Bobbing up and down like this

AKA Bobbin’ up and down
Sons of the Sea
First Published 1899
Writer/composer Worton David / Norman Reeve Roud RN 29819

Music Hall Performers Austin Rudd
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Jones, Frank; England : West Midlands; 1984
Turner, Pat; England : Gloucestershire; 2013
Modern performances
Lieutenant Pigeon 

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:

 Review of performance at The London Saturday,  Sept. 2, 1899;  The Era 

This song would probably have been long forgotten had but at some point in the first half of the 20th century its chorus seems to have been combined with that of Sons of the Sea (a song which takes itself far too seriously!) to generate an action song sung around campfires, on coach trips and apparently in British holiday camps. It lives on as a children’s song in various versions – see this Mudcat thread …

The combined version is often sung as a cumulative action song like this one from Joe Offer On Mudcat, which starts:

Sons of the sea,
      BOBBING up and down like this.
Sailing the ocean,
      BOBBING up and down like this.
Well you can build a ship my lad,
      BOBBING up and down like this.
But you can't beat the boys in the bulldog ring,
      BOBBING up and down like this.

Ending eventually with: CLIMBING the ropes and ROWING the boats and SWABBING the decks and HITCHING up your pants and BOBBING up and down like this.

Not to be confused with:

  • Bobbing Up and Down, an American song with words by D.A. Esrom and music by Theodore Morse. (First line:Come on and take a trip on a funny little ship)- sheet music for that song is held in the Levy Collection.
  • The minstrel/Sam Cowell song Bobbing Around (RN1389) – page link in preparation …

Here is a fictionalised performance from the film Holiday Camp (1947), the first in a series about the Huggett family. This clip features real life radio star “Cheerful Charlie Chester”:

Lieutenant Pigeon sing it:

Sources: