Molly Riley O!

AKA Molly Riley
Old Molly Riley
First Published 1893
Writer/composer Words: James Curran, Music: Pat Rafferty, Roud RN30980

Music Hall Performers Pat Rafferty
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Stewart, Lucy; Scotland : Aberdeenshire; 1960
Dunn, George; England, West Midlands: 1971		 

From Sheet Music

I'm lodging in a lodging-house
That's kept by Mister Riley, 
A dacent man, so is his wife,
The genial Mistress Riley. 
They've got a daughter, she's Al,
Her name is Molly Riley,
And I am mashed potatoes on
Little Molly Riley.

Oh, Molly Riley, I love you;
Tell me, Molly Riley, does your heart beat true? 
Marry me, my darling, I'll die if you say no; 
And my ghost will come and haunt you,
Molly Riley, O! 

He loves me as a son, he says,
Affectionate old Riley ;
He borrows cash he never pays,
Also does Mistress Riley. 
The family lives at my expense,
My tobacco's stolen by Riley; 
I stand it all—take no offence,
For the love of Molly Riley.

He's got about a dozen sons,
Has good old Mister Riley, 
And they pay the rent with swords and guns
In the home of Molly Riley; 
They pawn my clothes to buy their booze,
In the home of Molly Riley; 
And I'd stand it all before I'd lose
My darling Molly Riley.

A song from the repertoire of Pat Rafferty – a huge hit in the Halls and pantos of 1893/94. Such was the song’s popularity that it appeared in another Music Hall song by another artist – JW “Over” Rowley who sang On Monday she sings “Molly Riley oh!” (Written by JW Hall).

Molly Riley O! itself has been collected from the singing of Lucy Stewart a member of the important Scots traveller community based in Blairgowrie. Traditional singer George Dunn remembered a fragment of it and recalled seeing the words printed on “Lucky Bags” – paper bags containing sweets and small toys for children. Josephine Dougal recalled her family of expatriate Scots in Australia singing a version in which her brother’s name was substituted for that of Molly Riley.

You can hear Lucy Stewart sing the chorus on the excellent Tobar an Dualchais/ Kist o Riches site

Sources: