Why don’t you marry the girl?

AKA
First Published1896

Writer/composerHarry Castling and CW MurphyRoudRN24871

Music Hall PerformersMarie Kendall
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Hinchliffe, Frank; England: Yorkshire; 1972
Chorus only (from sheet music cover)

Why don't you marry the girl? 
Do you want the girl to die?
You can see she's mashed upon you
By the twinkle in her eye-
To do the trick's just seven and six,
Take the tip from a pal - 
Don't tease the poor little thing
Why don't you marry the gal?

Ian Russell collected the chorus and some fragments of this song from the singing of Frank Hinchliffe in 1972: Frank had learned the song from his father.

I have not been able to access the full sheet music at this time, but it’s possible to identify the song using the chorus which appears on the sheet music cover held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.It was sung by  Marie Kendall, with words by Harry Castling and music by CW Murphy.

Not to be confused with a song of the same title which appeared 30 years earlier in an American publication The Tilt Skirt Songster (1867)

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