{"id":27268,"date":"2025-06-03T14:02:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T14:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=27268"},"modified":"2025-06-21T10:37:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T10:37:05","slug":"virgin-only-nineteen-years-old-the","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/virgin-only-nineteen-years-old-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgin only nineteen years old, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>OH MY YOU’RE A DANDY FOR NINETEEN YEARS OLD
Only nineteen years old
Virgin of nineteen, The
Just nineteen years old
Nineteen and ninety
Daisy just 19 years old
etc<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1869<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

Writer\/composer<\/td>Frederick Perry \/ Harry Rickards<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN4792<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

\n
Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Harry Rickards, Christy Minstrels<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Dinwiddle, Wayne (Gene) ; USA : California ; 1941
Dragon, Edward ; USA : Vermont ; 1941
Richards, Belle Luther ; USA : New Hampshire ; 1942
Dornan, Angelo ; Canada : New Brunswick ; 1955
Unknown singer ; Canada : Ontario ; 1956 – 1963
Cuddihey, Michael ; Canada : Quebec ; 1957
Bird, Odis ; USA : Arkansas ; 1958
Lauderdale, Bertha ; USA : Arkansas ; 1959
Larner, Sam ; England : Norfolk ; 1958-60
Wood, Jane ; USA : Arkansas ; 1961
Hutchinson, Stanley ; USA : Ontario ; 1964
Newitt, Enos Australia : Queensland : 1966
Murphy, Delia ; Ireland ; 1967
Collins, Peter ; Ireland : Co. Westmeath 1971
McKee, Davy ; N. Ireland : Co. Antrim : 1971
Lenihan, Tom ; Ireland : Co. Clare ; 1972
Murphy, James ; Ireland : Co. Sligo : 1974
O’Neill, Pat ; Ireland : Co. Wicklow : 1974
Taylor, Jim ; Canada : British Columbia ; 1975
Butcher, Eddie ; N. Ireland : Co. Derry : 1975
Dineen, Nora ; Ireland : Co. Kerry : 1975
McConaghie, Bob ; N. Ireland : Co. Antrim ; 1977
Heaney, Joe ; Ireland : Co. Galway : 1978
Greaney, Con ; Ireland : Co. Limerick : 1984
Cook, Bert ; Australia : Victoria : 1986
Cook, Lennie ; Australia : New South Wales : 1991
Waters, Jimmy ; Ireland ; Co. Wexford : 1994
Black, Baxter ; USA : Colorado : no date
Woods, Gordon ; England : Suffolk : no date<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
From Original Sheet Music (1868)
The Virgin only nineteen years old<\/strong>
Words by Fred Perry, Music by Harry Rickards

As I was out walking one night near the strand
I met a fair damsel all hooped up so grand,
She had feathers and finery, and jewels and gold.
And she said she was a virgin, yes, a virgin, only nineteen years old!

Her fingers were taper'd, her neck like the Swan 
Her nose was a turn-up, and her voice not too strong;
In three weeks we were married, and the wedding bells told
That I'd married a virgin, yes, a virgin, only nineteen years old!

The wedding party broke up and we retired to rest
But my hair stood upright when my bride she undress'd;
For a cartload of padding my young bride did unfold,
A thing rather peculiar, very peculiar for nineteen years old!

First she took off her right foot, about a foot wide
Then she unscrew'd her left ear and laid it aside;
Then she pulled out her right eye, on the carpet it roll'd,
Thinks I: here's a Virgin, what a Virgin, only nineteen years old!

Next she unscrew'd her left leg as far as the knee
Then she pull'd off her fingers, I counted just three;
Then on her left shoulder a large hump I did behold.
So I said, there's a Virgin, yes a Virgin, only nineteen years old.

When she wiped off her eyebrows, I thought I should faint
And scraped from her thin cheeks a cart-load of paint;
When she pulled off her black wig, then her bald pate soon told
That she was an old Virgin, an old Virgin, more than nineteen years old!

When she pull'e'd out her false teeth, I jumped up in terror,
For her nose and her chin very near stuck together,
From the chamber I stepp'd it never more to behold.
This virgin not nineteen, no, not nineteen, but ninety-nine years old!

Now, young men, take warning, e'er to church you go
Be sure your bride's perfect from the top to the toe,
Or you'll pay for your folly and like me be sold
By some patched-up old Virgin, cruel old Virgin, 'bout ninety-nine years old!<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n
A music hall song from the 1860s – sung both by Walter Howard of the Christy Minstrels and\u00a0Harry Rickards<\/a>. The sheet  music cover presented here has Howard on its cover, a very similar score with a portrait of Rickards in the central panel was also published. Rickards was credited with composing the music, with  words by Fred Perry<\/a>  but both the tune and words borrow significantly from earlier songs. The lyrics take their central idea  from  earlier songs which draw humour from a gullible groom discovering that his new bride is largely constructed from a series of false parts. The respected broadside expert Steve Gardham has shown that such songs  go back to 1660 or earlier (Dungheap No.5 on Mustrad)<\/a>.The songs  persist into the 20th century, see for example Side by Side (dismantled bride parody)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Harry Rickard’s modern biographer, Gae Anderson, suggests that he was singing The Virgin only nineteen years old<\/em><\/strong> as early as 1864 and that he performed it as part of the trial turn which won him his first significant professional booking, at Wilton’s in July 1864. This may be a misreading of the evidence (see appendix below if you’re interested in why …) but by March 1968 he was definitely singing it, and I can find no evidence of anyone performing before that date:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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London Music Halls: Maison Duree<\/strong>, The Era – 01 Mar 1868<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The first adverts for sheet music came in 1869:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Daily Telegraph & Courier (London) – 08 March 1869<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Rickards kept the song in his repertoire for almost 25 years, as these short reviews from The Era<\/em> demonstrate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n