AKA | Beer, Beer, Glorious Beer |
First Published | 1895 |
Writer/composer | Steve Leggett / Will Godwin | Roud | RN32457 |
Music Hall Performers | Harry Anderson |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Keeping Family; England : London; 1930s-50s Modern performances Endless Music Hall Revival and pub sing along recordings.. |
Now I won't sing of sherbet and water For sherbet and beer will not rhyme The workingman can't afford champagne It's a bit more than two D's a time So I'll sing you a song of a gargle A gargle that I love so dear I allude to that grand institution That beautiful tonic called beer, beer, beer. Beer, Beer, glorious beer Fill yourselves right up to here Drink a good deal of it; make a good meal of it Stick to your old fashioned beer Don't be afraid of it, drink till you're made of it Now all together, a cheer Up with the sale of it, down with a pail of it Glorious, glorious beer. It's the daddy of all lubricators The best thing there is for the neck Can be used as a gargle or lotion By persons of every sect Now we know who the goddess of wine was But was there a goddess of beer? If so, let us drink to her health, boys And wish that we'd just got her here, here, here. So up, up with the brandies and sodas But down, down and down with the beer It's good for you when you are hungry You can eat it without any fear So mop up the beer while you're able Of four-half lets all have our fill And I know you'll all join me in wishing Good luck to my dear Uncle Bill, Bill, Bill.
A hit song throughout the English-speaking world in the 1890s, remembered by Charles Keeping’s family in the mid 20th century, but otherwise not formally collected from traditional singers. The popularity of the song may explain why it was not collected – its just a song “everyone” knows. The chorus persisted as a popular drinking song throughout the 2oth century, sung by students and servicemen, in pubs and at sports fixtures.
It was originally performed by Harry Anderson (1857-1918) one of a number of comics popular in the 1890s who sang in praise of booze. Glorious beer was his most successful song, and its popularity was and is such that it has been described as an unofficial English national anthem… H Chance Newton described him as a favourite chirruper, rough but always rollicking, who carried the ballad called Beer Glorious Beer throughout the country like some conquering hero.
An American recording from 1899:
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%3A32457
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: Francis and Day’s Album of Old Time Favourites No 1, p34
- https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1923-0716-4
Last Updated on April 17, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: April 16, 2023