{"id":18754,"date":"2023-02-13T10:50:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T10:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=18754"},"modified":"2023-04-30T07:13:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T07:13:14","slug":"hed-never-been-there-before-hes-going-there-every-night","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/hed-never-been-there-before-hes-going-there-every-night\/","title":{"rendered":"He’d never been there before : (he’s going there every night)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>My sister Sue
She’d never been there before<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1897<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This page quotes lyrics which contain offensive language, reflecting attitudes common in the period when this song was first performed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer\/composer<\/td>Fred Murray and Fred W Leigh \/ George Le Brunn<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN23574<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

\n
Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Marie Loftus<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Neal, Jesse; England : Gloucestershire; 1960
Lammin, Charles; England : Lincolnshire; 1967
Rowe, Cliff; England : Somerset; 1977
Modern performances<\/strong>:
Mike Reid, The Punters, Billy Cotton<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
My sister Sue was always such a silly little coon\nShe never seemed to understand the proper way to spoon\nHer young man asked her recently to sit upon his knee\nWhen she at last consented, she behaved so bashfully.\n\nShe'd never been there before, never been there before\nShe felt so shy till Mr Brown\nStarted to bounce her up and down\nThen it was all serene, it filled her with delight\nShe'd never been there before, but now she's going there every night.<\/em>\n\nA curate had a notion once that made him very sad\nHe used to think that ballet girls were everything that's bad\nSaid he, 'I'll go and preach to them' he meant to give them 'beans'\nBut didn't he feel funny when he got behind the scenes.\n\nHe'd never been there before, never been there before\nHe got on well with the ladies there\nSome of the beauties curled his hair\nTickled him in the ribs, it filled him with delight\nHe'd never been there before, but now he's going there every night.<\/em>\n\nOne night a burly policemen was a-strolling on his beat\nAnd chanced to turn his lantern down an 'airy' from the street\nThe cook was standing on the steps, she cried, \"Oh deary me\nI feel so very lonely, won't you keep me company.\u201d\n\nHe'd never been there before, never been there before\nHe found the cookie a regular treat\nDiscovered a lovely joint of meat\nCuddled the slavey's waist, squeezed it nice and tight\nHe'd never been there before, but now he's going there every night.<\/em>\n\nA lady friend of mine whose husband's such a stingy man\nResolved at last to work upon the good old fashioned plan\nSo while the beauty slept one night, she seized upon the chance\nJumped out of bed, and dived into the pockets of his pants.\n\nShe'd never been there before, never been there before\nShe felt so awfully pleased to see,\nThat Willy was snoring peacefully\nOnly took half-a crown and nearly died of fright\nShe'd never been there before, but she's going there every night.\n<\/em>\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A song collected from several traditional singers in southern England, Never been there before<\/em> has also been widely sung by folk revival singers in Newfoundland. The Newfoundland version is derived from the repertoire of the renowned local poet\/singer\/publisher Johnny Burke, who seems to have slightly modified a number of Music Hall and Vaudeville songs and republished them under his own name, other examples are: The Trinity Cake<\/a>, Cod liver oil<\/a><\/em>, and Old Brown\u2019s daughter<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song was first sung in the Halls in 1897 by Marie Loftus, lyrics by Fred Murray<\/a> and Fred W Leigh<\/a>, music composed by George Le Brunn<\/a>. It was the subject of a minor dispute over a different song of the same name, as shown in these letters to The Era:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
 Nov. 20, 1897; The Era <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Nov. 27, 1897; The Era<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The song was revived by Billy Cotton in the early 1950s…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s a recording made for the BBC for its Thirsty Work <\/em>radio series in the early 1940s – for more information see Katie Howson’s excellent Unsunghistories site <\/a>. The singer is probably Bill Norledge :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n