What Ho! She bumps

AKA Now my wife’s mother she’s a nimble push
First Published 1899
Writer/composer AJ Mills and Harry Castling Roud RN38304

Music Hall Performers Charles Bignell,
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Faires, Norman; England : Sussex: 1991

I've been out on a pleasure boat, for a day on the breezy brine
We started away from London Bridge, and we all felt fit and fine
We sang 'A life on the ocean wave' as loud as we could roar
Our boat went alright down the Thames, but when we reached the Nore.

She began to bump a little bit
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit
A fat man fell down the engine room
His wife was clinging to the great jib boom
She rolled about and fairly in the dumps
I clung to the Captain's bags, and cried
'What ho, she bumps!'

I once played in a drama that we called 'The flying scud'
I'd to appear on a gee-gee and it was a bit of blood
In front of the blooming audience I had to mount her nibs
And when I stuck a pin into her India-rubber ribs.

She began to bump a little bit
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit
Oh, she made a tremendous hit,
When she kicked our villain in the threep'ny bit
The actors guyed as she took running jumps
And a boy in the gallery cried
'What ho, she bumps!'

Where I lived at the seaside once, a girl lived opposite
And one fine morning she went to bathe in a costume pink and white
A crowd of chaps stood on the shore as she waded in the blue
And everyone was, anxious there to see what she would do.

She began to bump a little bit
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit
At first she was bashful as she could be
Till she got used to the rolling sea
Then up and down the little petlet jumps
And the men all shouted from the golden shore
'What ho, she bumps!'

Additional verses from broadside:

My wife's mother is a nimble puss, though she weighs just half a ton; 
She went out in some bloomers once, on a bike that was built for one. 
She went at the rate of a mile an hour, her squeaker went pup, pup,
Until she came to a thoroughfare where all the road was up —

She began to bump a little bit - 
Bump bump, bump, just a little bit
Into a hole she went, head first,
Where a bloke was patching up a pipe that burst.
She did the splits and gave him awful thump.,
Then he dropped his shovel and exclaimed, "Great Scott!
What ho, she bumps!

My wife has two wooden legs, and they are a bit all right,
But she won't unscrew those bits of wood when we retire at night.
One night while enjoying a peaceful doze I felt a little smack-
Twas my old woman's timber yard stuck right fair in my back-

She began to bump a little bit —
Bump, bump, bump, just a little bit ;
I yelled out and I woke the twin —
"D'you hear — you're hurting my poor shins!
I'd like to burn my old girl's timber stumps;
For when she starts to snore and has nightmares —
What ho, she bumps!

A turn-of-the-century song collected from the singing of Norman Faires by Nick and Mally Dow in 1991. It can be heard at the British library Sound archive.

In early 1899 two songs called What Ho She Bumps were being sung in British Music Halls. One, written by Willie Stern and sung by JW Rickaby soon faded into obscurity. The other, written and composed by Harry Castling and AJ Mills became a major hit throughout the English-speaking world. The title became one of those irritating catchphrases that for a while was everywhere…

The official sheet music gave three verses and three choruses, though a pirated broadside version with several additional verses was also in circulation. It is not clear who wrote the additional material, though Music Hall songwriters often wrote more verses than were included in the sheet music.

The song was recorded several times , this version was recorded by Burt Shepard:

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%3A38304
  • Kilgarrif Sing Us
  • Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
  • Additional lyrics: broadside in Kenneth Goldstein collection
  • Sheet Music: Sixty Old Time Variety Songs