Dorothy Dean
| AKA | The Man with his Flying Machine |
| First Published | 1894 |
| Writer/composer | Harry Dacre | Roud | RN24526 |
| Music Hall Performers | Marie Kendall |
| Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Kane, Alice ; N. Ireland : Belfast ; nd |
For years I've been courting a lady
Beautiful Dorothy Dean
But she has turned out rather shady
Although she was once all serene
Since Mr Alberti Mac Springer
Brought out his new flying machine
At Lover's Lae vainly I linger
Awaiting Miss Dorothy Dean
Oh! Dorothy, Dorothy Dean
Oh! Dorothy what can she mean
She's suddenly flown
To regions unknown
Along with a man on his flying machine
Quite early one bright Sunday morning
Beautiful Dorothy Dean
Arose from her bed without warning
To sample that flying machine.
With Mr Mac Springer to spoon O!
She rose till no speck could be seen
They may have reached Venus or Juno
Mac Springer and Dorothy Dean
Ah! night after night I am dreaming
Dreaming of Dorothy Dean
I fancy I hear her voice screaming
Then Crash! comes the flying machine
I raise her - all injured and shaken —
I whisper "you're still my heart's queen"
Then just as I kiss I awaken
To find there's no Dorothy Dean.
A song recalled by Alice Kane in her Songs and Sayings of an Ulster Childhood (1993)
It was written by Harry Dacre and was marketed as a pantomime song for the 1894/5season. It was also a big hit in the Halls for Marie Kendall.
Marie Kendal sings the chorus:
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%3A24526
- Ballad Index
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics and Sheet Music: Dacre, H., & Southern, F. W. (1894). Dorothy Dean, or, The man on his flying machine. Frank Dean & Co. [Bodleian Library Mediated Copying]