Men of Merry England (The)

AKA	The Merry Men of England

Lyrics

JB Geoghegan

Music

JB Geoghegan

Roud

RN13658

 Oh, the men of merry, merry England,
 Search the wide-world around,
 And take ye the best, from the East to the West,
 Where are there such to be found?
 The Herald of Fame attends on their name,
 Tis a passport to all that is free,
 On the sea or the land, ever foremost they must stand.
  
 Then gaily my burden shall be,
 The men of merry, merry England,
 Let the bottle pass,
 And toss another glass,
 To the men of merry, merry England.
  
 Oh! The men of merry, merry England,
 Are the bravest of all that are brave,
 On the red fields of war, and the fair lands afar,
 Their banners triumphantly wave,
 There is not a shore, that the winds whistle o’er,
 But is trod by those sons of the sea.
 And their pride vessels ride, upon every tide.
  
 Oh! The men of merry, merry England,
 Where e’er Jove’s thunders are hurled,
 Bright monuments rise of their strong enterprise,
 And their commerce gives wealth to the world,
 Still may it increase, while the fair hands of peace,
 Send plenty and blessing so free,
 But should war call again, our rights we’ll maintain. 

The British Library catalogue has “The men of merry England, written and composed by JB Geoghegan, published in London in 1858. Symphonies and accompaniments by John Blockley.”

This appears to be one of JB Geoghegan’s earlier published Music Hall songs. It seems to have featured in over 90 broadsides and song sheets listed in the VWML, so that’s anything to go by, it must have been a popular song. Combining patriotism with drinking appears to have been a surefire way to get hit in early music hall.

Searches in The Era (see below) imply that the songs wasn’t associated with any one particular performer in the Halls.

Apart from Walter Pardon’s performance I can’t find any other record of it being performed by a folk musician.

Sources:

• Lyrics from broadsheet Edition – Bod12854
• VWML
• British Library catalogue entry.

Sung by, according to The Era, (publication date):

• Mr Matz at The London Coffee and Eating-house Keepers Association (May 29, 1853)
• Mr G Allen (possibly with Mr Matz) at the inauguration of the Weston Music Hall, High Holborn (Nov 15, 1857)
• Mr Matz again at the Weston Music Hall (Apr 11, 1858)
• Mr Freeman at The Marylebone (Jul 27, 1862)
• Mr Henshaw at the Canterbury, London (Aug 3, 1862)
• Mr Drummond at The Regent, London (Sep 11 1864)
• Charles Haywood at the Maison Doree, London (Mar 1 1868)
• Mr Husk at Wilton’s (Feb 14 1869)
• Mr Husk again at Wilton’s (Oct 24 1869)