Bobbing up and down like this

BOBBING UP AND DOWN LIKE THIS

I'm a man who liken a bit of fun—
Consequence I took a little run 
Not to Brighton, as most folks do,
Or to Margate—I know a thing or two. 
Took the misses, left the key next door,
Down at Ostend took a second floor, 
Got up early as lively as could be,
And watched the, giddy young kippers in the sea—
Like this— like this—
Bobbing up and down like this.

Gus and Gertie in their bathing frocks, 
All mixed up like chocolates in a box. 
I cried,'What ho?'— Such fun I would not miss,
When I saw my Mrs and the man next door 
Bobbing up and down like this.

Underneath the moon the other day, 
My friend Timpkins and his fiancee 
Sat a-dreaming in rapture sweet, 
Talking lots of stuff they couldn't eat.
They were seated where the tulip springs, 
Viewing the stars and sundry other things, 
When of a sudden like a silly young clown, 
Timpkins started a-hopping up and down— , 
Like this— like this—
Hopping up and down like this.
He discovered that a nest of ants
Had perforated the lining of his pants.
Oh, dear! oh, lor, it fairly spoilt their bliss, 
For till early morning was this poor young man 
Hopping up and down like this

Mister McCann is such a silly ass,
For last Sunday with the aid of gas
Be attempted a tooth to draw—
He had an abscess in his lower jaw.
Sucked the burner of the chandelier, 
Turned the gas on—nobody was near. 
Presently got full up as a drum,
Then he started to bounce about and hum— 
Like this— like this—
Bouncing up and down like this—
Just like a fairy in a pantomime,
All day long without a dinner time.
Oh, dear! oh, lor, his meals he'll surely miss
It occurred last Sunday, but McCann's still - there.
Bouncing up and down like this.

A song remembered in snatches by several traditional singers

Bobbing up and down like this (the version given above at least) was the first hit for the prolific Music Hall lyricist Worton David , with music composed by Norman Reeve. It was performed in the British Halls by Austin Rudd (1868-1929) a comic who had his first success in the 1890s and continued to tour and perform into the 1920s, he was especially popular in his later years in Australia and New Zealand. In this review his performance is compared to that of the earlier singer JH Stead, who specialised in singing songs while jumping up and down vigourously on the spot with hands tight to his sides: