AKA | Find the military man who’s really worthy of the name |
First Published | 1906 |
Writer/composer | FW Leigh / Kenneth Lyle | Roud | RNV26370 |
Music Hall Performers | Vesta Tilley |
Folk performances | none? |
Find the military man who's really worthy of the name He's never behind hand when duty's to be done He's the fellow you can trust to try And win the game whatever the prize waiting to be won By Jingo don't the girls know that as well as I do? Isn't the fact made plain every day When you see them strolling by a soldiers side Who could ever be more proud than they? Jolly good luck to the girl that loves a soldier Girls - have you been there? You know we military men Always do our duty everywhere Jolly good luck to the girl that loves a soldier Real good boys are we Girls - if you'd like to love a soldier you can all love me. Don't you think I'm a hero from the wars, because I'm not But nevertheless I've faced powder don't you see I've been in some engagements, too, And some were duced hot, for one of the girls, nearly captured me Great Scott! When I reflect how nearly I was done For. well I could call myself horrible names It would have been most unfair to marry one For some other girl had equal claims. Girls, I want to advise you will you please attend to me? When choosing a sweetheart, pray choose the proper sort Don't you have anything to do? With men who sail the sea, they're regular flirts! Wives in every port You'll never find a soldier act in such a way I think to be hard on him's nothing but cheek Perhaps you won't believe what I'm about to say I was true to one girl all last week.
Vesta Tilley sang this one dressed as a soldier and directed the words to the young women in her audience. Like many performers in the halls, she enthusiastically supported World War I, sometimes in ways that feel uncomfortable today. During the war she was often referred to as “Britain’s best recruiting sergeant” and legend has it that at one performance so many young men signed up that they talked forming a “Vesta Tilley Brigade”. The lyrics were written by the prolific Fred W Leigh.
At the centenary of the war, Bella Hardy recorded an introspective response to the original, check it out below…
Vesta sings it:
A modern response:
Sources:
- Entries in the Roud Indexes at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:single[folksong-broadside-books]/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3AV26370
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: Bumper Book of Music Hall (EMI)
- John Mullen: The Show Must Go On
Last Updated on May 23, 2021 by John Baxter | Published: May 21, 2021