Mystery of a Hansom cab, The
AKA | Stop the cab |
First Published | 1888 |
Writer/composer | EW Rogers / AE Durandeau | Roud | RN24210 |
Music Hall Performers | Walter Munroe |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Costello, Cecilia; England : Warwickshire; 1967 |
One night, 'twas in a thoroughfare, well known in London Town A hansom cab came driving by, which had the windows down It seemed to be a mystery, and went at such a pace That people stopped and looked awhile, then, shouting out, gave chase. Stop the cab; stop the cab, whoa, whoa, whoa, Somebody hold the horse's head, and don't leave go Nevertheless they had to confess, although they made a grab They couldn't discover the mystery of a hansom cab. Said one 'I wonder what's inside, I think it is a man' Another fetched his opera glass, the mystery to scan A masher standing on the curb, then gave a sudden start And said 'Bai Jove! I'll take my oath, that cab contains a tart.' This firm opinion soon was shared, by more than two or three Said one, 'A man's there squeezing her, she's sitting on his knee' Just then a fearful scream rang out, and then they heard a fall Said one, 'He's murdering her I know, here Bobby! Dash it all' The valiant Bobby stopped the cab, and said, 'what's the to do? Cabby where are you driving?' Said the Cabby, 'To the Zoo' And who's your fare? Cabby, it's a monkey, ne'er a doubt He's nearly terrified to death, to hear his brothers shout. Stop the cab; stop the cab, whoa, whoa, whoa, Somebody hold the horse's head, and don't leave go Nevertheless they had to confess, although they made a grab There wasn't so much of a mystery in the hansom cab.
The year 1886 saw the publication of the best-selling crime novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Australian Fergus Hume. This 1888 parody was written for Irish comedian and dancer Walter Munroe by EW Rogers and AE Durandeau.
Cecilia Costello sang a fragment of this song (the chorus) to Charles Parker and Pam Bishop in 1967. The recording is available on CD: Cecilia Costello “Old Fashioned Songs” (MTCD363-4) or you can listen to it on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library site
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%3A24210
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: Sixty Old Time Variety Songs
- Sheet Music: National Library of New Zealand
- A copy of Hume’s novel is available at Gutenberg.org