{"id":12283,"date":"2021-08-20T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=12283"},"modified":"2024-11-12T15:57:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T15:57:30","slug":"most-miserable-man-on-earth-the","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/most-miserable-man-on-earth-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Most miserable man on earth, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
First Published<\/td>1905<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer\/composer<\/td>William Hargreaves<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN21950<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Sam Mayo<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Cutmore, Charlie; England : Suffolk; 1964\/65<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
I like to save money, 'cos I'm fond of 'oof'\nAnd as milk's rather dear just now\nI saved up my money, just thirty eight pounds\nAnd I bought such a beautiful cow.\n\nI'm the most miserable man on earth\nOf trouble I'm always full\nThe reason that I am so miserable is\nThe cow's not a cow, it's a bull.<\/em>\n\nI went to the races to back a good horse\nAnd this horse was named 'Penny Bun'\nI had two quid to win, and a quid for a place\nAnd it romped home at twenty-to-one.\n\nI'm the most miserable man on earth\nMy trouble I cannot shelve\nMy horse it had rolled home at twenty-to-one\nThe bookie at half-past twelve<\/em>.\n\nI went to a penny show one night to see\nA big foreign artiste from Rome\nHe swallowed a sword, and it pleased me so much\nI tried it when I got back home. Oh.\n\nI'm the most miserable man on earth\nMy troubles fill sorrow's cup\nI swallowed the sword, just the same as he did\nBut, hang it! I can't get it up.\n\n<\/em>\nI called on my doctor to get his advice\nAnd some physic to cure all my ills\nHe examined me, found it a serious case\nAnd said, 'Swallow this box of pills.' Oh.\n\nI'm the most miserable man on earth\nAnd no wonder I feel upset\nI swallowed the box of pills six weeks ago\nAnd I don't think the lid's come off yet.<\/em>\n\nI went to the butcher's with my dog today\nThe dog by the butcher did sit\nThe butcher said, as he was carving the meat\n'Shall I throw your doggie a bit?' Oh.\n\nI'm the most miserable man on earth\nThe dog it was hungry I'm sure\nI said, 'Certainly, you can throw my dog a bit,'\nSo he threw the dog through the door.<\/em>\n <\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n
Another comic Music Hall song popular in the 1900s that was remembered by traditional singers in the pubs of southern England in the 1960s \u2013 it appears on Neil Lanham\u2019s excellent Comic Songs of the Stour Valley<\/em>, sung  by Charlie Cutmore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was written and composed by William Hargreaves<\/a> and was a hit for\u00a0\u00a0Sam Mayo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n