| AKA | |
| First Published | 1911 |
| Writer/composer | CW Murphy and Harry Casting | Roud | RN32456 |
| Music Hall Performers | Charles Whittle |
| Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Charles Keeping and family; England : London; 1930s Sykes, Jack; England: Yorkshire; 1969 Modern performances Chas N Dave |
The wedding day was over, and the party breaking up All the guests were making for the door And as they danced along the hall like children on the sands The bride and bridegroom stood there holding hands The comp'ny wished the couple health and wealth, too And were dispersing - in twos and threes When Johnson through the din and noise Cried to all the girls and boys,'Come, come get together please.' 'We all go the same way home All the whole collection in the same direction All go the same way home so there's no need to part at all We all go the same way home Let's be gay and hearty, don't break up the party We'll cling together like the ivy on the old garden wall.' A rajah gay was trav'ling back to India once again With his four-and-twenty little wives In one compartment of the train with all of them he got To keep his jealous eye upon the lot A porter shouted, 'Hi, you're overcrowding There's room for ten in here, not twenty-four.' The rajah answered, 'We're all right, though packed in rather tight Don't you worry any more.' When Noah looked from the Ark one day and found the rain had stopped And the streets were beautiful and dry Said he, 'I haven't had a stroll for forty days or more.' Then out he went and never shut the door The animals came tramping down the gang-way, the alligator - the kangaroo A blue-faced monkey led the throng, screaming as they marched along 'Hi! hi! this way for the Zoo!.' Just by the House of Commons stood a band of Suffragettes And the lot were screaming for the 'vote' When all at once there came a crowd of gentlemen in blue And very quickly captured all the crew The prison van was ordered from the station And soon the ladies were far from gay The driver crackked his whip and cried, when the lot were packed inside 'Last bus girls to Holloway.'
A popular World War I marching song remembered by Charles Keeping’s family and later collected by Steve Gardham from the singing of Jack Sykes – you can listen to the recording online from the British Library.
The song was originally a big hit in 1911 for Charles Whittle – whose brief biography appears below. It was written and composed by CW Murphy and Harry Castling.
The tune of the chorus seems to have been borrowed from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirate’s chorus from the comic opera The Pirates Of Penzance
Not to be confused with Harry Lauder’s We all go hame the same way – a song with different words and music.
Charles R Whittle (1874-1947) also known as Charlie Whittle, was born in Bradford in 1874. As a a young man he worked in an ironworks whilst in his spare time appearing as a semiprofessional vocalist at local tavern sing-songs. He became a full-time professional in 1897 and had his London debut two years later. His most famous songs were probably Let’s all go down the Strand, We all go the same way home and Put me among the girls. He continued to appear on stage until 1938.
Charlie Whittle was a man of the people. He came from Bradford and looked as though he had dropped his pick somewhere and just walked on! He had a rough, bluff style which went down very well. He invited us to “Let’s all go down the Strand” and added that if we had a banana as well, everything would be all right. After all “We all go the same way home” as Charlie kept on telling us.
GJ Mellor, The Northern Music Hall, p88
Charlie Whittle sings it:
Sources:
- VWML entry
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: (Not accessed) British Library
- Roy Busby British Music Hall Who’s Who p183
Last Updated on March 21, 2024 by John Baxter | Published: October 30, 2022
