AKA | |
First Published | 1922 |
Writer/composer | JP Harrington / Howard Flynn | Roud | RN16223 |
Music Hall Performers | Ernie Mayne |
Folk performances | Collected from the singing of: Ling, Ruby; England : Suffolk; 1975-80 |
WIRELESS ON THE BRAIN monologues.co.uk If I ever meet that son of a gun who first invented wireless I'll kill 'im, I'll kill 'im, I'll have his bally gore At listening-in my dear old Dutch is absolutely tireless And when I want to fall asleep and snore She went and bought a wireless set and what a wreck I feel We 'ave a bloomin' opera with every blinkin' meal. My wife Jane she's got wireless on the brain While she's taking messages, I send S.O.S-ages Even in my bye-bye, she cries, 'You lazy Turk Can't you 'ear the wireless. It's time you started work.' She gabbles about her wireless ways, her aerials and broadcasting No error, a terror my old girl's going to be And when I sit down at breakfast time, I've 'ad to sit there fasting 'Cos she, all smiles, is listening-in you see She says, Lloyd George is speaking now Then I shout good and strong 'Ere, ain't it nearly time some wireless kippers came along. I jolly well wish that missis of mine had never met Marconi I'm worried, I'm flurried, I tremble like a mouse I'm pretty well near off my filbert, and I'm not so far from stoney For everything is wireless in our house Our wireless dog keeps barking outside on his wireless chain And upstairs in the attic they've 'ad wireless twins again. My wife Jane she's got wireless on the brain While she's taking messages, I send S.O.S-ages Even in my bye-bye, she's shouting out, 'Police Who's upset the turkey. He's mopping up the grease?'
A song from the early 1920s, lyrics written by John P Harrington with music by Howard Flynn. It was performed by the popular comedian Ernie Mayne
In the 1970s it was collected by Ginette Dunn from the singing of Ruby Ling, one of a generation of great pub singers active in and around Suffolk in the 1960s and 70s.
Ernie Mayne sings it:
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%3A16223
- Kilgarrif Sing Us
- Lyrics: monologues.co.uk
- Sheet Music: Held by British Library (not accessed)
Last Updated on November 12, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: November 12, 2023