AKA | Ours is a nice house |
First Published | 1921 |
Writer/composer | Herbert Rule & Fred Holt | Roud | RN23308 |
Music Hall Performers | Alfred Lester |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Smith, Bill ; England : Shropshire ; 1982 |
Ours is a nice house, ours is
Written and composed by Herbert Rule & Fred Holt
(from Australian sheet music)
Of all the houses in the world
There isn't one like ours is;
The landlord never grouses,
We've got no windows in the house,
It's healthy, let's the air in,
It also lets the foul air out
When father he starts swearing.
Ours is a nice house ours is
What a nice little house ours is
The roof's on the top of this pretty little shack
The front's at the front and the back's at the back
Ours is a nice house ours is.
We've got no rats nor mouses
Its cheap, cheap, cheap, sweet, sweet, sweet
Ours is a nice house ours is.
[twice]
Of all the gardens in the world
There isn't one like ours is;
Salmon tins are growing there
And other pretty flow'rsies.
Broken bottles, hobnail boots,
You bet and put your bobs on
People grow ears of corn,
We grow thick ears with knobs on.
Of all the fathers in the world
There isn't one like ours is;
Some desp'rate people hold up banks,
He holds up public houses,
We fiddle for a living and
The police have their suspicions,
But though we keep on fiddling we
Are none of us musicians.
A song from the 1920s first made famous by Alfred Lester.
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%3A23308
- Bill Smith, A country life: Songs and stories of a Shropshire man (MTCD351),
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics from Australian sheet music: TROVE
- Sheet Music cover: Victoria and Albert Museum
Last Updated on December 18, 2024 by John Baxter | Published: December 18, 2024