{"id":5605,"date":"2020-10-15T11:09:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T11:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=5605"},"modified":"2020-10-22T15:58:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T15:58:55","slug":"frenchman-the-or-tra-la-la-bong","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/frenchman-the-or-tra-la-la-bong\/","title":{"rendered":"Frenchman, The; or Tra la la Bong!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>ca 1876 (sheet music)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Lyrics<\/strong><\/td>GW Hunr<\/td>Music<\/strong><\/td>William Spalding<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN21879<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Henri Clark
Jennie Engel<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Source Singers<\/strong>
Phillips, Mrs M 1952 England, Surrey<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Frenchman<\/strong>\nSung by Miss Jenny Engel\n \nWhen first I came here from Parree\nI did go to Union Square,\nTook an Apartment nice, oh very,\nUp on top of all the stairs\nIn the next room was a lady\nOn the piano she would play\nMusic charming, oh, so very!\nAnd she sang too all the day.\n \nTral La La La! Tral La La La!<\/em>\nTral La La La! Tral La La La!<\/em>\nBong, Bong, Bong, Bong!<\/em>\nShe would sing Tral La La La! Bong!<\/em>\n \nOne day I said \u201cBonjour Madame\u201d\nMadame said to me \u201cGood day\u201d\nThen I asked for her permission,\n\u201cWill she let me see her play?\u201d\nShe says \u201cCome,\u201d I sat beside her\nMy heart beat like anything;\nMy head danced with love and music\nEvery time she went for to sing.\n \nShe played so grande! She played so softly\nThat I felt as I could cry\nThen I caught her lovely hand and said\n\u201cMadame, love me, or I shall die\u201d\nWhile I kissed her little finger\nWhile I knelt upon the floor;\nWhile I swore my passion tender\nSome man walked in the door.\n \nSpoken:<\/strong> Ten thousand tons of [thunder?]! He was from England, he said \u201cHa! You\u2019re one of them Frenchman, what [shall?] you want here?\u201d I say \u201cPardonnez, mon ami, I only came here to see the Madame play\u201d.. chorus<\/em>\n \nThen he scratched my head all over\nThen he came and blow my nose\nThen he turned me upside down, Sacre!\nThen he caught me by my [clothes?]\nWhile I ask him: Give me pardon!\nHe shook me so, so and he swears\nThen he took me by my collar,\nAnd dropped me down the stairs.\n \nSpoken:<\/strong> He dropped me over the banister, and I go bumperzey, bumperzey, bumperzey - all the way to the bottom. Oh, my poor head! and Oh! my poor tail! But I swear revenge at him: I say \u201cHe shall die!\u201d Then he looked out [of the window], put his nose to his thumb, stuck out his fingers and he sang .. chorus<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
A song written by GW Hunt <\/a>which survived in the repertoire of at least one traditional singer in the 1950s when Francis Collinson transcribed the words from the singing of Mrs M Phillips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
 It was sung in the Halls by Henri Clark<\/a>, who was advertising it as part of his repertoire as early as 1871:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Era, Dec31, 1871<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I was able to find the words in Billy Andrew’s Comic Songster<\/em>, published in New York in 1873 , and suggesting that the song was in Jennie Engel’s repertoire . So the song was clearly being sung on both sides of the Atlantic before it was published as sheet music. The words as published make it clear that it was expected to be performed in extremely stylised comic French, to such an extent that it’s hard unpick exactly what is being said or sung. I have chosen to convert it into (I hope) more readable form.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A song which seems to have disappeared, perhaps reflecting changing attitudes to humour which draws on national caricatures. Not one I would sing..<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n