{"id":12661,"date":"2021-09-07T08:32:49","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T08:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=12661"},"modified":"2021-09-26T13:01:23","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T13:01:23","slug":"two-obadiahs-the","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/two-obadiahs-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Obadiahs, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>Obadiah<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1876<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>HP Lyste<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN31457<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>JL Toole, GH MacDermott<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Cooper, Mrs Nora; Ireland : Co Down; 1968<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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THE TWO OBADIAHS\nWords and Music by H. P. Lyste.<\/strong>\n\nSaid the young Obadiah to the old Obadiah,\nI am dry, Obadiah, I am dry.\nSaid the old Obadiah to the young Obadiah,\nThat's queer, Obadiah, so am I.\nBut the two Obadiahs had between them not a sou,\nEvery Publican smiled, and said, Oh ho ! my friend, it's you \nMay I ask, Obadiah, if you'll pay what is due ?\nSaid the two Obadiahs, Oh be damned, Oh be damned!\n\nSaid the young Obadiah to the old Obadiah, \nI've a plan, Obadiah, I've a plan.\nSaid the old Obadiah to the young Obadiah,\nIf that's so, Obadiah, I'm your man.\nSaid the young Obadiah, for weak liquor don't repine, \nFor my landlady's uncle sells a proper sort of wine, \nIt's in quarts, Obadiah, and it's called paraffine.\nSaid the old Obadiah, that'll do, that'll do.\n\nSaid the young Obadiah to the old Obadiah,\nWhat a joke, Obadiah, what a joke ! \nSaid the old Obadiah to the young Obadiah,\nLet us smoke, Obadiah, let us smoke.\nFor I wouldn't hint for world's that the liquor isn't right\nBut it's potent, Obadiah, and I feel I'm getting tight,\nSo just hand me the 'baccabox and serve out a light,\nObadiah, Obadiah, Obaday.\n\nSaid the young Obadiah to the old Obadiah, \nI am drier, Obadiah, I am drier.\nSaid the old Obadiah to the young Obadiah, \nI'm on fire, Obadiah, I'm on fire !\nAs the two Obadiahs were consumed by their thirst, \nThe neighbours hurried in and prevented the worst, \nBy pumping so hard that the engines all burst.\nObadiah, Obadiah didn't die!\n\nMoral :\nSaid the old Obadiah to the young Obadiah, \nA lesson, Obadiah, I have learnt.\nSaid the young Obadiah to the old Obadiah, \nI am burnt, Obadiah, I am burnt !\nAnd because, Obadiah, we did all but cremate, \nIn future we will try to avoid such a fate.\nOh! smoking and drinking are sins very great \nSaid the old Obadiah, stick to tea, stick to tea!\n\n\nTHE TWO OBADIAHS.\nH.P.LYSTE'S NEW VERSION. <\/strong>\nWritten expressly for and Sung with immense success by G. H. MACDERMOTT.<\/strong>\n\nSaid the young Obadiah the old Obadiah,\n\"I am dry, Obadiah, I am dry,\"\nSaid the old Obadiah, to the young Obadiah, \n\"Well that's queer, Obadiah, so am I,\"\nBut the two Obadiahs had between them not a brown, \nAnd all they sought to borrow from responded with a frown \nYou must pay us what you owe before we lend you what you need,\nSaid the old Obadiah\"Oh be d\u2014d.\" \n\nSaid the young Obadiah, to the old Obadiah,\n\"I've a plan, Obadiah, I've a plan,\"\nSaid the old Obadiah,to the young Obadiah, \n\"If that's so, Obadiah,I'm your man:\"\nThen the young Obadiah took the watch from out his fob, \nUpon which a sympathising Uncle lent him thirty bob, \nSaid the young Obadiah \"Now I think that we are right\"\nSaid the old Obadiah \"For the night\"\n\nSaid the young Obadiah, to the old Obadiah, \n\"And now Obadiah what d'ye think? \"\nSaid the old Obadiah, to the young Obadiah,\n\"Let us Rink, Obadiah, let us Rink;\"\t\nThen they strolled into a Rink when two ladies fair they met,\nOn the Asphalte by their charmers both the heroes were upset\n\"How much Obadiah shall we spend of what we've got,\"\nSaid the old Obadiah \"Blue the lot\"\n\n\nSaid the young Obadiah,to the old Obadiah, \n\"With the ladies, Obadiah we are right,\" \nSaid the old Obadiah,to the young Obadiah, \n\"I'm getting,Obadiah,rather tight\t.\nOur money is all gone and these ladies want to go, \nAnd have a leetle supper at a leetle place they know, \nSaid the young Obadiah \"I'm getting in a funk,\"\nSaid the old Obadiah \"Let us bunk.\"\n\nSaid the girl behind the bar to.the young Obadiah, \n\"You owe me,Sir, for that last claret cup,\"\nSaid the old Obadiah to the girl behind the bar, \n\"Stick it up, my pretty darling, stick it up,\"\nBut the barmaid said \"There's nothing Sir that's stuck up about me\nAnd she called in the Police to arbitrate between the three, \nSaid the young Obadiah What on earth is to be done;'\nSaid the old Obadiah \"Cut and run?'\n\nSaid the girl behind the bar to the old Obadiah, \n\"Woman's rights,Obadiah, I require,\"\nSaid the old Obadiah to the girl behind the bar,\n\"Don't aspire,gentle creature,don't aspire,\"\nFor Englishmen all know what are really woman's rights, \nAnd aint gulled by Lydia Beckers nor by Mrs Jacob Brights'. \nOh! most Englishwomen aint like them you take my word,\nSaid the old Obadiah \"Thank the Lord:'\n\nSaid the young Obadiah, to the old Obadiah,\n\"There'll be war,-Obadiah, there'll be war,\" \nSaid the old Obadiah,to the young Obadiah,\n\"If we're wanted Obadiah Here we are.\"\n\"For we've done with sneaking policies like that of yesterday,\n\"And we speak out our mind in a Dizzygreeable way,\"\nSaid the young Obadiah\".Arbitration was our shame, \nDerbytration is a better sort of game.\"\n\n\u201cRinking\u201d refers to roller skating a new craze in the 1870s<\/em>, Lydia Baker and Jacob Bright were campaigners for women\u2019s suffrage, Dizzy and Derbytration refer to Conservative prime ministers Disraeli and Lord Derby<\/em><\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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An extremely popular song  which emerged from theatre burlesques* in early 1876.  There were initially two versions – the subject of a dispute in the pages of The Era<\/em> (those interested can read extracts below).  One  version was sung by Miss E Farren, at Charing Cross Theatre in  Rip van Winkle<\/em>, another was sung by JL Toole  in a  national tour of The Spelling Bee<\/em> which received great acclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song was sung in the halls by GH MacDermott<\/strong>,<\/a> who appears to have started singing it later in 1876. HP Lyste, who is generally credited with having written the original version, wrote a special topical version for MacDermott, with references to Disraeli and various events of the day. Unusually both the Toole and the MacDermott versions were included in the sheet music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HP Lyste authored several other burlesques in the 1870s but was not widely known as a songwriter.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
*Burlesque<\/em>: a short humorous play often lampooning classical subjects like Shakespeare or historical legends like Ivanhoe. Typically they would include well-known songs, mostly derived from other sources like the halls, but sometimes written especially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song seems to have retained some popularity right up to the early 20th century, with new versions and parodies continually being created around the basic structure Said the young Obadiah to the old Obadiah<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A snatch of the first verse was being sung as a children’s song almost a hundred years later. It was collected by Hugh Shields from the singing of Mrs Nora Cooper, and can be heard at the excellent Irish Traditional Music Archive<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
An early “talking pictures” technology Vivaphone<\/em> called captured George Grossmith and Edmund Payne singing it in 1911:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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