Ghost of Benjamin Binns, The

AKA Benjamin Binns
Benjamin Bing
First Published 1885
Writer/composer Harry Dacre Roud RN24443

Music Hall Performers Harrry Randall
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Bregenzer, George; England : Worcestershire; 1986		 

Keep your seats, if you please, and don't be afraid
I'm only a ghost, a poor harmless shade
I would not hurt anyone here if I could
And you couldn't do me much harm if you would
Knives will not stab me, and shots through me fly
But oh the experiment, please do not try
It's not for myself that I care, not at all
I'm only afraid you might damage the wall.

I'm the ghost of John James Christopher Benjamin Binns
I was cut right down in the midst of my sins
For my home is down below. I'm let out for an hour or so
When the cock begins to crow. Farewell Benjamin Binns.

When I lived on this earth, my wife often said
If I should die first, she'd never get wed
Tonight I called on her, through the keyhole I crept
If ghosts could have tears, I'm sure I'd have wept
A man held my wife in his tender embrace
She called him her hubby, he'd taken my place
To make matters worse, and to crown all my woes
The fellow was wearing my best Sunday clothes.

I'll try to forget my false-hearted wife
And give you a plan of my present life
I get good engagements, with cash in advance
Attending the spiritualist's midnight séance
I rap on the tables and kick up such scenes
I ring clanging bells and I bang tambourines
If Maskelyne says 'Ghosts are bosh' he is wrong
For if he comes near me, he'll smell spirits quite strong.

A song written by Harry Dacre famous for Daisy Bell (A bicycle built for two). The ghost of Benjamin Binns was first sung in 1884, with sheet music published in 1885. It was a big hit in the Halls for Harry Randall (his brief biography is below) and was widely sung in the pantomimes of 1885/6. The song was a huge international hit, often associated with black-face minstrel shows.

It was famously revived by Clive Dunn at Players Theatre in the 1950s.

In 1986 a snatch of it was collected by Roy Palmer from the singing of George Bregenzer – it can be heard at the British Library Sound Archive

The Era – Saturday 18 October 1884

Harry Randall (1860-1932) was a comedian and songwriter active between the 1880s and 1900s, famous for his annual pantomime appearances. He was born in Holborn, London and made his debut at age 11 in a Drury Lane pantomime. For a number of years he worked as a stone engraver, appearing part-time on stage, until his Music Hall work became so lucrative that he felt forced to give up the day job. Early on he specialised in topical songs and skits – in 1888 a his Who killed Cock Warren satirised Metropolitan Police Commissioner Charles Warren for his failure to catch Jack the Ripper- but his first great international hit was The Ghost of Benjamin Binns. He founded The Music Hall Artists Railway Association which campaigned for reduced railway fares for music hall performers who were forced to travel widely across the country at their own expense. Ill-health described by contemporary sources as “nerve trouble” forced him to stop performing in 1913.

AS recorded by Dan Quinn in 1903:

Sources: