| AKA | The old game cock |
| First Published | 1921 |
| Writer/composer | Wynn Stanley and Andrew Allen | Roud | RN10733 |
| Music Hall Performers | Florrie Forde |
| Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: unknown singer ; Ireland ; Co. Louth : 1937 Cutmore, Charlie ; England : Suffolk : 1964-65 Showers, Charlie ; England : Somerset : 1974 Hill, Charlie ; England : Devon : 1981 Woods, Gordon England : Suffolk : no date |
Transcribed from the recording:
(I believe there's a third verse which I will confirm or not when/if I get my hands on the complete sheet music.)
My husband over-sleeps himself each morn,
Never got up early since the day that he was born.
Till last week I struck a fine idea.
Went to the market, and it does seem queer.
I bought a lovely rooster, the kind that doesn't lay,
Took it home and now I'm very pleased to say:
Every morning, every morning, everything is quite alright,
Don't need to knocker up, don't need a clock
For underneath the bed he put that the old gamecock.
And every morning, every morning, he never oversleeps it's true,
For out he'll go when the cock begins to crow
"Cock-cock-cock-a-doodle-do" [x2]
He thought that rooster led a lonely life,
So he went and bought a hen and made them man and wife;
Each night she sleeps in the baby's cot.
Sits on the water bottle nice and hot
And now she makes his breakfast when he shows a leg;
On the water bottle there's a nice poached egg.
Every morning, every morning, everything is quite alright,
Don't need a knocker up, don't need a clock
For underneath the bed he put that the old gamecock.
And every morning, every morning, he never oversleeps it's true,
For out he'll go when the cock begins to crow
"Cock-cock-cock-a-doodle-do" [x2]

A hit recorded and performed in the Halls by Florrie Forde in the early 1920s, where she sang it in her favourite summer resort, Douglas on the Isle of Man.
The song has been collected from a number of traditional singers, usually with a third verse that doesn’t feature in Forde’s recording:
Now all you maidens that have just got wed
If you've got a husband that you can't get out of bed
Take my tip and you'll all rejoice
Go and buy a rooster with a tenor voice
And when he starts his love song ,
He'll get out quicker I bet!
So learn this little chorus ere you should forget
Howson (1992) Songs Sung in Suffolk
Florrie Forde sings it:
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%3A10733
- Mudcat Thread
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: transcribed from recording
- Sheet Music: personal collection(Cover Only)
| S376526, s587307 |
Last Updated on January 4, 2026 by John Baxter | Published: September 27, 2025
