{"id":6687,"date":"2020-11-06T15:06:14","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T15:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=6687"},"modified":"2023-04-01T06:26:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T06:26:22","slug":"get-a-little-table","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/get-a-little-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Get a little table"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>The Wedding Song
The Lincolnshire Wedding Song
The Lancashire Wedding Song
Get a Little Wife<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1882<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Harry Linn<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN1155<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Harry Linn
William Sims
Charles Coburn<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Source Singers<\/strong>
Leahy, Michael 1958 Canada : Ontario
Hill, Mr. 1965 England : Lincolnshire
Stanley, Luther 1967 England : Lincolnshire
Robinson, Mrs Ruth 1974 England : Lincolnshire
Ogg, Maurice 1979 England : Lincolnshire
Doughty, Johnny 1977 England : Sussex
Modern performances<\/strong>
The Yetties<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Some people say it's jolly \nTo lead a single life,\nBut I believe in marriage and\nThe comforts of a wife;\nA wife's the greatest blessing, \nIf she's honest, good and true,\nSo if you want to marry, boys\nI'll tell you what to do:\n\nGet a little table, get a little chair,\nGet a tiny house in a little square,\nGet a little wife then get a little tin,\nGet a little cradle just to rock the baby in.<\/em>\n\nA single man in lodgings,\nCannot have much delight,\nThere's nobody to speak to when\nHe sits at home at night,\nThere's nothing to attract him, or\nTo pass the time away,\nHe'd quickly find the difference, \nIf he'd list to what I say, and ...\n\nA married man has comforts which,\nA single man has not,\nHis clothes are well mended, and\nHis meals are always hot;\nOf course they may have quarrels just\nAn odd one now and then.\nIt's almost worth while falling out,\nTo make it up again:\n\nThere's little use of asking\nA girl to marry you,\nUnless you have a little coin.\nAnd a home to take her too;\nA good wife loves to see her home\nCosy clean and nice,\nSo if you would be happy boys,\nWhy just take my advice:<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This Harry Linn<\/a> song pops up under various titles from source singers on both sides of the Atlantic. Linn is another of those Music Hall songwriters who has left many legacy songs in traditional music , including: The birds upon the trees<\/em> and Jim the Carter lad<\/em>. The British Library holds a copy of the sheet music, published by Hopwood and Crew which according to their records was “written and composed by Harry Linn”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Linn performed mainly in the North and this may explain why it’s hard to find written evidence of him singing the song himself. Searching through 19th-century newspapers does indicate that was a well-known song, sung in the pantomime at Middlesbrough in 1882  and in amateur concerts from 1881 on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was part of the repertoire of Music Hall performer, Charles Coburn in the 1880s and 1890s. The earliest written record of it being sung on the professional stage is a review in The Era<\/em> of a performance by Charles Coburn in March 1881. He was taking part in at an all-star benefit for \u00a0Arthur Lloyd<\/a>, held at Wilton’s Music Hall :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Mar. 5, 1881; The Era<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
This song is also found on broadsides on both sides of the Atlantic . It’s nicely summed up by Edith Fowke who collected it from the singing of Michael Leahy in Ontario Canada in 1958: Advice for getting a wife: get furniture<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A version recorded for Topic records:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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