Sarah’s Young Man

Lyrics from Broadside in Kidson Collection
My first love was Sarah; oh, none could be fairer 
Than she was, in fact, I've ne'er seen one so fair; 
On her I got love-sick, she was a domestic, 
And liv'd at a mansion in Mecklenburgh Square. 
I ne'er shall forget her, the first time I met her, 
As she out of the house for the dinner beer ran; 
Twas love at first sight, for on the same night, 
I with joy was accepted as Sarah's young man. 

I oft got invited to tea, and delighted 
I felt at the welcome she always gave me;
While sipping our Souchong we'd talk of affection, 
And how I enjoyed the hot muffins for tea. 
The servants were Sukey, a very fat cookey, 
Jemima, the housemaid, and kitchenmaid Fan; 
As one may suppose, they all had their beaux, 
But no one was favor'd like Sarah's young man. 

Unexpected one night I call'd, when a sight 
Met my view, that I scarce could believe my eyes;
But, alas! 'twas too true, there a horse-guard in blue, 
Sat quite cosy with Sarah, who staid with surprise; 
And when I demanded a true explanation,
Of such heartless conduct, Miss Sarah began 
To laugh and grew bolder, while her great clumsy soldier 
Seiz'd hold of the collar of Sarah's young man. 

Said he cooly to me, " You're not wanted, you see,
If you'll quietly take, my advice you'll walk out. 
Said I, "If I do, by Jove! you'll go too," 
When the monster began for to knock me about!
While struggling, we both heard the voice of the master, 
The soldier with fright up the area steps ran;
While I, soon as able, crawled under the table,
A nice situation for Sarah's young man. 

Well, down came the master, but before him much faster 
Came a nasty black poodle, who scamper'd about - 
I trembled with fear, whene'er it came near, 
And dreaded its finding my hiding-place out.
My breathing I smothered, but, alas! was discovered, 
For the poodle a sniffing and barking began,
The master he lifted the cloth from the table, 
And dragged out from under it Sarah's young man. 

My feelings that moment I cannot describe them,
My looks I am sure must have been most absurd;
I glanced at my captor; then trembled and stammer'd,
Tho' trying to speak, I could not say a word. 
The master he tighten'd his hold of my collar, 
Saying, "Who and what are you? speak out if you can- 
A thief or a lover? " Said I, with a stutter, 
"No, no, no, if you please sir, I'm Sarah's young man." 

I gave to the master all due explanation, 
He then let me go and thus ended my fright;
Miss Sarah of course, she lost her situation, 
And also her soldier, which served her quite right. 
The last time we met she was full of regret, 
And said, "Oh, forgive me this once if you can;" 
But said I, " Oh, no! fools often fall 'tween two stools, 
And I'm happy I'm no longer Sarah's young man."

In 1856 Harry Widdecombe appeared in London and provincial halls performing a skit called Sarah’s Young Man, written by William E Suter. Widdecombe played the character of:

Sam Sloeleaf… A grocer’s assistant in town, who takes a days holiday to see his sweetheart and is mistaken at her master’s house for a bailiff who is expected by a lodger in the house… Exceedingly humorous.

Nottinghamshire Guardian, June 5, 1856

In the halls at that time an evenings entertainment would usually consist of several short one-act plays, interspersed with songs and possibly humorous recitations. Sarah’s young man was usually described as a farce and appeared in programmes with other plays including Hamlet! Initially the skit seem to be a vehicle for Harry Widdecombe, but other performers later took on his role. There are references to performances of the sketch as late as 1892.

References to a song of this name start a couple of years after GW Hunt published it in 1864. One possibility is that the song was written as a late addition to this very successful skit, though I can find no evidence that it was sung in such a way. The fact that the story is subtly different suggests to me that it wouldn’t really be suitable as a conclusion to the play described in the Nottinghamshire Guardian…

More likely then, is that Hunt took the name of the very successful skit, and used it as the title of a song, perhaps in order to try and exploit its popularity. It was quite common practice to use the name of a successful theatrical piece as a title for a new one, as copyright laws did not seem to cover titles.

The artist most associated with the song in the UK was William Randall who sang a series of successful comic songs in the 1860- 80s The success of the song can be measured by the fact that the porcelain ornament was designed to illustrate the story, depicting a man emerging from under the table and the rest of the characters suitably arrayed around it.

Within three years of it being published in this country , Mecklenburgh Square (in Bloomsbury, London) became Louisberg Square (in Boston) and Tony Pastor was having a hit with it in America, publishing it under his own name in 1867. It was widely printed on broadsides and in songbooks on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the late 19th century.

The song has been collected twice from traditional singers in the British Isles, and three times in North America. You can hear Asa Davis sing it here at 7:30 on Side B. I have not found any modern versions as such.