Nora Malone (Call me by phone)

AKANorah Malone
First Published1909

Writer/composerJulie McCree / Albert von TilzerRoudRN16724

Music Hall PerformersThe Hedges Brothers and Jacobson
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
McCarthy, Mikeen; Ireland : Co. Kerry; 1975/76
Modern performances
Ruby Murray, 
Nora Malone, long have I known
How you've been teasin'
When you should be pleasin' your boy, my own
When you're away, I fret and pray
Just to be hearin' a word that's endearin'
You should send me one ev'ry day

Nora Malone, call me by phone
Number one, two, three, four, main
Don't forget the number while you slumber
Open your eyes when you arise
Hear all the blarney of your Barney Carney from Killarney
Colleens are few, there's none like you
In the old town of Athlone
Mushawurra, wurra, wurra, wurra
Old Erin's isle could not make me smile
Without Nora Malone

I love to hear, Barney my dear
Weepin' and wailin' as though you were ailin'
When I'm not here,
I'll be your bride, when love decides
Now stop your cooin' and your silly wooin'
I want to hear somethin' besides

A hit in the period before the first war, this song from America’s Tin Pan Alley was incorporated into the New York production of The Yankee Girl in 1910, but in Ireland and mainland Britain it was popularised in the music halls by the Hedges Brothers and Jacobson.

The Hedges Brothers and Jacobson were a relatively short lived trio from San Francisco who were very popular in the UK during the short ragtime craze of 1911 to 1912.

Ruby sings it!

Sources:

  • VWML entry
  • Kilgarrif Sing Us
  • Lyrics and Sheet Music(US): York University Sheet Music Collections
  • VERMAZEN, B. (2013) ‘“Those Entertaining Frisco Boys”: Hedges Brothers and Jacobson’, Journal of the Society for American Music, 7(1), pp. 29–63. doi:10.1017/S1752196312000478.

Last Updated on February 16, 2022 by John Baxter | Published: February 16, 2022

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