{"id":9077,"date":"2021-02-19T11:49:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T11:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=9077"},"modified":"2021-02-19T11:49:06","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T11:49:06","slug":"in-our-backyard-last-night","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/in-our-backyard-last-night\/","title":{"rendered":"In Our Backyard Last Night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
First Published<\/td>c1890<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>James Curran \/ George Beauchamp<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN13693<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>George Beauchamp, TE Dunville<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Pardon, Walton; England, Norfolk, 1987
Modern performances<\/strong>
None?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Taken from \u00a0The Music Hall Songster (1892)<\/strong>\n\nIN OUR BACKYARD LAST NIGHT. \nComposed and sung by Geo Beauchamp\nWords by J. Curran\n\nSome very curious things took place \nIn our backyard last night; \nAn elephant trod on my sister's face \nIn our backyard last night \nAn old Tom cat and a female one \nWere singing \"Johnnie get your gun\" \nI went out with a brick and spoil their fun \nIn our backyard last night.\n\nOh, dear, oh! <\/em>\nThey'll not come back again I know, \nTo keep us awake with their midnight show, <\/em>\nIn our backyard. <\/em>\n\nA big bull-dog broke from his chain \nIn our backyard last night, \nAnd made me suffer grief and pain \nIn our backyard last night, \nwith my new pants that looked so prime \nHe played the deuce of a pantomime; \nHe grabbed a mouthful every time\nIn our backyard at night. \n\nOh, dear, oh! <\/em>\nHe made me dance for an hour or so. \nAnd now I can't sit down, I know, <\/em>\nIn our backyard.<\/em>\n\nMcManus and one of the lodgers came, \nTo our backyard last night. \nTo try their hand at the boxing game, \nIn our backyard last night. \nMcManus gave the lodger a whack, \nThat knocked the whole of his front teeth back. \nBut the lodger got hammer and killed poor Mac. \nIn our backyard last night.\n\nOh, dear, oh! \nHe'll not come back again I know, \nFor McManus' funeral did go \nFrom our backyard.<\/em>\n\n\nA band of Germans came to perform \nIn our backyard at night; \nThe reception they got was cold and warm\nIn our backyard at night. \nThe cornet player we threatened to shoot\nWe soon put a stop to his rooty-toot   \nWe stuck on the kisser with a Navvy's boot\nIn our backyard at night. \n\nOh, dear, oh! \nHe'll not come back again I know, \nOf his wisdom teeth he left a row\nFrom our backyard.<\/em><\/em>\n\nA pair of sweethearts came to spoon \nIn our backyard last night, \nBeneath the light of the silvery moon, \nIn our backyard last night. \nWhile making love they made such a din, \nAnd the gent very soon had cause to grin, \nFor the lady collared all his tin, \nIn our backyard last night\n\nOh, dear, oh! \nHe'll not come back again I know, \nHis purse, his chain, and his watch did go\nFrom our backyard.<\/em>\n\n\nOld mother Johnson screamed \"police\", \nIn our backyard last night. \nWhich brought a protector of the piece, \nTo our backyard last night. \nThe policeman came and strange to tell, \nOn the back of his neck a flowerpot fell; \nBut the flowers were hardly fresh from the Dell, \nIn our backyard last night.\n\nOh, dear, oh! \nHe'll not come back again I know, \nTill a different kind of flow'rets grow\nIn our backyard.<\/em>\n\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A song successful in the Halls of the 1890s, still remembered by late 20th-century traditional singers – in this case Walter Pardon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song popularised by George Beauchamp<\/a>, a comic active in the 1890s. He regularly advertised in the pages of The Era <\/em>newspaper that he would buy funny songs. It appears that he bought this one from James Curran, a Scottish comic and songwriter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Era<\/em>,\u00a0 Nov. 22, 1890<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Initially the song was described as written by James Curran and composed by George Beauchamp – giving performers composer credits was often a convenient way to consolidate a performers rights to song ownership, and didn’t always mean that they wrote the music. Later references to the song tend to credit Beauchamp alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beauchamp was very active in enforcing his rights to the songs he bought, and he regularly posted notices  <\/em>warning other performers not to use his songs. You can see this in the case of another song he bought from Curran: <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Era<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0 Aug. 24, 1889<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
James Curran was a Scottish songwriter and comic, who seems worth investigating further – watch this space!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n