On the banks of the beautiful Severn

AKA Banks of the beautiful Severn
First Published 1875
Writer/composer Sam Bagnall Roud RN23321

Music Hall Performers Sam Bagnall, JH Milburn
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Unknown gypsy singers; south-east England; 1880s		 

[From  Sprake and Palmer Sheet Music, c1875 S&P105, Personal Copy]

On the banks of the beautiful Severn
Written, Composed and Sung with great success by Sam Bagnall. 
Sung also by JH Milburn

On the banks of the beautiful Severn
One evening that's long since gone by. 
We stray'd till the clock struck eleven,
My own little Annie and I.
Her cheeks wore a blush like the roses.
Her breath like the hay newly mown,
Her eyes sparkled bright like the dew that reposes
In crystal like drops on the foliage clad thorn

On the banks of the beautiful Severn.
One evening that's long since gone by. 
We stray'd till the clock struck eleven,
My own little Annie and I.

We stray'd hand in hand together.
Our hearts beating high with true love,
We gaz'd on the stars as they twinkled.
And peep'd from their blue 'vaults above. 
She talk'd of the days of her childhood,
When gathering flow'rs o'er the lea,
And clapped her sweet hands as she nestl'd up to me.
And whisper'd my dearest "Do you love me?"

We soon reached the door of her cottage, 
Where granny was waiting to see,
The face of her own little darling.
That was dearer than life unto me.
We stood at the gate for a moment
Till granny cried, "Fiddle de dee."
She teased me, she squeezed me, and pressed me so tight,
She kiss'd me and wish'd me a very good night.

On the banks of the beautiful Severn was written and composed by Sam Bagnall and seems to have first officially been published as sheet music in 1875 by Sprake and Palmer of Islington Green, London. In 1877 the song was named in a complex copyright court case in which Sprake and Palmer claimed that William Sutton had infringed their rights by publishing the words of four songs that they owned. During the case a different publisher, William Fortey, gave evidence that he had already published the song as early as 1870. Fortey was a printer of cheap street literature and it’s likely he would have published the song as a broadside containing only the words. Fortey seems to have bought the song in exchange for “two glasses of pale ale” – which tells you something about how much value was placed on the song writers art!

Mar. 18, 1877;  The Era 

Sprake and Palmer won their case, but subsequently the song seems to have been published by Howard and Co, with the stipulation that it could be “sung in public without fee or licence”.

Dec. 16, 1877;  The Era 

The sheet music suggests the song was associated with the singing of Sam Bagnall and JH Milburn in the Halls, but contemporary reports suggest it was also sung by a wide range of other singers in the late 1870s. The tune was also arranged as a waltz which was popular with contemporary military bands.

The pioneering ethnomusicologist Laura Alexandrine Smith (1861-1902) collected the song from gypsy singers at some point in 1880s, and was told it was particularly popular amongst the gypsies of south-east England. She gave no indication that she was aware of its origin, so it was listed amongst other traditional Anglo-gypsy songs.

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