Captain with his whiskers, The

Adapted from	They marched through the town
First published	1827, revised in 1863

Lyrics

TH Bayley/Alfred Mullen

Music

Alfred Mullen

Roud Index

RN2735

They marched through the town with banners so gay
 I rushed to the window to hear the band play
 I peeped through the blind very cautiously then
 Lest the neighbours should say I was looking at the men
 I heard the drums beat and the music so sweet
 But my eyes just then had a much finer treat
 The troops were the finest that I had ever seen
 And the captain with his whiskers took a sly glance at me
 Took a sly glance at me,
 Took a sly glance at me,
 When the captain with his whiskers took a sly glance at me

 When we met at the ball I of course thought it right
 To pretend that we never had met before that night
 But he knew me at once I could tell by his glance
 And I bowed my head when he asked me to dance
 He sat by my side at the end of the set
 And the sweet words he spoke I shall never forget
 my heart was enlisted and could never break free 
 When the captain with his whiskers took a sly glance at me
 Took a sly glance at me,
 Took a sly glance at me,
 When the captain with his whiskers took a sly glance at me

 Now they’ve marched from the town I will see him no more
 But I think of him often and the whiskers that he wore
 I dream all the night and I think all the day
 Of the love of the captain who is now so far away
 I hold it in my mind how my heart did skip a beat
 When the captain with his whiskers took a sly glance at me
 I remember with superabundant delight
 How we met at the ball and we danced all night
 How we danced all night
 How we danced all night
 How we met at the ball and we danced all night
 And I hold it in my mind how my heart did skip with glee
 when the captain with his whiskers took a sly glance at me
 
  
              

This song probably started with an English song by TH Bayly(1707-1839), a version was published in 1827 which states that it was perform in an operetta called The Grenadier at the Royal Olympic Theatre. It also turned up in America in 1838, allegedly written by Sydney Nelson and called Oh! They Marched Through The Town. It was sung on the American stage in the 1850s by Mrs WJ Florence who appeared to add a final verse which implied a happy ending.

The song was a hit for Mrs Caulfield in the 1840s in the Cider Cellars of London and elsewhere. On this side of the Atlantic it became better known as The Captain with his Whiskers. It was further adapted lyrically and musically by Alfred Mullen, published in London in 1863. The 1863 version was sung on the British Music Hall stage by Jenny Hill, with something like the words included here. Various American sheet music versions of the songs are available, almost all printed in the 1860s, reflecting the huge popularity on both sides of the American Civil War.

The folksong has been collected from source singers in England, America and Ireland. The music has appeared as a Morris tune from Brackley in Northamptonshire, and may be related to another tune The wearing of the green.

Dolly and Shirley Collins sing to their own tune:

Brackley Morris:

Sources:

• Scott: Early Doors
• Words for Jenny Hill version monologues.co.uk
• Sheet music for Jenny Hill version not found yet, for Mrs Forsyth’s version see the Levy collection (the Union version) and a Confederate version from the Library of Congress.
• Kilgarriff Sing us one
• Some of the story of the song can be found at Mainly Norfolk but some of the dates/ details have been (I think) corrected above.
• Ballad Index