Where does Father Christmas go to?
AKA | Where does Father Christmas go to in the summer time? |
First Published | 1926 |
Writer/composer | Fred Shuff | Roud | RN12927 |
Music Hall Performers | Wal. Clinton |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Bond, Sam; England : Hampshire : 1978 Drewery, Arthur; England : Suffolk : 1974 Modern performances Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies |
Mary had a little lamb With fleece as white as snow Everywhere that Mary went The Lamb was sure to go It followed her up hill and dale And fields where grass is blue So now you know where Mary went But tell me, tell me, do: Where does Father Christmas go to In the summertime? Goosey, Goosey Gander Wherever does he wander? Does he go with the ice and snow To some foreign clime? Oh Where does Father Christmas go to In the summertime? Burglar Bill in Pentonville Sat in his cell one day. He'd killed a dozen p'licemen -- Well of course, that's what they say. They marched him to the scaffold, Put the white cap on his head, Then asked him if he'd like to speak, So Bill looked up and said: Parliament was sitting As a problem they'd in view. You'll often find them sitting: That's the only thing they do! A member jumped up from his seat, Said, "Listen what I say- Never mind the Housing Scheme, The question of today is: I used to know a servant girl Her name it was Mariah. She got up late one morning And began to light the fire She poured some benzine on the coals- Believe me, it's the truth- Then struck a match to light it, And Mariah went through the roof! But: Some men take their wives and kids The country lanes to roam; And some men go to Brighton And they leave their wives at home; Some go north and some go south And some go up the pole; The rich man's on the continent, The poor man's on the dole; but:
A big hit in the pantomimes of Winter 1926/27, written/composed by Fred Shuff and published by the Lawrence Wright Music Company. It was sung by Wal. Clinton at The Bedford, Camden Town, but the song doesn’t seem to have become associated with any particular performer – though it was performed in several pantos that season.
It was remembered by traditional singers in the 1970s.
Here’s a nice version by Jez Lowe:
Sources:
- VWML entry
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics and Sheet Music: unprovenanced copy in VWML
- Wright’s Ad The Era 29th Dec 1926
- Sheet music: Lawrence Wright’s 4th Monster Album, p58