Has anyone seen a German band?

First Published1907

Writer/composerAJ Mills and Bennett ScottRoudRN29889

Music Hall PerformersFlorrie Forde, Ella Retford
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Jones, Frank; England: Birmingham; 1984
Modern performances
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Once a little German girl lonely and sad,
Came to merry England from her Fatherland.
Looking for her sweetheart whose front name was Fritz,
And he played the Trombone in some German Band:
She searched round the City by night and by day.
And asked ev'ry one on the way.

Has any one seen a German Band?
German Band, German Band.
I've been looking about all upon my own.
I've searched ev'ry street both near and far,
Near and far, yah, yah, yah.
I want my Fritz, vot plays twiddly bits
On der big trombone.

"Fritz was very fond of me," Katrina said.
"When he was in Germany over the seas;
And he used to come round to mine Fader's house,
He'd make love and eat all our Limburcheese.
He'd serenade me with 'The watch on the Rhine',
And I thought his trombone divine."

"Perhaps you wonder why I am over here now."
Said the little Katrina. "I'll tell you true.
There's another girl and she's stolen my Fritz,
She gives him sweet kisses, and saurkrout too;
But wait till I meet him, I'll get back mine own,
I'll jump two times on his trombone."

An early 20th century Music Hall song collected from the singing of Frank Jones by Roy Palmer, which can be heard in the British Library Sound Archive.

Another from the alarmingly prolific AJ Mills and Bennett Scott. Described by its publishers as “the chorus song of the year” in 1907, Has anyone seen a German band was most famously sung in the Halls by both Florrie Forde and  Ella Retford. A multitude of other performers sang it in pantomime. It was later a popular song amongst British troops in the First World War.

German bands were groups of street musicians (usually but not always German) that were a feature of British life in the second half of the 19th century. They tended to play polkas, waltzes and other dances – they were often derided for playing “oompah” music. This is reflected in this comic song, where apart from the mild xenophobia, much of the comedy relies on the musical accompaniment…

The chorus as sung, I suspect by Ella Retford….

Sources:

Last Updated on July 20, 2022 by John Baxter | Published: July 18, 2022

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