Collected from the singing of: George Dodds; England : Yorkshire; 1941 Percy Brown; England : Norfolk 1959 Modern performances Stanley Holloway
OH! I MUST GO HOME TONIGHT
Jones was a fellow who went the pace with all his youthful might.
He took a great delight in staying out all night.
When people were thinking of going to bed, around the West he'd roam.
He'd go to Clubs or go to Pubs but never would go home.
But one night inside the club, he gave his pals a fright
When he said "I'm going home" and bid them all goodnight.
They thought that he was joking and they all laughed out aloud,
But Jones looked very serious as he shouted to the crowd:
Oh I must go home tonight. I must go home tonight.
I don't care if its snowing, blowing; I'm going.
I only got married this morning and it fills me with delight.
I'll stop out as long as you like next week, but I must go home tonight.
Off to the station he made a dash to ask about his train
To take him home again, but he asked all in vain.
They said, "There's none running at all tonight to where you want to go.
All service is suspended for the line's blocked up with snow."
He walked up and down the platform, anything but gay.
Said he "I would walk home if I only knew the way"
A porter said "You'll have to wait till morning, I'm afraid."
But Jones said, "That's impossible. I cannot be delayed."
Out of the station he made a dive and on the street did land.
He yelled and waved his hand for a taxi off the stand.
He gave his address to the driver and in confidence agreed
To pay him half a sovereign if he put on extra speed.
But smash went the taxi, for the speed was far too high.
Said Jones, "I don't live up here" as he shot up in the sky.
He fell down on the pavement and a policeman said below
"We can take you to a hospital" but Jones Whispered "No!"
An early 20th century comic song from the Halls made famous by the extremely successful performer and recording artist Billy Williams. It seems to have remained popular with amateur pub singers well into the second half of the 20th century.
It was recorded from the singing of George Dowds in 1941 at The Star Inn, Harome,Yorkshire for a broadcast by the BBC.
Collected from the singing of: Weir, Dorrance; USA : New York : 1966 Modern performances Bing Crosby, Spike Jones, Connie Francis, Gracie Fields, etc!
My name is MacNamara, I'm the leader of a band,
And though we're small in number we're the best in all the land.
Oh! I am the conductor, and we often have to play
With all the fine musicianers you hear about today.
When the drums go bang, the cymbals clang, the horns will blaze away,
MacCarthy puffs the ould bassoon while Doyle the pipes will play.
Oh! Hennessey Tennessy tootles the flute, my word! Tis is something grand,
Oh! A credit to ould Ireland, boys, is MacNamara's Band.
Whenever an election's on we play on either side,
The way we play the fine ould airs fills Irish hearts with pride.
Oh! If poor Tom Moore was living now, he'd make yez understand
That none can do him justice like ould MacNamara's Band.
We play for wakes and weddings and for every County Ball,
And at any great man's funeral we play "The Dead March in Saul."
When the Prince of Wales to Ireland came he shook me by the hand,
And said he never heard the like of ould McNamara's Band.
A comic song sung in the British and Irish Halls of the 1880s by Irish-American comic WJ Ashford, who performed the song as a one-man- band playing along with a variety of instruments. It was written for him by his manager, John J Stamford. Reports of Ashford singing the song go back to 1882, though the earliest sheet music seems to have been published much later in 1889 The song was widely sung by amateurs in the 19th century and was recorded several times in the 20th century – perhaps most famously by Bing Crosby. It is an official song of Tottenham Hotspur FC.
The Era, April 15, 1882Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette – 13 February 1883
Collected from the singing of: Dolby, Bill; England : Suffolk : 1964-5 Hingston, Bill; England : Devon : 1970s Preece, Tommy; England : Derbyshire : 1970 Thorndyke, Doddy; England : Suffolk : 1983 Hall. Gordon; England : Sussex : 1989 Lane, Ernie England : Gloucestershire : 1993 ( Norman, Mr. / Norman, Mrs. England : Bedfordshire : 1950-69 King, Arthur (Cocky); England : Suffolk : no date Modern performances Mike Harding, The Houghton Weavers The Wolf Tones
My Brudda Sylvest.
(from 1908 US Sheet Music)
Oh you heard about the great stong-a man,
Oh the great-a big-a John Sullivan,
And you heard about the Jeffries fight,
He's-a strong all right, he whip-a fifty men in one-a night,
But I got a brudda got the bunch-a beat,
Got a chest-a measure forty-sev'n-a feet,
Got a peanut stand on Mulberry Street, he's-a tough-a man to beat.
My great big brudda Sylvest take a great-a big-a ship on the chest,
Kill-a fifty thousand Indians out West, he no take-a no rest,
He got a one strong grip
With-a one-a punch-a sink-a da ship,
Oh it takes a whole-a army to whip, my brudda Sylvest.
Up a town there was a fire a last week
Police a man a call a fire engine quick
Fire engine a make a root-tootle toot the fire out to put everybody tried nobody could
Oh Sylvest a then he come along and shout
I will show you just a how to go a boat
Oh he swell his chest a big an a stout and he'd blow the fire out
[Extra verses by Fred Fischer]
Oh, my brudda work a on da steam boat,
Down the East River one a day he float,
Underneath the Brooklyn Bridge so tall,somebody
"Hey, look look da bridge he gone a
But Sylvest a say "Cheer up, nobody die"
And he push a push da bridge away up high,
And he hold him like forty horse,
And fifty thousand people walk across
Oh, Sylvest a engineer, the B & O.
Run a train from Baltimore to Buffalo,
When he see a baby on the track, he tried to check,
The engine he no can a push him
He get mad and grab a telegraph a pole,
Wreck da train and push a push. him in da hole,
Saved the little baby just the same,
But kill all the passengers on da train
Oh, my brudda he was in the Spanish War,
And he make a fight upon the Cuban Shore,
Oh, the bullets flattened on his head, the soldier said,
But nobody could kill Sylvest a dead,
Oh, he smash a Moro Castle with his fist,
With a one lick and never hurt his wrist,
Take a Spaniard throw him in the sea,
Drown four-hundred-twenty-three.
Oh, the Ring a ling a circus gave a show
Ev'rybody in the whole a town he go,
Oh the lion, big a one broke out,
Without a doubt, he'd kill a everybody in the crowd,
But Sylvest a say no make monkey biz
He just take the lion tail and swing like this
Then he put his hand right in his mouth,
And he turn him inside out.
Oh, Sylvest a throw bail three thousand feet,
He3's got a da great a Mike a Donlin beat,
If the giants say they need a help put them on the shelf,
Sylvest a play the league by himself,
Last a week the bat a slip a from the hand,
Smash the Umpire in the back, and beat the Band, .
Then he bounce a off a stone in the sand,
Break da whole a Grand a'Stand,
Oh, Sylvest a, down the mine he dig a coal,
And he make a one great a big a hole,
Hundred-thousand ton of coal he break, the earth he shake,
A hole from here to Italy he make,
When the boss he say, you go too far, Valjo,
Then Sylvest a say "I know just where go,"
Oh the bottom Of the mine it a fell,
And Sylvest a went to ......
Big Strong Man as sung by the Wolfe Tones
Have you heard about the big strong man?
That lives in a caravan.
Have you heard about the Jeffrey Johnson fight?
Oh, Lord what a hell of a fight.
You can take all of the heavyweights you've got.
We've got a lad that can beat the whole lot.
He used to ring bells in the belfry,
Now he's gonna fight Jack Demspey.
That was my brother Sylvest' (What's he got?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (big chest!)
He killed fifty bad men in the west; he knows no rest.
Think of a man, hells' fire, don't push, just shove,
Plenty of room for you and me.
He's got an arm like a leg (a ladies' leg!)
And a punch that would sink a battleship (big ship!)
It takes all of the Army and the Navy to put the wind up Sylvest'.
Now, he thought he'd take a trip to Italy.
He thought that he'd go by sea.
He jumped off the harbor in New York,
And swam like a man made of cork.
He saw the Lusitania in distress. (What he do?)
He put the Lusitania on his chest. (Big chest!)
He drank all of the water in the sea,
And he walked all the way to Italy.
That was my brother Sylvest' (What's he got?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (big chest!)
He killed fifty bad men in the west; he knows no rest.
Think of a man, hells' fire, don't push, just shove,
Plenty of room for you and me.
He's got an arm like a leg (a ladies' leg!)
And a punch that would sink a battleship (big ship!)
It takes all of the Army and the Navy to put the wind up Sylvest'.
He thought he take a trip to old Japan.
They turned out the whole brass band.
He played every instrument they got,
Like a lad sure he beat the whole lot.
And the old church bells will ring (Hells bells!)
The old church choir will sing (Hells fire!)
They all turned out to say farewell to my big brother Sylvest'.
That was my brother Sylvest' (What's he got?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (big chest!)
He killed fifty bad men in the west; he knows no rest.
Think of a man, hells' fire, don't push, just shove,
Plenty of room for you and me.
He's got an arm like a leg (a ladies' leg!)
And a punch that would sink a battleship (big ship!)
It takes all of the Army and the Navy to put the wind up Sylvest'.
This song was originally from the United States, but it was also a hit in British and Irish Music Halls. It has since become a popular song amongst traditional singers in Ireland and Lancashire, though the words vary somewhat.
In the US it originally featured in a 1908 vaudeville production called Seven Hoboes, which seems to have featured seven comic caricatures from seven different nations. In the original production My Brudda Sylvest was sung by comedian Sam Dody who played an Irish American character. It was a hit in the British and Irish Halls or the comedian Sam Stern, whose brief biography is given below.
Sam Stern (1883-1957 ) was an Jewish-American comedian who had a successful career in the British Music Halls between 1910 and 1919 – he made his first appearance at the Tivoli in July 1910, performing his first song dressed as a “Hebrew red Indian chief”and later in the same evening appeared as “an Italian street boy”. He claimed to have introduced ragtime to London audiences with hits like Yiddle on your Fiddle Play Some Ragtime. His obituary in The Stage suggests that he moved to South Africa in the 1920s, but from 1920 on he was appearing regularly on the Australian stage. He died in Australia in 1957 and was apparently buried in a pauper’s coffin.
Collected from the singing of: Robertson, Jeannie; Scotland : Aberdeenshire : 1954 Stewart, Lucy; Scotland : Aberdeenshire :1960 Heaney, Joe; Ireland : Co. Galway : 1980 Robertson, Stanley; Scotland : Aberdeenshire : 2009 Modern performances Jean Redpath, Iona Fyfe and others see Mainly Norfolk
From 1874 sheet music in New York Public Library
I am a man of great influence
And educated to a high degree
I come here when small from Donegal
In the Daniel Webster across the sea
In the Fourteenth Ward I situated
In a tenement house with my brother Dan
By perseverance I elevated
And went to the front like a solid man
Go with me and I'll treat you decent
I'll set you down and I'll fill the can
As I walk the street each friend I meet
Says: "There goes Muldoon, he's a solid man"
At any party or any raffle
I always go as an invited guest
As conspicuous as General Granite,boys
I wear a rosebud upon my breast
I'm called upon to address the meeting
Without regard to clique or clan
I show the constitution with elocution
Bekase you know I'm a solid man
Go with me and I'll treat you decent
I'll set you down and I'll fill the can
As I walk the street each friend I meet
Says: "There goes Muldoon, he's a solid man"
I control the Tombs, I control the Island
My constituents, they all go there
To enjoy the summer's recreation
And the refreshing East River air
I'm known in Harlem, I'm known in Jarsey
I'm welcomed hearty on every hand
Wid my regalay on Patrick's Day
I march away like a solid man
For oppositions or politicians
Take my word I don't give a damn
As I walk the street each friend I meet
Says: "There goes Muldoon, he's a
solid man"
A song by Ned Harrigan(1845-1911) – an extremely successful Irish-American actor, playwright and lyricist. The music was credited to his regular collaborator David Braham. Muldoon, The Solid Man is described by Don Meade as a comic ditty about a boastful New York politician. It was first performed by Harrigan and others as part of a sketch called Who Owns The Line in March 1874 at the Theatre Comique, on Broadway (New York). The song was most famously performed in British and Irish Music Halls by William J Ashcroft, whose name was so associated with the song that he advertised himself as The Solid Man sometimes not bothering to include his name! A brief biography of Ashcroft is given below. The song was widely published on both sides of the Atlantic as street literature (broadsides and songbooks).
Aug. 25, 1876, Liverpool Mercury
Don Meade gives an excellent account of how this song, through “a process of collective editing and elaboration” (I would add contraction), passed into the repertoire of 20th century folk singers. The process involved both oral and written transmission and while Meade expresses doubts, I believe one result of this “folk process” is likely to have been the song I will lay ye doon, love as sung by Jeannie Robertson, collected in 1954 (in his indexes Steve Roud classes them as the same song, so I should make clear that this is not an original idea of my own)
Jeannie Robertson sings Lay Ye Doon
(Transcription at Mainly Norfolk)
For I will lay you doun, love, I'll treat you dacent,
I will lay ye doun, love, I'll fill your can;
I will lay ye doun, love, I'll treat you dacent,
For Bolerl he is a solid man.
For as I strollt out on a summer's evening,
Down by the waters of the pleasant Bann;
And as I was walking sure I could hear them talking,
And saying, “Bolerl, he's a solid man.”
I will lay you doun, love, I'll treat you dacent,
I will lay ye doun, love, I'll fill your can;
I will lay ye doun, love, I'll treat you dacent,
For Bolerl hm,e is a solid man.
WJ Ashcroft: sometimes Billy, or even Willie John Ashcroft (1840-1918) The Solid Man. William J Ashcroft’s parents emigrated from Whiteabbey, a village near Belfast in Ireland, to Rhode Island in the 1830s. Ashcroft ran away from home to join a minstrel troupe, making his stage debut in 1857. He was known as a dancer and occasional blackface performer who specialised in Irish comedy and songs. In 1872 he travelled to London where he appeared for a record-breaking 40 weeks in various London Halls. He returned temporarily to the US in 1874/75 before returning permanently to the British Isles in 1876, where he married English actress Kitty Brooks. Its likely that he picked up Muldoon The Solid Man during this time in the States, but where ever he got it, on his return in 1876 he started billing himself as”The Solid Man” (see notice reproduced above).
Between 1876 and 1890 he maintained a gruelling schedule , touring Halls in Britain and Ireland. The intensity of his appearances did not even let up after he and his wife bought the Alhambra Theatre in Belfast in 1879. His stage persona was of the confident self-made Irish American, as portrayed in his most successful song Muldoon The Solid Man. He suffered from poor mental health , and his erratic behaviour saw him detained in a Belfast asylum in May 1890. His wife took over the management of the Alhambra, but in November 1900 he was declared bankrupt- audiences at the Alhambra were declining probably because of greater competition from the many more fashionable variety theatres in Belfast. Ashcroft died in the Purdysburn Asylum, Belfast, in 1918.
A number of his songs are still in the repertoire of Irish, Scottish and British traditional performers. My initial provisional list is:
Collected from the singing of: Costello, Cecilia; England: Warwickshire; 1967 Webber, Samuel; England: West Midlands; 1971
As recalled in The Scottish Referee, 27 March 1903
She wore a white silk dress
And a dainty shoe,
A saucy little hat,
Neatly trimmed with blue,
And poor old Jones had to confess
He was gone upon the lady
In the white silk dress.
I have only been able to find the chorus of this song (thus far), though from library catalogues the first line is: Jones, a bachelor stiff and staid. Its another song from the 1890s by the prolific songwriter AJ Mills with music by Bennett Scott. It was sung in the Halls by light opera singer Decima Moore and comedian Lily Lena. Several contemporary recordings were made, but at the time of writing they don’t appear to be available online.
Lily Lena (born 1877-1958), known as Lal, was a relative of Marie Lloyd and in the early 90s performed with her cousin Rosie Lloyd as “The Sisters Lena”. She went solo in 1896 and within a year had a hit with The White Silk Dress. She performed in Britain and America until the 1920s.
Collected from the singing of: Poacher, Cyril; England : Suffolk, 1965 Holden, Jack; England : Lincolnshire; 1970 Faires, Norman; England : Sussex; 1991
Running Up and Down our Stairs
(Recorded by Neil Lanham at Grove Farm, Blaxhall, 1965. Transcription by Rod Stradling from Cyril Poacher Mustrad CD Sleeve notes)
Now my wife's mother, she's a bit too stout
For an eighteen stoner, she's a fair knock out.
She's admired by the country farmers
When they see her in pyjamas.
Just for a bit of exercise
A fine idea she's planned;
Every morning at three o'clock'
Clock-weight in each hand:
She's a-running up and down our stairs,
A-running up and down our stairs.
One fine night she made a bit of fuss,
Puffing like a great big hippopotamus.
Suddenly a great big nail,
It caught poor Mother unaware,
She slipped and punctured her India rubber tyre
Running up and down our stairs.
I had a very funny dream last night. Ha ha,
I dreamt I was in the ?? with a shah.
I had a turbot (turban?) on my barnet
...............?
Suddenly I woke up in a fright,
My Missis pulled my nose.
There were fifteen firemen
With a blooming great big hose.
A-running up and down our stairs.
A-running up and down our stairs.
I jumped out of the bed in a fright,
Rushing round the room with me whiskers all alight.
Just to save our happy little home
I was shifting the tables and the chairs.
And I was very busy in me little short shirt
A-running up and down our stairs.
Now a lodger next door he made me weep,
Brought a lot of black sheep's heads up cheap
............
To keep them sweet 'til the following May.
They were ?? the whole night long,
They woke me from my snore.
And the next day morning when I awoke
What do you think I saw?
A-running up and down our stairs.
A-running up and down our stairs.
These sheep's heads without a bit of doubt,
All of them had their tongue hanging out.
They didn't seem to care for me,
For there they were in pair,
Singing Baa baa black sheep have you any wool?
Running up and down our stairs.
Now I'm the owner of a big black cat,
She's always a-sitting on the front door mat.
Washing herself for the occasion
? the cats of the male persuasion.
I didn't get a wink of sleep
From ten o'clock 'til four,
There was puss, puss, puss in company
With a young man cat she knew.
A-running up and down our stairs.
A-running up and down our stairs.
There on the landing they would sit and spoon,
Talk about the place for your honeymoon.
Their courtship came to an end
And I had to say my prayers.
There was ten little kittens and a pa and ma
A-running up and down our stairs.
Another song from the 1890s remembered by traditional performers in the late 20th century. It was written by the prolific AJ Mills in collaboration with FW Carter and was a hit for Frank Seeley.
It was recorded by Burt Shepard for Berliner Records in 1902
Collected from the singing of: Clark, LaRena; Canada : Ontario; 1968
Transcribed from UCSB Glen Ellison 1915 Edison recording by John Baxter (this is slightly different from the Hector Gordon recording below):
A bonnie highland lassie is Maggie McKenzie
She fascinates me badly wi' her tartan dress and tammy
But when I spoke of marriage, wi' a twinkle in her eye
"I'm never going to marry" she'd reply.
But then I used to persevere
And nightly whisper in her ear...
Make your mind up Maggie McKenzie
You're the best wee lassie I know
And though you say that you will never marryWell I don't believe that's soNow don't be foolish Maggie McKenzie
For you know I love you true
And if your father and your mother
Thought it good for one anotherSurely that's good enough for you!
[Extended comic patter follows discussing the peculiarities of Maggie's family, followed by a repeat of the chorus]
A popular song in the pre-war period 1913-14, later collected from the singing of the prolific traditional Canadian singer LaRena Clark by Edith Fowke. It was most associated with the singing of Daisy Dormer, but later taken up by other singers (a brief biography of Daisy Dormer is in preparation). Allegedly a song that classical composer and folksong collector Ralph Vaughn Williams liked to play on the organ…
The words were by English songwriter AJ Mills with music by Bennett Scott and at least two contemporary recordings were made, one in 1914 by Hector Gordon seen in the YouTube video below, and one in 1915 on Edison cylinder by Glen Ellison:
Collected from the singing of: Faires, Norman; England : Sussex: 1991
I've been out on a pleasure boat, for a day on the breezy brine
We started away from London Bridge, and we all felt fit and fine
We sang 'A life on the ocean wave' as loud as we could roar
Our boat went alright down the Thames, but when we reached the Nore.
She began to bump a little bit
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit
A fat man fell down the engine room
His wife was clinging to the great jib boom
She rolled about and fairly in the dumps
I clung to the Captain's bags, and cried
'What ho, she bumps!'
I once played in a drama that we called 'The flying scud'
I'd to appear on a gee-gee and it was a bit of blood
In front of the blooming audience I had to mount her nibs
And when I stuck a pin into her India-rubber ribs.
She began to bump a little bit
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit
Oh, she made a tremendous hit,
When she kicked our villain in the threep'ny bit
The actors guyed as she took running jumps
And a boy in the gallery cried
'What ho, she bumps!'
Where I lived at the seaside once, a girl lived opposite
And one fine morning she went to bathe in a costume pink and white
A crowd of chaps stood on the shore as she waded in the blue
And everyone was, anxious there to see what she would do.
She began to bump a little bit
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit
At first she was bashful as she could be
Till she got used to the rolling sea
Then up and down the little petlet jumps
And the men all shouted from the golden shore
'What ho, she bumps!'Additional verses from broadside:
My wife's mother is a nimble puss, though she weighs just half a ton;
She went out in some bloomers once, on a bike that was built for one.
She went at the rate of a mile an hour, her squeaker went pup, pup,
Until she came to a thoroughfare where all the road was up —
She began to bump a little bit -
Bump bump, bump, just a little bit
Into a hole she went, head first,
Where a bloke was patching up a pipe that burst.
She did the splits and gave him awful thump.,
Then he dropped his shovel and exclaimed, "Great Scott!
What ho, she bumps!
My wife has two wooden legs, and they are a bit all right,
But she won't unscrew those bits of wood when we retire at night.
One night while enjoying a peaceful doze I felt a little smack-
Twas my old woman's timber yard stuck right fair in my back-
She began to bump a little bit —
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit ;
I yelled out and I woke the twin —
"D'you hear — you're hurting my poor shins!
I'd like to burn my old girl's timber stumps;
For when she starts to snore and has nightmares —What ho, she bumps!
A turn-of-the-century song collected from the singing of Norman Faires by Nick and Mally Dow in 1991. It can be heard at the British library Sound archive.
In early 1899 two songs called What Ho She Bumps were being sung in British Music Halls. One, written by Willie Stern and sung by JW Rickaby soon faded into obscurity. The other, written and composed by Harry Castling and AJ Mills became a major hit throughout the English-speaking world. The title became one of those irritating catchphrases that for a while was everywhere…
The official sheet music gave three verses and three choruses, though a pirated broadside version with several additional verses was also in circulation. It is not clear who wrote the additional material, though Music Hall songwriters often wrote more verses than were included in the sheet music.
The song was recorded several times , this version was recorded by Burt Shepard:
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%3A38304
Collected from the singing of: unknown Irish singer; Co. Monaghan : Ireland, c1937
Personal transcription from 1907 recording:
For twenty years and twenty days I courted Martha Birch
This morn I bought a wedding ring and escorted her to church
The parson quickly tied the knot, and I was very glad
To get outside, for the dollar bill I'd given him was bad
Amidst a shower of rice and mud we 'round the corner flew
The wedding breakfast over, we'd a pint of beer or two
Found myself inside a train, got here in a whizz
But I forgot my new-made wife and I don't know where she is
I got married this morning at half past ten.
Off I started as happy as nineteen men.
But I forgot my bride, all through my absent mind.
What's the good of a honeymoon if you leave the wife behind.
I pulled a cord and stopped the train, the conductor's temper rose
He jumped into the luggage car and punched me on the nose
And when we reached the station, all the brakeman in a batch
Tossed me in a blanket in a wicked game of catch
She's trying to sue me for divorce, this wire tells me so
Am I a married man or not? Well I'm blowed if I know
When I think of the home I bought, I feel inclined to weep
There's a double bed and a kitchen stove, I'd like to sell them cheap
A comic song made famous by Charles Bignell in 1896, with words by AJ Mills and music by Bennett Scott. It was recorded in the early 20th century by Edward Favor for Edison Records:
1901 recording by Edward M Favor, Edison Records
It was remembered 40 years later by an Irish singer and collected by May Fitzpatrick (aged 12) as part of a huge project in which folklore and local tradition were compiled by pupils from 5,000 primary schools in the Irish Free State between 1937 and 1939 (Irish National Folklore Collection).
As collected by May Fitzpatrick:
I got married this morning at half past ten.
I am as happy as nineteen men.
The parson quickly tied the knot and I was offaly glad.
For the two bob piece I had given him it was so terribly bad.
But I forgot my bride all through my absent mind.
So where's the good of a honeymoon when you leave your wife behind.
Collected from the singing of: Dore, Bill; England : Oxfordshire; 1966 unknown singer; England : Worcestershire; 1940
Transcribed from the singing of Bill Dore at his home in Leafield, Oxfordshire in 1972, from sleevenotes to CD Up in the North, Down in the South
While dancing on our village green, upon last first of May,
With Farmer Giles's daughter I had a jolly day.
When all at once I slipped and fell, and fat old Mrs Gee,
Who weighed nigh forty-seven stones, come wallop right on me.
With a too-ri-oo-ri-ay, with a too-ri-oo-ri-are.
Just pop round and see us now, for it be'ent so very far.
They calls I Jolly Jorge, well and here-i, here-i are.
So join I in the chor-i-us, with a too-ri-oo-ri-are.
I saw the parson's missis climb across a stile one day.
When she turns round and spotted I, says, "Jarge, will thee com'st our way?
I want thee Jarge to judge some calves." I answered with a smile,
"They be lovely, mum, I judged 'em when thee got'st across that style."
The parson called the other day, whilst I sat at me ease.
"Towards the children's home," says he, "Will't thou give summat please?"
"Towards the children's home," says I, without the least demur,
"Why, certainly, with pleasure, and I'll give six children small!"
An early 20th century Music Hall song written by the prolific AJ Mills with George Arthurs. It was most famously performed in the Halls by George Bastow, but it also featured in the repertoire of lesser-known performer Owen Way – brief biographical information below. George Bastow recorded it for Edison Bell in 1904 and Owen Way for HMV in 1907. It’s one of a number of Music Hall songs which might be seen to ridicule rural life, but which nonetheless became extremely popular in rural communities – slightly different versions of the song were recorded in rural pubs in the 1940s and 1960s. (The 1940s recording is available on YouTube, see below. The 1960s recording is available on the Vaughan Williams Memorial library website here.)
Owen Way (c1869 – 1919) was a vocal comedian and songwriter active in provincial Music Halls and pantomime between approx. 1896 and 1914. He seems to have spent most of his summer seasons performing at Herne Bay, initially in an outdoor Theatre on the Sands, later in the Gaiety Theatre which he owned and managed. His portrayals of comic rural characters were particular well thought of. Like many leading lights in the theatre world, he was active Freemason. In interviews he claimed to have been educated at Oxford and he was married to Alice Tanner, principal vocalist of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. He died at the age of 52 in 1919.
Owen Way, recorded singing Jolly Jarge in 1907
As sung with different verses by unknown Worcestershire singer in 1940 (found by Katie Howson):
