Ka-Foozle-Um

AKA Kafoozelum
Kathusalem
Harlot of Jerusalem, The
First Published 1865
Writer/composer S Oxon? Roud RN10135

Music Hall Performers Arthur Lloyd, Howard Paul
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
RAF Officers, Britain 1939-1945
Canadian armed forces Canada 1939-1945
Lewin, James; Canada : Nova Scotia 1950
Anon; USA : California; 1960
Modern performances
Oscar Brand

This page quotes lyrics which contain offensive language, reflecting attitudes common in the period when this song was performed.

In ancient days there liv'd a Turk, 
A horrid man far in the East,
Who did the Prophet's holy work, 
As Babah of Jerusalem!
He had a daughter sweet and smirk, 
Complexion fair and dark blue hair,
With nought about her like a Turk, 
Except the name Ka-foozle-um.

Oh, Ka-foozle-um! Ka-foozle-um! Ka-foozle-um!
Oh, Ka-foozle-um! The daughter of the Babah.
Oh, Ka-foozle-um! Ka-foozle-um! Ka-foozle-um!
Oh, Ka-foozle-um! The daughter of the Babah.

A youth resided near to she, 
His name was Sam; a perfect lamb.
He was of ancient pedigree, 
And came from old Methusalem.
He drove a trade and prosper'd well, 
In skins of cats, and ancient hats;
And ringing at the Babah's bell, 
He saw and loved Ka-foozle-um!

If Sam had been a Mussulman, 
He might have sold the Babah old,
And with a verse of Alcoran 
Have managed to bamboozle him;
But oh dear no: he tried to scheme--
Pass'd one night late, the area gate,
And stole up to the Turk's hareem, 
To carry off Ka-foozle-um.

The Baba was about a smoke; 
His slaves rushed in with horrid din_
"Mashallah! dogs your house have broke; 
Come down, my lord, and toozle 'em!"
The Baba wreathed his face in smiles, 
Came down the stair and witnessed there
The gentleman in three old tiles, 
A kissing of Ka-foozle-um!

The pious Babah said no more 
Than twenty prayers, but went up stairs.
And took a bow string from a drawer 
And came back to Ka-foozle-um.
The maiden and the youth he took, 
And choked em both, and little, loth
Together pitched 'em in the brook of Kedron, 
Near Jerusalem.
 
And still, the ancient legend goes, 
When day is gone from Lebanon,
And when the Eastern moonlight throws 
A shadow on Jerusalem,
Between the wailing of the cats 
A sound there falls from ruined walls_
A ghost is seen with three old hats, 
A kissing of Ka-foozle-um.

A hit in the British music halls of the mid-1860s , the sheet music for this song was published in the UK around six months before it was published in the USA . In America the words were credited as having been written by S. Oxon, with music arranged by F .Blume. The British sheet music does not credit a writer or composer. It was a great favourite of Rudyard Kipling’s, who said:

This is a pure gem and, to my mind, the high water mark in that kind. The final verse is incidentally, poetry by any canon

The letters of Rudyard Kipling 1931-36

It was vertically commonplace in the Halls for one performer to have the right to sing the song in London, and for another to have the rights to sing it everywhere else: “the Provinces”. In this case Howard Paul had the right to sing the song in London, whilst Arthur Lloyd sang it in the provinces:

Nov. 11, 1865;  The Illustrated London News 
Dec. 10, 1865;  The Era
Dec. 15, 1865: The Times 
Feb. 1, 1866: Sheffield Independent

The song, like many Music Hall hits in the 19th century, was widely performed in pantomimes. The publishers, Cramer, cashed in on the popularity of the song by having it arranged as a galop (a fast dance) in 1867. Both the song and the tune have passed into the tradition – the tune perhaps derived from the aforementioned galop?

At some point in its history the song morphed into a bawdy one and by the Second World War the lyrics had changed and it was being sung under the title of The Harlot of Jerusalem. You can get a toned down impression of the song from the performance by Oscar Brand, below.

Sources: