis, Gordon Canada : Newfoundland 1929
Ives, Burl USA : New York 1938
Myrick, Jack Canada : Newfoundland 1950-51
Aylward, Michael Canada : Newfoundland 1952
Stewart, Maggie; Scotland : Kincardineshire 1954
McPhee, John; Scotland : Perthshire 1955
Kelly, Joe; Canada : Ontario 1957
Cameron, Jock; Scotland : Midlothian 1959
Byrne, Packie; N. Ireland : Co. Donegal 1964
McClafferty, Mrs. Theresa; Ireland : Co. Donegal 1969
Stewart, Shelia Scotland : Perthshire 1972

Modern performances
Great Big Sea
The Dubliners

 

Dr De Jongh's Cod Liver Oil
Sung by Walter Labernum
(From 1876 Sheet Music reproduced in Fritz Spiegel)

I'm a poor married man, wretched's my life;
Six years I've been married to a sickly young wife;
And all the day long she does nothing but sigh,
Till folks all thought she was going to die.
When a friend pf mine passing the house one fine  day.
And saw that my wife was pining away;
He very soon told her how she would get strong
By drinking the oil made by Doctor De Jongh

 Oh! Doctor De Jongh! oh! Doctor De Jongh!
 Your cod liver oil is so pure and so strong;
 I can feel very soon I'll be under the soil,
 If my wife she keeps drinking your coil liver oil

I sent for a bottle which gave her delight,
For quickly she put the contents out of sight;
I bought her a dozen, which vanished the same.
Till I thought she'd take cod liver oil on the brain. -
'Twas then that I noticed, with wonder and doubt.
My wife she was getting most wonderfully stout.
And when she got stout, of course she got strong,
'Till I own I was jealous of Doctor De John. '
 
There's my little son Harry, he's getting so fat
All day like a porpoise he rolls on the mat.
And even the cat's got a coat just like silk.
For the wife says that oil is much better than milk.
I can't get nothing cooked now, do what I like.
She's full against cooking. and is out on the strike.
And even the kettle, commencing to boil.
Always seems to be singing out "Cod liver oil."

[I cooed and we courted like two turtle doves,
But lately my wife has brought home boxing gloves; 
And if I don't keep just as quiet as a mouse,
We've a round, tis a round, I'm sent all round the house.
'Twas only last night, the servant girl grins,
Says, "Master, the Missis has brought you home twins
Two more blessed babies for which I've to toil;
I wish she'd stop drinking his cod liver oil!]*
 
'Oh! Dr De Jongh, who taught you the art,
Of selling Cod's livers to break a chap's heart?
And if you continue, I plainly can see
Cod's livers will make a short liver of me.
My house now resembles a large doctor's shop:
It is filled with your bottles from bottom to top;
And when my wife dies and goes under the soil,
On her grave-stone I'll write — "Here lies Cod Liver Oil."


* Additional verse not on sheet music, taken from a Bodleian Ballads broadsheet

Found in sheet music and song-books on both sides of the Atlantic, this song has been collected many times from singers in Canada, the USA, Ireland and Scotland, but apparently never in England. The song seems to have proved particularly popular in Newfoundland, a great centre of cod liver oil production, where it is often credited to Johnny Burke (1851-1930).

The song originates in the Halls of the mid-1870s – I still haven’t unable to unequivocally determine who wrote it, but it was definitely sung by Walter Laburnum. It praised a particular brand of cod liver oil produced by Dutch chemist Dr de Jongh – marketed from around 1850 as being a particularly pure “light brown cod liver oil”. There was something of a fad for scientific food extracts in the 1850s, a time when Liebig’s Meat Extract (later to become OXO) became particularly popular.

The great archivist of the Halls, Michael Kilgarriif, suggests a song called Cod Liver Oil performed by Walter Laburnum and written by Fred W Leigh, was published in 1870. This is likely to be an error as Fred W Leigh wasn’t born until 1870. A different song called Cod Liver Oil written by Henry S Leigh was published in 1870. The full title was Cod Liver Oil (a song of the sick room), it started “On the bleak shores” and was part of a sketch called Away For My Health – almost certainly not this song.

The song we are interested in first seems to have been published in 1876 with the full title: I’m a poor married man: Dr De Jongh’s Cod Liver Oil – unfortunately with no credited author. The sheet music cover is held by the National portrait Gallery, and a full version of the sheet music is reproduced in Fritz Spiegl’s book MuSick Notes: a medical song book.

There is a tantalising hint that the writer/composer might be our old friend Harry Linn. The first evidence I have of a song called Cod Liver Oil being sung in the Halls is in September 1874 at The new Victoria Palace and Opera house, Great Grimsby when Harry Linn made “a decided hit in his song of Cod Liver Oil” (The Era Sept 27, 1874). In March 1875 the Wishshaw Music Hall in Scotland was promising to give away 500 copies of “Harry Linn’s funny song Cod Liver Oil” (Wishaw Press 27 March 1875, p3)

The first recorded instance of Walter Laburnum singing the song is in The Era, November 1874. A slightly later (and slightly snooty!) review gives a flavour of the success that he had with it:

The Era Jan 17 1875

This report could be thought to increase the likelihood that Harry Linn was the author of Cod Liver Oil – Linn claimed authorship of The death of Livingstone, and disputed Laburnum’s right to sing it:

The Era Jan 17 1875

Of course, the assumption would have to be that if Linn did also write Cod Liver Oil, Laburnum must have bought rights to sing it – otherwise you would think Linn would mention it in the letter…

Walter Laburnum (1847-?), billed “The Royal Comic”, was known for performing both in the “Coster” and “lion comique” style. Coster songs drew on stereotypes of Cockney working class barrow trades people, whilst the lion comiques drew on stereotypes of wealthy men about town. Laburnum mocked the pretensions of his Music Hall rival George Leybourne, famous for travelling between venues in a plush carriage drawn by four white ponies, by travelling between venues on a cart drawn by four donkeys. Like other successful performers of the time, in the latter part of his career he toured with his own concert party.

The Dubliners sing it:

As the Great Big Sea did it:

Sources