Down at the Farmyard Gate
First Published | 1893 |
Writer/composer | Felix McGlennon | Roud | RN23909 |
Music Hall Performers | Katie Lawrence |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: unidentified male, Scotland, 1960s-80s |
Down at the Farm-Yard Gate. Copyright, 1893, by Frank Tousey. Words and Music- by Felix McGlennon. Johnny Green once used to wait for his girl Down at the farm-yard gate, With his whiskers trimmed and a nice little curl, Down at the farm-yard gate; He would sit on the gate and he'd cry "chuckoo! Ain't you coming our, darling? do, love, do, For my toes is cold and my nose is blue," Down at the farm-yard gate. Oh, that farm-yard gate! Johnny was there, early and late, Whistling and singing, "Are you coming out, Kate?" Down at the farm-yard gate. She would come out and they both would sing, Down at the farm-yard gate; And he then would talk like a silly thing, Down at the farm-yard gate. They would sit there for hours and they'd whisper low, Then her dad would come out and he'd laugh, Ho! Ho! Then Johnny had to sit on the old man's toe, Down at the farm-yard gate. Now Kate's little brother once took some tar Down to the farm-yard gate. And he spread it all over the topmost bar, Down at the farm-yard gate. Now Johnny but there, and he said, "My duck," And Kate sat there and she said, "Chuck-chuck;" And they had to sit there, for they both had stuck, Down on the farm-yard gate. Those lovers ne'er speak now as they pass by, Down to the farm-yard gate; If you go there you'll find out the reason why, Down at the farm-yard gate. You'll see a bustle if you're not blind, A portion of pants you will also find, It's the part that he used to wear behind, Down at the farm-yard gate.
Performed in the Halls by Katie Lawrence, a popular hit of 1895 written and composed by Felix McGlennon.
Peter Hall collected it from the singing of an unknown Scottish traditional performer in the late 20th century …
Katie Lawrence (1870-1913) was a popular singer and dancer in the Halls of the 1880s and 90s. Her most famous song was Daisy Bell (better known as Daisy Daisy or A bicycle made for two). In her early years she was known as Jolly Katie Lawrence, she was one of a number of highly successful artists represented by agent George Ware. She was a favourite of the artist Walter Sickert, though only one painting survives. Lawrence was not impressed by his work- when offered a life-sized painting she refused: “What? That thing? Not even to keep the draft from under the scullery door!“. Her success was such that she toured America, Australia and America but she died in relative poverty in Birmingham in 1913.
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%3A23909
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: Wehman’s Universal Songster No 42 at Traditional Music Library
- Sheet Music: not accessible
- WorldCat entry
- Into the Limelight: Women in Music Hall: Jolly Katie Lawrence
- Richard Baker: British Music Hall