Saving them all for Mary

First Published 1881
Writer/composer Fred Gilbert Roud RN15130

Music Hall Performers James Fawn
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Pardon, Walter; England, Norfolk; 1978

A public house, the Rose and Crown,
Holds one that I well know;
An active little barmaid,
Without pride or fal-de-ral.
We're shortly to be married,
And when a fellow's thus inclined;
It's best to save the half-pence,
So I'm taking care of mine.

I'm saving them all for Mary,
She shall have every one;
I'm saving them all for mary,
She shall have lots of fun.
They know me well at the country bank,
Cash is better than fame or rank;
Heigh-ho lucky, I'll wed my ducky,
The belle of the Rose and Crown.

Of course, I do no flirting now,
For Mary 'twould disgust;
To marry one whom out of sight,
She couldn't safely trust.
I often meet old friends of mine,
But simply pass them by;
In fact I'm strictly honest,
And I've never told a lie.

I quite deserve a medal,
I'm so very good and true;
I frown on my companions,
When the slightest wrong they do.
The photographs of ladies,
In an album I don't nurse;
I never stay out late at night,
You never hear me curse.

I never drink champagne unless,
By someone else it's bought;
I've never seen the famed Argyle,
Or Hampton's mazy court.
At ten 'o clock each night I sleep,
A bachelor's repose;
I never fight or quarrel,
And I've never punched a nose.

A song written by Fred Gilbert and sung in the halls by James Fawn – the earliest record I can find of anyone singing the song is this review from late 1881:

 Nov. 5, 1881; The Era 

The song was sung as part of a series of fragments by Walter Pardon alongside Wake Up Johnny ,  When the cock begins to crow, and Down by the old abbey ruins. You can here them at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library

Sources: