Virgin only nineteen years old, The

From Original Sheet Music (1868)
The Virgin only nineteen years old
Words by Fred Perry, Music by Harry Rickards

As I was out walking one night near the strand
I met a fair damsel all hooped up so grand,
She had feathers and finery, and jewels and gold.
And she said she was a virgin, yes, a virgin, only nineteen years old!

Her fingers were taper'd, her neck like the Swan 
Her nose was a turn-up, and her voice not too strong;
In three weeks we were married, and the wedding bells told
That I'd married a virgin, yes, a virgin, only nineteen years old!

The wedding party broke up and we retired to rest
But my hair stood upright when my bride she undress'd;
For a cartload of padding my young bride did unfold,
A thing rather peculiar, very peculiar for nineteen years old!

First she took off her right foot, about a foot wide
Then she unscrew'd her left ear and laid it aside;
Then she pulled out her right eye, on the carpet it roll'd,
Thinks I: here's a Virgin, what a Virgin, only nineteen years old!

Next she unscrew'd her left leg as far as the knee
Then she pull'd off her fingers, I counted just three;
Then on her left shoulder a large hump I did behold.
So I said, there's a Virgin, yes a Virgin, only nineteen years old.

When she wiped off her eyebrows, I thought I should faint
And scraped from her thin cheeks a cart-load of paint;
When she pulled off her black wig, then her bald pate soon told
That she was an old Virgin, an old Virgin, more than nineteen years old!

When she pull'e'd out her false teeth, I jumped up in terror,
For her nose and her chin very near stuck together,
From the chamber I stepp'd it never more to behold.
This virgin not nineteen, no, not nineteen, but ninety-nine years old!

Now, young men, take warning, e'er to church you go
Be sure your bride's perfect from the top to the toe,
Or you'll pay for your folly and like me be sold
By some patched-up old Virgin, cruel old Virgin, 'bout ninety-nine years old!

A music hall song from the 1860s – sung both by Walter Howard of the Christy Minstrels and Harry Rickards. The sheet music cover presented here has Howard on its cover, a very similar score with a portrait of Rickards in the central panel was also published. Rickards was credited with composing the music, with words by Fred Perry but both the tune and words borrow significantly from earlier songs. The lyrics take their central idea from earlier songs which draw humour from a gullible groom discovering that his new bride is largely constructed from a series of false parts. The respected broadside expert Steve Gardham has shown that such songs go back to 1660 or earlier (Dungheap No.5 on Mustrad).The songs persist into the 20th century, see for example Side by Side (dismantled bride parody).

Harry Rickard’s modern biographer, Gae Anderson, suggests that he was singing The Virgin only nineteen years old as early as 1864 and that he performed it as part of the trial turn which won him his first significant professional booking, at Wilton’s in July 1864. This may be a misreading of the evidence (see appendix below if you’re interested in why …) but by March 1968 he was definitely singing it, and I can find no evidence of anyone performing before that date:

The first adverts for sheet music came in 1869:

Rickards kept the song in his repertoire for almost 25 years, as these short reviews from The Era demonstrate:

• Mr. Harry Rickards contributed on the occasion his droll ditty about an antiquated and dilapidated virgin who is said to be “only nineteen years old.” “The Metropolitan (London)” The Era -30 Jan 1870.
• By desire he gave his droll song concerning “A Virgin only nineteen years old,” who takes herself to pieces at night, which was very popular some years ago. It caused such hearty merriment and applause on this occasion that it may be truly called a most successful revival. The Bedford (London) The Era – 25 August 1878.
• Mr Harry Rickards, in his own amusing fashion, gave “The virgin only nineteen years old,” just to show the amateurs, who are to come later in a competition “how it’s done,” Mrs Graydon’s Benefit, The Forresters’ (London) The Era – 22 Oct 1887.

The song has proved popular with traditional singers all over the English speaking word – its been collected from the singing of at least 29 individuals. It appears widely in 19th century songsters and broadsides. It has proved particularly popular in Ireland and Australia – the latter possibly reflecting the role that Rickards played in establishing Variety and Music Hall in Australia, where he spent the last 20 or so years of his working life

Irish traditional singer Tom Lenihan sings it (see the Clare County Library site for more info and notes by Jim Carroll)

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%3A4792

• Ballad Index
• Mudcat Thread #1
• Mudcat Thread #2
• Kilgarrif Sing Us
• Sheet Music (1869) as reproduced in Gae Mary Anderson(1998)
• Gae Mary Anderson (2005): The Tivoli King
• Gae Mary Anderson(1998)Harry Rickards: A Performance-Centred Portrait From Music Hall To Vaudeville (PhD Thesis, Univ of Sydney)
• Steve Gardham (2001) ; Dung Heap No. 5 False Parts Theme Mustrad

Appendix: Harry Rickards trial at Wilton’s

Whilst there is little doubt that Harry Rickards the first to sing this song, we don’t have strong enough evidence to be sure he was singing that exact song at his trial at Wilton’s in 1864. The story of his professional debut originate from an interview he gave some 30 years later in 1895:

Mr Rickards’s first effort in public was a quaint ditty recalling the adventures of a young lady “only 19 years old” but of an amazing astuteness. It belonged to Mr Nat Ogden ….. who had thought nothing of giving a promising youngster permission to sing selections from his repertory.
The Era – 12 Oct 1895

The attribution to Nat Ogden was challenged in a subsequent letter:

I can find no evidence at linking either Bainton or Ogden to a song about A young woman of or A virgin of 19 years old… so the exact authorship may have to remain a mystery. We should also be cautious about assuming that Rickards’ reference to a song about a clever young lady of 19 years old in his 1895 interview refers to an early version of A virgin ... It could be referring to any one of a number of songs about clever young women – songs on this theme were commonplace in the halls of the 1870s (for some examples see Women have the upper hand).

Last Updated on June 21, 2025 by John Baxter | Published: June 3, 2025