She was one of the early birds

She was one of the early birds 

Words and Music by T.W. Connor 
Sung by George Beauchamp

It was at the Pantomime Sweet Mabel and I did meet, 
She was in the ballet (front row) and I in a five-shilling seat;
She was dressed like a dickey bird, beautiful wings she had on,
Figure divine, wished she was mine, on her I was totally gone.

She was a dear little dickey bird 
"Chip, Chip, Chip," she went,
Sweetly she sang to me 
'Till all my money was spent 
Then she went off song 
We parted on fighting terms 
She was one of the early birds 
And I was one of the worms. 

At the stage door every night I waited with my bouquet, 
Till my bird had moulted then we'd drive in a hansom away 
Oyster suppers and sparkling cham, Couldn't she go for it! What Ho- 
Fivers I spent, Tenners I lent, for her I couldn't say "No"

Belskin coats and diamond rings, Knocked holes in my purse alone 
She would have 'em in the end, I got hers by pawning my own.
When at last I was fairly broke, 'Twixt us a quarrel arose; 
Mabel the fair pulled out my hair And clawed all the skin off my nose. 

Full of love and poverty And armed with a carving knife 
One dark night I knelt in the mud, And asked her if she'd be my wife. Something struck me behind the ear, Someone said, "Now go and get (a)
Wife of your own, leave mine alone!" and that was the last time we met.

It was collected by Australian Collector John Meredith from the singing of traditional singer Harry Dicks. A recording is available on the Australian Trove site mislabelled as Session 2. Story of Roy governor.

In England it was collected by Carol and Gwilym Davies. Carol writes:

My husband Gwilym and I recorded Pat Turner singing this  around 2013 – as you suspected it is a version of the well known song ‘She was a dear little dicky bird’. and sung to the normal tune…..Pat Turner was a farmer from Kempsey House, Frampton on Severn and I did a lovely video of him outside the house with sheep and hens running about. I remember it was cold but Pat didn’t notice….He said that he learned the song from ‘old’ Bill Hawlin (possibly
Hawling) who was a sailor who sang it down the local pub. Bill had a
boat with seven men who would load up 150 tons of stone from the Mendips and take it to Sharpness and thence to sell it in Tralee, Ireland. Pat said he used to sing it ‘broad’ and it does sound very Gloucestershire. The song went thus:

Er was a sweet little early bird. 'Tweet, tweet, tweet', 'er went.
Tunefully 'er sang to me 'till all my money was spent
And 'twas then I learned 'er was the cutest one of them all
'Er was the sweet little early bird but I was one of the worms.

I’ve also had this correspondence from my friend and fellow song-researcher Derek Schofield:

This song was included in a medley of music hall style songs/choruses that was performed by one of the resident groups at Crewe’s Sing Out Folk Club from at least the early 1970s. It was introduced by Alan Casey who grew up in the Waltham Forest area of London and was sung by his parents at family parties, often at Christmas. They just knew the chorus. And their words were slightly different … I’ve highlighted the differences. 

She was a sweet little dickey bird
"Cheep, Cheep, Cheep," she went,
Softly she sang to me
'Till all my money was spent
Then she went off song
We parted on fighting terms
She was one of the early birds
And I was one of the worms.

Tom Carradine sings it

@tomcarradine

Love is in the air at the Music Hall! ?? Singing along to ‘She Was a Dear Little Dickie Bird,’ spinning a tale of romance with a chorus girl. ?️? #TimelessTunes #tomcarradine #carradinescockneysingalong #musichall #singalong #cockneysingalong

♬ original sound – Tom Carradine – Tom Carradine