AKA | Which gate One evening at a fancy ball |
First Published | 1923 |
Writer/composer | Harry Castling & Charles Collins | Roud | RN10719 |
Music Hall Performers | S.W. Wyndham |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Stringer, Charlie; England: Suffolk; 1984 Gage, Rex; England: Suffolk; c1964 |
One evening at a fancy ball I met a lovely girl Oh she had a lovely curl, and she was a lovely girl I saw her into a taxi and her fare she let me pay She borrowed half a crown from me and then she drove away. And she told me to meet her at the gate Meet her at the gate, but she didn't say what gate I've been to her gate, my gate, Highgate, and Reigate Aldgate, Moorgate and I'm in such a state I've been to Margate, Ramsgate, Tollgate, and Billingsgate I can't find her anywhere And when I told a policeman, he said, "Pop round to Newgate, You might find the Lady there”. She told me that her name was Ward but I found out its Rhia Oh she set my heart on fire, but she was a lovely liar Perhaps she's waiting beside the gate in awful misery To pay me back the half a crown she borrowed off of me. The way the beauty told me the tale was absolutely great And I'm here to tell you straight I don't believe she's got a gate For I've looked over a million gates where lovers congregate There's only one gate I've not been to, that is heaven's gate.
A song remembered by traditional singers in the pubs of Suffolk in the post-war period . It was originally in the repertoire of SW Wyndham (sometimes Squire Wyndham) a former blackface minstrel performer from North Wales who appeared regularly in the Halls between 1900 and the end of 1923. The song was written and composed by Charles Collins and Harry Castling.
The song was recorded several times 1920s and 30s, with versions by Harry Fay, Tommy Trinder and the version given by The Two Gilberts in the video below..
A 1923 recording by The Two Gilberts:
Sources:
- Entries in the Roud Indexes at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:single[folksong-broadside-books]/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3A10719
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Malcolm Drew (2014) EH Williams’ Merrie Men of Rhyl
- Sheet music: Feldman’s 29th Song Annual, p29
Last Updated on April 28, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: November 4, 2022