Black sheep of the family, The

This song reflects racist, misogynist and colonial ideas that were commonplace at the time but are no longer acceptable today.

AKA	The scapegrace of the family
First published	1909

Lyrics

Fred Barnes

Music

Fred Barnes

Roud

RN5180

 
 It’s a queer, queer world that we live in, 
 And Dame Fortune plays a funny game
 Some get all sunshine, 
 Others get the shade
  
 I don’t know why, 
 But since I was born
 A scapegrace I have been
 Ever since I was a tiny kid at school 
 A name has stuck to me
  
  I’m the black, black sheep of the family
 Everybody runs me down 
 People shake their heads at me 
 Say I’m a disgrace to society
  
 But I’ll try my luck in the colonies
 There I’ll rise or fall 
 And when I come back 
 The sheep that was black 
 Will perhaps be the whitest of them all
  
 Fred Jordan sings:
  
 For as immortal Shakespeare says, this world is but a stage
 And every man must play his part from childhood to the grave
 But when I think of days gone by, how I have been the tool
 Of rogues and knaves and I think that my part, I played the fool
  
 (For I’m) the black, black sheep of my family
 Everybody runs me down 
 People shake their heads at me 
 Say: there goes the black sheep of society
  
 But I’ll try my luck in the colonies
 There I will either rise or fall 
 And when I comes back 
 The sheep that was black 
 Will be the whitest of them all
  
 So don’t be angry with me, dad; don’t turn me from the door
 I know that I’ve been wayward, but I won’t be any more
 just give to me one other chance and put me to the test
 And you’ll find the black sheep loves his dad far better than the rest
   

Frederick Jester Barnes (1885-1938), son of a Birmingham butcher, was the original singer of Give me the Moonlight and On Mother Kelly’s Doorstep. The song which rapidly propelled him to fame was The Black Sheep of the Family which he started singing in 1907.

Fred was a flamboyant character and was as close to being an out gay man as was possible at the time (homosexuality was, of course, illegal). The song clearly expresses something of his experience as a gay man.

Unfortunately his life was dogged with tragedy: in 1913 his father apparently was turned away at the stage door when he arrived with a meat axe to kill his son. Tragically, instead his father went home and killed himself. Like many music hall artistes he was an extremely heavy drinker, though in his case it’s hard not to see it as a reflection of the difficulties of being openly gay.

Shropshire traditional singer, Fred Jordan (1922-2002) was recorded singing this song by Dave Bryant in 1978 or 79, it appears on the CD A Shropshire Lad, Veteran VTD148CD. Fred was a well-known figure in traditional singing circles and appeared regularly at folk festivals in the 60s, 70s and 80s. He learnt his songs from his parents fellow workers and gypsies who visited the local pub singalong on a Saturday night. It’s difficult to know whether Fred Jordan was aware of the context of the original song, and whether his changes to the original words reflect what he was most comfortable singing, or whether he learnt it from someone who either forgot or modified it.

I have been unable to source the original sheet music, the lyrics have been transcribed from recordings available from well-known streaming services. The nature of the recording makes me suspect that it might be a shortened version, and that the original Fred Barnes version may have had more verses. These may be the source of Fred Jordan’s extra verses.

Sources:

• Lyrics transcribed from recordings.
• Guardian obituary of Fred Jordan
• Baker: British Music Hall

Fred Barnes recorded on a flexi disc:

Last Updated on July 15, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: February 15, 2020