Black sheep of the family, The
This song reflects racist, misogynist and/or colonial ideas that were commonplace at the time but are no longer acceptable today.
| AKA | The scapegrace of the family |
| First published | 1909 |
| Lyrics | Fred Barnes | Music | Fred Barnes | Roud | RN5180 |
| Music Hall performers | Fred Barnes |
| Folk performances | Fred Jordan 1978 England : Shropshire |
In process of up dating , bear with!
Lyrics from sheet music:
It’s a queer, queer world that we live in,
And Dame Fortune plays a funny game
Some get all sunshine,
Others get the shame.
I don’t know why, but since I was born
The scapegrace I've seem'd to be
Ever since I was a tiny kid at school
The name has stuck to me
I’m the black, black sheep of the family
Ev'rybody runs me down
People shake their heads at me
Say I’m a disgrace to society
But I shall try my luck in the colonies
There I’ll rise or fall
And when I come back, the sheep that was black
Will p'rh'ps be the whitest of them all
As time rolled on, and I grew older,
From boyhood's days to man's estate,
Luck was still against me,
Chances came too late.
The Proverb says,
If we don't succeed,
Then we must try again;
But however much I yearn for the tide of luck to turn,
This fact will remain, that I'm the ....
Twas on my brothers wedding morning:
A p'liceman came up to the door
With a warrant to arrest him -
That's what he was wanted for.
Twould break his heart to face the shame
Upon his wedding day.
To the man in blue I lied – I took all the blame
And to prison was led away. For I'm the ...
RECITATION (in place of 3rd verse)
'Twas just five years ago, on my brother's wedding day.
The bells were ringing merrily, and all seemed bright and gay.
I remember it so clearly, and the pain it gave me here,
As I watched my brother drive to church with the girl my life held dear.
I saw them walk right up the aisle and kneel at the altar rail,
When I felt a touch upon my sleeve, and I thought my heart would fail.
'Twas a policeman with a warrant, to arrest my brother Fred.
He'd forged my father's name to a cheque, well, that's what the "copper" said.
And now they'd come to take him — yes, tear them two apart.
I knew the blow would kill old dad, and break that poor girl's heart.
My mind was made up in a minute; I turned to the man in blue,
And said, "Here, my old cock robin! I'm the man for you.
You've made another bloomer, 'twas not my brother Fred;
I'm the man who forged the cheque. Arrest me now," I said.
I gave one look behind me before I had to go,
And a prayer went up to Him above, that the girl might never know
That the man she loved and honoured, and gave her whole belief,
Was nothing but a forger, a forger and a thief.
That's just five years ago, and I came out yesterday,
But I think I've earned my bit o' corn, although the people say -
Lyrics transcribed from recording:
It’s a queer, queer world that we live in,
And Dame Fortune plays a funny game
Some get all sunshine,
Others get the shade
I don’t know why,
But since I was born
A scapegrace I have been
Ever since I was a tiny kid at school
A name has stuck to me
I’m the black, black sheep of the family
Everybody runs me down
People shake their heads at me
Say I’m a disgrace to society
But I’ll try my luck in the colonies
There I’ll rise or fall
And when I come back
The sheep that was black
Will perhaps be the whitest of them all
Fred Jordan sings:
For as immortal Shakespeare says, this world is but a stage
And every man must play his part from childhood to the grave
But when I think of days gone by, how I have been the tool
Of rogues and knaves and I think that my part, I played the fool
(For I’m) the black, black sheep of my family
Everybody runs me down
People shake their heads at me
Say: there goes the black sheep of society
But I’ll try my luck in the colonies
There I will either rise or fall
And when I comes back
The sheep that was black
Will be the whitest of them all
So don’t be angry with me, dad; don’t turn me from the door
I know that I’ve been wayward, but I won’t be any more
just give to me one other chance and put me to the test
And you’ll find the black sheep loves his dad far better than the rest
Frederick Jester Barnes (1885-1938), son of a Birmingham butcher, was the original singer of both Give me the Moonlight and On Mother Kelly’s Doorstep. However, the song which rapidly propelled him to fame was The Black Sheep of the Family which he started singing in 1907.
Fred was a flamboyant character and was as close to being an out gay man as was possible at the time (homosexuality was, of course, illegal). The song clearly expresses something of his experience as a gay man.
Unfortunately his life was dogged with tragedy: in 1913 his father apparently was turned away at the stage door when he arrived with a meat axe to kill his son. Tragically, instead his father went home and killed himself. Like many music hall artistes Barnes was an extremely heavy drinker, though in his case it’s hard not to see it as a reflection of the difficulties of being openly gay.
Shropshire traditional singer, Fred Jordan (1922-2002) was recorded singing this song by Dave Bryant in 1978 or 79, it appears on the CD A Shropshire Lad, Veteran VTD148CD. Fred was a well-known figure in traditional singing circles and appeared regularly at folk festivals in the 60s, 70s and 80s. He learnt his songs from his parents fellow workers and gypsies who visited the local pub singalong on a Saturday night. It’s difficult to know whether Fred Jordan was aware of the context of the original song, and whether his changes to the original words reflect what he was most comfortable singing, or whether he learnt it from someone who either forgot or modified it.
I have provided lyrics both from the original sheet music and a transcription of a shorter version of the song that Fred Barnes recorded which is available on streaming services.
The source of Fred Jordan’s extra verses remains a mystery to me …
Sources:
- Lyrics and sheet music: Barnes, F. (1909). The scapegrace of the family. Francis, Day & Hunter. (Bodleian Mediated Copying Service)
- Guardian obituary of Fred Jordan
- Baker: British Music Hall
Fred Barnes recorded on a flexi disc: