Charles Dibdin Snr (1745-1814) was perhaps the greatest popular songwriter of his age. He wrote in the period that preceded the music halls, but some of his songs lived on in the Halls and he is an important figure in the history of popular music generally.
He was a prolific composer, dramatist, songwriter and performer active in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was the son of a silversmith and as a boy was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral. As a young man he became a singing actor at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, and began to write musical/dramatic theatre pieces in the early 1760s. After numerous successes he fell out with the managers of the existing theatres, and struck out on his own – often presenting entertainments sitting at the harpsichord rather than acting out roles. In this rather more intimate setting he developed a direct, unaffected, humorous style of singing, in contrast to the perceived affectations that predominated in theatrical singing of the late 18th century. Dibdin is now best remembered for his nationalistic songs particularly the huge number of songs he wrote on nautical themes.
Not to be confused with his two illegitimate sons, Charles Dibdin Jnr and Thomas Dibdin, who were both dramatists and songwriters.
Performers in the singing taverns, concert rooms and early Music Halls sang many of the senior Charles Dibdin’s songs and were almost certainly influenced by his performance style. Songs written and/or performed by Charles Dibdin, which were sung in the Halls or singing taverns include:
- DEATH OF NELSON, THE (RN3549)
- Hearts of Oak (RN31418)
- The Irish Wedding (RN17123)
- Jack has a wife in every port (RN23108)
- Jolly Young Waterman (RN1186)
- Lass that loves a Sailor (RN6738)
- Sweethearts and Wives (RN31353)
- Tom Bowling (RN1984)
- Tom Tough (RN13818)
- WOODMAN, THE (RN24883)
These songs were written for performance in operas or Dibdin concerts. They were popular and widely printed throughout the 19th century and performed in every conceivable type of venue, including Music Halls. Unless there is a particular link to a particular Music Hall performer, I won’t give the songs their own page.
Sources
- The Oxford Companion to Popular Music
- Senelick: Tavern singing
- Kilgarriff Sing us
- The selected songs of Charles Dibdin (1845),
Last Updated on March 14, 2025 by John Baxter | Published: March 25, 2022
