{"id":14228,"date":"2022-01-12T14:11:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T14:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=14228"},"modified":"2022-01-13T16:52:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T16:52:25","slug":"oh-what-a-difference-in-the-morning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/oh-what-a-difference-in-the-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh! What a difference in the morning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>But Oh! What a difference in the morning
In the morning
At night! At night!<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1891<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Norton Atkins \/ Felix McGlennon<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN32784<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Fannie Leslie<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Rowe, Cliff; England : Somerset; 1977<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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OH! WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN THE MORNING.\nWritten by Norton Atkins. Composed by Felix McGlennon.\n\nI'll sing of the curious sights that we see\nAt night, at night;\nThey're awfully funny, I think you'll agree,\nAt night, at night.\nThere's Johnny, the waiter, who hasn't much cash,\nHe likes with his pals to appear very flash.\nSo he calls for champagne, and he cuts such a dash,\nAt night, at night.\n\nBut oh! don't his head ache in the morning,\nThen comes repentance with the dawning,\nIt's twice its usual size, and he's got two fine black eyes,\nAnd he's glad to get a seltzer in the morning.\n\nThere are ladies who go for a walk up Broadway\nAt night, at night;\nTheir figures are handsome, they seem very gay,\nAt night, at night.\nTheir waists are so dainty, complexion so new,\nAnd tootsies so neat in a number two shoe,\nWith hair of such delicate straw-colored hue,\nAt night, at night.\n\nBut, oh! what a difference in the morning,\nWhat an alteration with the dawning;\nObserve her in her room, on her checks there's little bloom,\nAnd her hair lies on the table in the morning.<\/em>\n\nAnd then there's the frivolous, gay married man\nAt night, at night;\nTo tell what he gets at, is part of my plan,\nAt night, at night.\nWith plenty of money He goes on a booze,\nHe meets some old pals, and they have a carouse,\nAnd when be gets home on the door-step he'll snooze,\nAt night, at night.\n\nBut, oh! what a difference In the morning.\nThen comes repentance with the dawning;\nTho' he's very, very dry, for a drink he'd vainly cry,\nFor his wife's been thru' his pockets In the morning.<\/em><\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A fragment of this song was collected from the singing of Cliff Rowe by Bob and Jacqueline Patton in 1977. You can hear it in the British Library Sound Archive<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The original song, under the title In The Morning<\/em>, was a huge hit for Fannie Leslie when she relaunched her Music Hall career in 1891. Such was its success that she bought silver cigar cases for both the composer, \u00a0Felix McGlennon<\/a> and lyricist Norton Atkins<\/a> \u2013 the gifts were widely publicised and might be seen as something of a marketing ploy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song enjoyed further success in America where it was sung both by blackface minstrels and vaudeville artists, notably Lottie Gilson. The song was modified to meet the needs of various performers and audiences and both sheet music and broadsides show considerable variation in the lyrics.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The words given above are from an early American version of the song credited to Norton Atkins and I suspect the original British words have been modified slightly for an American audience. Unfortunately, thus far I have been able to access the original British sheet music associated with the cover shown above to check the original lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song was the subject of a dispute in the letters page of The Era <\/em>newspaper, which give a precise timeline for the production of the song and an interesting insight to the business model of the composer Felix McGlennon. Reproduced below are two letters responding to the allegation made by  Victor Stevens that Fannie Leslie’s hit song “bears a very strong family likeness to”<\/em> a song he wrote collaboration with Harry Dacre:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 <\/strong>Nov. 14, 1891; <\/strong>The Era <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly the site monologues.co.uk suggests that Fannie Leslie sang another song  also called In The Morning<\/em> (monologues.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n