Songs sung in the Music Hall that became folk songs.
Songs that were written, usually by a known author, that were sung in music hall, and later have entered the folksong tradition. My criteria for “becoming a folksong” is that the song has been collected from one or more recognised source singers as recorded in the Vaughan Williams Memorial library. A smaller selection focusing only on the best known songs is given under the Folk or Music Hall? song theme.
[I did start by trying to distinguish between songs traditional singers perform knowing they come from the Halls, and those they perform unknowingly. This may be a useful distinction to explore in future, but for now I’m putting it one side.]
A
- After you with the soap, Dear
- Agricultural Irish Girl, The
- Ain’t It Grand to Be Bloomin’ Well Dead!
- Algy, or the Piccadilly Johnny with the Little Glass Eye
- All along the rails
- All around my hat
- All of a sudden he stopped
- All Over Me
- All the girls are busy knitting jumpers
- Alonzo the brave and the Fair Imogine (Sam Cowell’s Parody)
- Amateur whitewasher, The
- And her golden hair was hanging down her back
- And His Day’s Work was Done
- And the verdict was
- Angelina Brown
- Another little drink
- Anywhere does for me
- Any dirty work today
- Any old thing will do
- Are We Downhearted? No!
- Are we to part like this Bill?
- As welcome as the flowers in May
- As your hair grows whiter
- As you paddle your boat along
- At a minute to seven, last night
- At the football match last Saturday
- At Trinity Church I met my doom
- Auld pair of Tawse, The
- Australian girls are good enough for me
- A canny come oot the noo
B
- Baby’s got a tooth (EH Jones)
- Baby’s name, The
- Back back to where the heather grows
- Back to the old home again
- Bacon and Greens
- Baltimore (Up she goes)
- Barney Brallaghan’s courtship
- Basket of onions, The
- Betsey Baker
- Billy Barlow
- Billy Johnson’s Ball
- Billy Muggins
- Birds upon the trees, The
- Black sheep of the family, The
- Blaydon races
- Blighted Gardener, The; Cabbages and Turniptops
- Blind Boy, The
- Blind Irish girl, The
- Blue Bell
- Bobbing up and down like this
- Body in the bag, The
- Boers have got my daddy, The
- Bold Fisherman, The
- Bombay
- Bonnie Jeanie Deans
- Boys of the Chelsea School
- Boy’s best friend is his mother, A
- Braes of Killiecrankie, The (Jeannie Robertson)
- Break the News to Mother
- Brigham Young
- Brown upside down
- Bulls won’t bellow, The
- Burlington Bertie from Bow
- Bus, The; or Mary MacIntyre
- Buttercup Joe
C
- Calico Printer’s Clerk, The
- Call round any old time
- Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines
- Captain with his whiskers, The
- Charming Young Widow I met on the train, The
- Cheer up, Buller!
- Chillingowullabadorie
- Cockles and Mussels
- Cod liver oil
- Come fill me a tankard
- Come in the parlour, Charley
- Come where the booze is cheaper
- Comrades
- Cooking the Cock of the North
- Cork leg, The
- Coronation Day
- Costermonger’s Song, The
- Cow and three acres, A
- Cumarachandhu
- Cushie Butterfield
- Cutting toe-nails on a Sunday
D
- Daddy wouldn’t buy me a bow wow
- Daddy’s gone to London
- Darby McGuire
- Dark girl dress’d in blue, The
- Darling Mabel
- Dash my vig
- Dear old pals
- Delaney’s Chicken
- Diana Kitty Annie Maria
- Ding dong
- Does thy heart beat true to me
- Dogs meat man, The
- Doing my duty
- Don’t go down the mine Dad
- Dorothy Dean
- Down at the Farmyard Gate
- Down by the old abbey ruins
- Down by the old mill stream
- Down fell the pony in a fit
- Down in a coal mine
- Down in a diving bell
- Down the Road
- Do you want us to lose the war
- Duck Foot Sue
E
F
- Faces
- Fall in and Follow Me
- Farmer (Varmer) Giles
- Far Far Away (1883)
- Far, far away (1912)
- Father keeps on doing it
- Father’s got the sack from the waterworks
- Father, mother and an apple
- Feeding the ducks on the pond
- Fellow that looks like me, The.
- Fellow who played the trombone, The
- Fisherman’s daughter from over the water, The
- Flanagan
- Foley’s Hotel
- Following in father’s footsteps
- Follow the drum
- Follow the sergeant
- Fol-the-rol-lol
- For me! For Me!
- For months and months and months
- For old times sake
- Four-and-Nine
- Frenchman, The; or Tra la la Bong!
- From Poverty Street to Golden Square
- Future Mrs ‘Awkins, The
G
- Galloping Major, The
- Gee Woah
- Gently does the trick
- Get a little table
- Get up Jack, John sit down
- Ghost of Benjamin Binns, The
- Gilhooley’s supper party
- Ginger, You’re Balmy
- Give me a little cosy corner
- Give me a nice little four-roomed house
- Give my love to Nancy
- Glorious Beer
- Glossop Road
- Goblins in the churchyard
- Going Home, or The Miner’s Return
- Golden Dustman, The
- Golden Wedding, The
- Goodbye John
- Good Morning Mr Postman
- Good old days of Adam and Eve, The
- Go ‘way, good Massa bee
- Grace Darling
- Grandfather Brian
- Great big wheel, The
- Green Oak Tree, The
H
- Half past nine
- Hame o Mine
- Hard working snob, The
- Has anybody seen our cat?
- Has anyone seen a German band?
- Has anyone seen my tiddler?
- Hear the pipers calling, Jennie Mine
- Help a lame-dog over a stile
- Help one another boys; never push a man when he’s going downhill
- Here comes OXO
- Here we are! Here we are! Here we are again!
- Here’s to Private Tommy Atkins
- Hey! Donal
- He’d never been there before : (he’s going there every night)
- Hiawatha: His song to Minnehaha
- Highlandman’s Toast, The
- Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous
- His Lordship Winked at the Counsel
- Hi Johnny! Who’s your Tailor?
- Hooligan’s Mule
- Horse the missis dries the clothes on, The
- Horticultural Wife, The
- Hot Ashfelt, The
- How Paddy stole the rope
- How’ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm
- Hullo there! Little Tommy Atkins
- Hypochondriac, The
I
- If those lips could only speak
- If you meet a vessel in distress
- If you’re Irish come into the parlour
- In Our Backyard Last Night
- In these hard times
- In these old Lavender Trousers
- In the shade of the old apple tree
- In the Strand
- In the valleys of Switzerland
- Ireland must be Heaven for my mother came from there
- Irish Wedding, The
- Is your mother in, Molly Malone?
- Its funny when you feel that way
- Its nice to get up in the morning
- It won’t last very very long
- It’s a great big shame
- It’s lovely to be in love
- It’s the only bit of English that we’ve got
- It’s a wonder I’m alive to tell the tale
- I am one of the olden time
- I belong to Glasgow
- I can’t change it
- I can’t forget the days
- I don’t care if there’s a girl there
- I don’t mean to tell you her name
- I don’t want to play in your yard
- I do like a s’nice s’mince s’pie
- I do like to be beside the seaside
- I fancy I can see her now
- I finish em off
- I got married this morning
- I love a lassie
- I love kids
- I love the verdant fields
- I love to be a sailor
- I mean to get Jolly Well Drunk
- I must have a day off for that
- I never says nothing to nobody
- I parted my hair in the middle
- I played my concertina
- I think I’ll get wed in the summer time
- I took it home to Maria
- I traced her little footmarks in the snow
- I whistle and wait for Katie
- I wish mama was here
- I wish they’d do it now (Gray, 1892)
- I wonder if you miss me sometimes (I wonder if you care)
- I wouldn’t leave my little wooden hut for you
- I’ll be your sweetheart
- I’ll go and enlist for a sailor
- I’m afraid to come home in the dark
- I’m another
- I’m a young man from the country – but you don’t get over me
- I’m getting ready for my mother in law
- I’m going to sing a song
- I’m not all there
- I’m rather too old for it now
- I’m shy Mary Ellen I’m shy
- I’m 94 this mornin’
- I’ve got a good idea where it’s gone to
- I’ve got rings on my fingers
- I’ve got something to be thankful for
- I’ve made up my mind to sail away
- I’ve only come down for the day
J
- Jack Robinson
- Jean M’Neil
- Jemima Brown
- Jeremiah blow the fire
- Jessie the belle at the bar
- Jim the carter lad
- Jock M’Graw, The Fattest Man in the Forty Twa
- Johnny I hardly knew ye
- Johnny Morgan
- John Barleycorn is a hero bold
- Join the British Army
- Jolly Jarge
- Just as I was getting into bed
- Just a wee Deoch-an-doris
- Just like bein’ at hame
- Just like the ivy
L
- Lads in navy blue, The
- Lambeth Walk, The (1899)
- Lambeth Walk, The (1937)
- Lancashire witches, The
- Lannigan’s Ball
- Last Roll Call, The
- Let the great big world keep turning
- Limerick Races
- Little Annie Rooney
- Little bit off the top, A (parody)
- Little by little and bit by bit
- Little grey home in the west
- Little old church in the valley, The
- Little shirt that mother made for me, The
- Little town in ould County Down
- Little Willie’s Woodbines
- Lloyd George of Criccieth
- Lloyd George’s Beer
- Loom and the lathe, The
M
- MacNamara’s Band
- Maggie Murphy’s Home
- Maggie Yes Ma
- Magic Circle, The
- Maid and the magpie, The
- Make your mind up, Maggie McKenzie
- Manx Cat, The
- Man at the Nore, The
- Man without a woman, A
- Man you don’t meet every day, A (Jock Stewart)
- Married to a Mermaid
- Martha the milkman’s daughter
- Mary Ann, She’s after me
- May I come home once more
- Memories
- Men of Merry England (The)
- Merman, The
- Mickey Mouse
- Miners dream of home, The
- Misery Farm
- Miss Fogarty’s Christmas Cake
- Modern Swell’s Diary, The; Studying Economy
- Molly Riley O!
- Moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin, The
- More work for the undertaker
- Most miserable man on earth, The
- Mother says I mustn’t
- Mr Gallagher and Mr Sheen
- Mucking about the garden
- Muirsheen Durkin/ Diggin’ lumps of Gold
- Muldoon The Solid Man
- Mystery of a Hansom cab, The
- My Barney (Bonnie) lies over the Ocean
- My bonnie bonnie Jean
- My Brudda Sylvest
- My daddy is a gentleman
- My Gal is a High Born Lady
- My Girl’s a Yorkshire Girl
- My half was underneath
- My London Country Lane
- My meatless day
- My old Dutch
- My pretty Yorkshire Lass
- My Rattling Mare and I
- My wedding day: Half past nine
- My wife is on a diet
- My wife’s gone to the country
- M.O.N.E.Y or Tis money makes the mare to go
N
- Nancy Lee
- Napoleon talks of war, boys
- Nellie Dean
- Never let your braces dangle
- Never mind
- Next horse I ride on, The
- Nobody noticed me
- Nora Magee
- Nora Malone (Call me by phone)
- Nothing
- Not for Joseph
- Now I have to call him Father
- Now we sha’n’t be long!
- No Irish need apply
- N’egg and some n’ham and some n’onion, A
O
- Off to Philadelphia
- Oh Joe! The Boat’s A-Going Over
- Oh! I must go home tonight
- Oh! Let me have another one, Georgie
- Oh! Marigold
- Oh! What a difference in the morning
- Oh, Charley , Take it Away
- Oh, The Business!
- Old Adam was father of all
- Old Brass Locket
- Old Grey Coat, The
- Old Oak Table, The
- Old Sow,The
- Once more in the dear old land
- One touch of nature makes the whole world kin
- Only a bird in a gilded cage
- On board o’ the Kangaroo
- On Mother Kelly’s Doorstep
- On the banks of the beautiful Severn
- Other department please, The
- Our little garden sub-bub
- Our lodger’s such a nice young man
- Our threepenny hop
- Out in the green fields
- Out with my gun in the morning
- Over the garden wall
P
- Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
- Paddy McGinty’s Goat
- Paddy’s Dream
- Parson and the clerk, The
- Pat of Mullingar
- Pat works on the railway
- PC 49
- Peggy O’Neil
- Phew! Them golden kippers! Don’t they tid’ly wink
- Piper MacFarlane
- Playing the game in the west
- Poor but a gentleman still
- Popping em into me
- Popsy Wopsy
- Portobello Lassie, The
- Preacher and the Bear, The
- Pretty little girl from nowhere, The
- Pulling hard against the stream
- Pull, boys, together
- Puss! Puss! Puss!
- Put a bit of powder on it, Father
- Put me amongst the girls
R
- Ragtime Cowboy Joe
- Ratcatcher’s daughter, The
- Rawtenstall Annual fair
- Red Wing
- Rest of the day’s your own (The)
- Reuben Wright and Phoebe Brown
- Rhymes [limerick song]
- Riley did it
- Riley’s Cowshed
- Roamin’ in the Gloamin’
- Rocky road to Dublin
- Rock the Cradle, John!
- Roger and Dolly
- Roger Ruff or A drop of good beer
- Rolling on the Grass
- Rowdy-Dowdy Boys, The
- Running up and down our stairs
S
- Sailing in my balloon
- Sailing up the Clyde
- Same Old Game, The
- Sarah’s Young Man
- Saving them all for Mary
- Scented Soap
- Scientific Man, The
- Seagull!
- Seaweed
- Shabby Genteel
- Shelling Green Peas
- She stood behind the parlour door
- She told me to meet her at the gate
- She was poor but she was honest
- She was the Belle O’ The Ball
- She was! She was!
- She’d a black and rolling eye (railway version)
- She’d kept them all for me
- She’s proud and she’s beautiful
- Shift up a little bit farther
- Ship I Love, The
- Ship that belongs to a lady, The
- Ship that will never return, The
- Show me the way to go home
- Side by side
- Silver Bells of Memory
- Singer was Irish, The
- Sing a song of Bonnie Scotland
- Sing something Irish to me
- Sing! sing! why shouldn’t we sing?
- Skylark! Skylark!
- Smile o’ Molly Maloney, The
- Song of the thrush, The
- Sons of the sea
- Sour Milk Cart, The
- So does father!
- Spider and the fly, The
- Standard Bread
- Starry night for a ramble, A
- Stone outside Dan Murphy’s door, The
- Strolling round the town; or The Rickety Rackety Crew
- Success to the Old Brigade
- Sunshine of your smile, The
- Sweetheart May
- Sweet Rosie O’Grady
- Sweet Violets
- Swim Sam Swim
T
- Take it Bob
- Take me back to dear old Blighty
- Tassels on the boots
- Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes
- Ten minutes too late
- Ten thousand miles away
- That Gorgonzola Cheese
- That old fashioned mother of mine
- That’s how you get served when you’re old
- That’s the time to catch ’em
- That’s what God made mothers for
- That’s when you feel all right
- That’s where my love lies dreaming
- Them three acres of land and a cow
- Then she started tickle-ing
- Then you can reckon on diddling me
- Theres a long long trail
- There was “two legs” sitting on “three legs”
- There’s a friend at every milestone
- There’s bound to be a row
- There’s a wee bit land
- They all have a mate but me
- They can’t diddle me
- They don’t speak to one another now
- They were very very good to me
- They’re all very fine and large
- The Salvage Man
- Things that a man can’t do
- Three Flies, The
- Tickle me Timothy, Do
- Tickle-ickle-um
- Tiddle-a-wink the barber
- Ting! Ting! That’s how the bell goes
- Tipperary Christening, The
- Tis but a little golden ring
- Tobermory
- Tooral-ooral-ooral Lee
- Tramp, The
- Turkey Rhubarb
- Turned up
- Twelve and a Tanner a bottle
- Two Burnley Mashers
- Two little girls in blue
- Two Obadiahs, The
- Two wenches at once
U
W
- Waggle o the kilt, The
- Wake up, Johnny
- War Correspondent, The
- Watching ’em
- Watercresses
- Watercress girl, The
- Waterford boys (The)
- Wedding of Sandy McNab, The
- Weddin’ o’ Lauchie M’Graw
- Weepin Willer, The/The Miller’s Daughter
- Wee Hoos Mang the Heather
- Wee Jean MacGregor
- We all go the same way home
- We all go to work but father
- We close at two on Thursday
- We parted on the shore
- We really had a most delightful evening
- We saved it for the lodger
- We used to gather at the Old Dun Cow
- We’re living at the cloisters
- We’ve all been havin’ a go at it
- What are you going to do about Mary
- What a funny little place to have one
- What Ho! She bumps
- When Enoch he knocked, she knocked Enoch
- When I took our Nance to church
- When there isn’t a girl about
- When these old clothes were new!
- When they ask you what your name is
- When the cock begins to crow
- When the old dun cow caught fire
- When the summer comes again
- Where are the lads of the village tonight?
- Where does Father Christmas go to?
- Where do flies go in the wintertime
- Where have those Golden sovereigns gone?
- Where there’s a will there’s a way
- Where the grass grows green
- Where the River Shannon flows
- While London’s Fast Asleep
- Whistling Thief, The
- White Silk Dress, The
- White wings
- Whole Hog or None, The
- Why can’t it always be Saturday
- Why don’t Santa Claus bring something to me?
- Why don’t you marry the girl?
- Wild man of Borneo, The
- Wireless on the Brain
- Wire in, my lads
- With my little wigger-wagger in my hand
- Won’t Go!
- Won’t you come to me in Canada
- Workhouse Boy, The
- Workhouse Gate, The
- Work (Poor , Proud, and Particular)
- Wreck of the lifeboat
- Wreck of the Ragamuffin
Last Updated on February 21, 2021 by John Baxter | Published: February 22, 2020
