Isabella with the gingham umbrella

AKAHer name was Isabella
First published1863
LyricsHarry Clifton MusicHarry CliftonRoudRNV3177
Music Hall performersHarry Clifton
Folk performances?
When you hear my ditty my woes you will pity,
I'm engaged in the City from ten till three,
But I've been betray'd by a fascinating maid,
Who was Bosen in a bonnet shop at Battersea....
Her eyes were as black as the pips of a pear,
No rose in the garden with her cheeks could compare,
She'd a gingham umbrella,
Her name was Isabella
And her father kept a barber's shop at Islington.

On a Monday afternoon in the latter part of June,
From Waterloo I started for a ride to Battersea,
And as we drew near.....to Hungerford pier.....
A lovely lady I chanced to see...
In her hands a nosegay, 'twas a bundle of stocks,
A brown paper parcel and a blue bonnet-box,
A gingham umbrella,
Her name was Isabella
And her father's little barber's shop at Islington.

I rush'd to the gangway and proffer'd my assistance,
Oh the smile that she gave me as I handed her a seat,
I sat down beside her she offer'd no resistance
We talk'd of the weather the rain and the heat..
I asked her--her parents--I asked her their trade,
I asked her, her name, with a look half afraid
She raised her umbrella
"My name is Isabella,
And my father keeps a barber's shop at Islington."

Before we parted she'd all my affection
I enquired, "Should I see her at some future day!"
She simpered and smiled, and said, "she'd no objection"
As light as a fairy she tripped it away.
So we were engaged in a regular way,
My time passed as happy as the flowers in May,
When I thought of Isabella
And her gingham umbrella,
And her father's little barber's shop at Islington.

I took her to the Palace with a ticket of admission,
I took her to Richmond and the Gardens at Kew,
I took her to Madame Tussaud's exhibition,
Eight hours by the sea at Brighton too.
Oh! the presents I made and the letters I wrote,
From the first time I met her on a Citizen boat.
My darling Isabella,
And her gingham umbrella,
Whose father kept a barber's shop at Islington.

When you hear the sequel, you'll say it has no equal
In all the annals of woman's deceit,
I went one night to meet my Isabel,
But no Isabel was there to meet---
I searched far and wide till I happened to drop
In near the Angel, at a "sixpenny hop"---
Oh! there was Isabella
With a ginger-whiskered fellow
Doing "double shuffles" up at Islington!

I staggered with surprise then exclaimed...."Isabella!
"Do I look like a fool? Do you take me for a flat?"
She coolly replied, "Well I rather think I do,
And if you don't like it, take it out of that.
I rushed at my rival, satisfaction to get,
But found that my troubles had not ended yet---
For up jumped Isabella,
With her gingham umbrella,
And smashed my new "six and six" at Islington.

I rushed from the sight of the faithless spinster,
In the Thames dirty water repose for to find:
But before I reached the bridge of Westminster,
My opinions altered, and I changed my mind.
For folly must be paid for and wisdom bought:
There are fishes in the sea that have never been caught
So a fig for Isabella
And her gingham umbrella,
And her father's little barber's shop at Islington.

Published in 1863, and subsequently widely printed on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, both on broadsides and in song collections. The song does not appear to have been taken up as a traditional song on either side of the Atlantic.

Sung with some success in the Halls both by Harry Clifton and William Randall (1830-98). Harold Scott writes rather dismissively of Randall, one of the early stars of the Oxford Music Hall, which opened on Tottenham Court Road in 1861 :

William Randall was a singer of the 70s and 80s whose portrait figured extensively on the comic songs published with pictorial covers. He was a handsome man of short stature, whose work was of the buffo variety and resembled that of Harry Sydney. His best-known song, The Charming Young Widow I met in the Train, though facetious, cannot be described as funny.

Scott Early Doors

“Buffo” here I think, refers to a particularly vulgar type of comedy.. MacQueen Pope was more impressed:

William Randall … not only sang comic songs, but performed well on the violin…. He was also an excellent dancer. He was not only popular at Oxford but has a lot of small Halls which he had worked prior to stardom and did not forsake afterwards.… Randall was a man of great personality and versatility.

MacQueen Pope, The Melody Lingers

Before his debut in 1861, Randall had been a part-time singer in small halls and singing rooms, supplementing his wages from the day job with whatever he could earn in the evenings. He was initially resistant to turning full-time professional, and was reputedly extremely nervous of singing in the bigger Halls.

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Last Updated on August 15, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: May 4, 2020

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