AKA | Up the little garden path sailing Up the little garden path winding |
First Published | 1918 |
Writer/composer | Harry Castling | Roud | RN32808 |
Music Hall Performers | Charles Whittle |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Hirst, George; England: Dorset; 1987 |
Mister Green, the next door neighbour of mine, He lives at number eight, I live at number nine. From my bedroom window I can see All that Mister Green does without him seeing me From his little villa every night Up the west heel Gailey Rome When they close the pubs, All the café's and the clubs Like a good boy he comes home Up the little gravel path sailing, Clinging to the garden railing Same old knocker, same old door Same old Missus and the same old jaw Two steps forward and three steps back, Then you'll hear him whisper low "There's no place like home When there's nowhere else to go" Down the Square he comes, defiant and gay, Singing Rule Britannia all the way Backward, forward, on towards goal, Nodding to the milkman, who swears he's up the pole All the patriotic ditties he sings And the birds join in the song His wife up above, Waiting for her turtle dove, Sees the night bird stroll along... Green will give his door a gentle rat tat Soon after that he stretched out on the mat Missis Greens out flanked him with the broom Wrapt up in the blankets next morning in his room "No more ginger ales and stopping out late" To his wife I hear him roar His doctor puts him right; Home he comes the following night on the same old stunt once more…
A song written and composed by Harry Castling , performed on the Music Hall stage by Charles R Whittle. The chorus was collected by Nick and Mally Dow from traditional singer and accordion player George Hirst in 1987, his version can be heard at the British library Sound Archive
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%3A32808
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Sheet Music and Lyrics: The John Bull Song and Dance Album (Herman Darewski Music Publishing, no date) p29 [personal collection]
- Worldcat entry
Last Updated on November 17, 2022 by John Baxter | Published: November 17, 2022