{"id":1206,"date":"2020-02-25T15:46:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T15:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=1206"},"modified":"2020-11-03T14:11:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T14:11:08","slug":"what-cheer-ria","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/what-cheer-ria\/","title":{"rendered":"What Cheer Ria!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Lyrics<\/strong><\/td>Will Herbert<\/td>Music<\/strong><\/td> Bessie Bellwood <\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>V53410<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Music Hall performers<\/strong><\/td>Bessie Bellwood<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>??<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
I am a girl what's a-doing very well in the wegetable line\nAnd as I'd saved a bob or two, I thought I'd cut a shine\nSo I goes and buys some toggery, these 'ere wery clothes you see\nAnd with the money I had left, I thought I'd have a spree\nSo I goes into a Music Hall, where I'd often been afore\nI don't go in the gallery, but on the bottom floor\nI sits down by the chairman, and calls for a pot of stout\nMy pals in the gallery, spotted me, and they all commenced to shout.\n\nWhat cheer Ria! Ria's on the job\nWhat cheer Ria, did you speculate a bob?\nOh Ria she's a toff and she looks immensikoff\nAnd they all shouted 'What cheer Ria!'<\/em>\n\nOf course I chaffed them back again, but it worn't a bit of use\nThe poor old Chairman's baldie head, they treated with abuse\nThey threw an orange down at me, it went bang inside a pot\nThe beer went up like a fountain , and a toff copt all the lot\nIt went slap in his chevey, and it made an awful mess\nBut gave me the needle was, it spoilt my blooming dress\nI thought it was getting rather warm, so I goes towards the door\nWhen a man shoves out his gammy leg, and I fell smack upon the floor.\n\nNow the gent that keeps the Music Hall he patters to the bloke\nOf course they blamed it all on me, but I couldn't see the joke\nSo I up'd and told the governor as how he'd shoved me down\nAnd with his jolly old wooden leg, tore the frilling off my gown\nBut lor bless you! It worn't a bit of use, the toff was on the job\nThey said outside! and out I went, and they stuck to my bob\nOf course I felt so wild, to think how I'd been taken down\nNext time I'll go in the gallery with my pals, you bet a crown. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This is a song from the Halls which as far as I know, is not passed into the folk tradition. It is a song remembered because of the person who sang it, Bessie Bellwood, who will be featuring in my blog very soon, as the first of the Strong Women of the Halls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his list of composers and writers, the great Music Hall archivist Michael Kilgarriff only records one song under the names both Will Herbert and Bessie Bellwood. According to Richard Baker, Will Herbert was a match seller on the streets of Liverpool and so far that’s all I know about him! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n