Charles William Murphy (14 February 1870 – 18 June 1913) was a prolific British composer of

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

and

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

tunes.

Biography

He was born William Murphy in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England.Lamb, Andrew. "C. W. Murphy, Edwardian Song Composer", ''The Call Boy'', Summer 2019, pp. 26-27 He started writing songs in the 1890s, including "Dancing to the Organ in the Mile End Road" (1893). Lyrics by C. W. Murphy, ''Monologues.co.uk''
Retrieved 4 September 2020 Another song, "Little Yellow-bird" (1903) (aka "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird") written with lyricist William Hargreave, was first performed by

Ellaline Terriss Mary Ellaline Terriss, Lady Hicks (born Mary Ellaline Lewin, 13 April 1871 – 16 June 1971), known professionally as Ellaline Terriss, was a popular British actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies. Sh ...

. It can be seen performed by Scottish comedian

Charlie Naughton Charles John Naughton (21 April 1886 – 11 February 1976) was a Scottish comedian. Naughton was born in Glasgow. He was a member of The Crazy Gang, and part of a double act, Naughton and Gold with fellow Glaswegian Jimmy Gold. In 1955, ...

in the 1938 film ''

Alf's Button Afloat ''Alf's Button Afloat'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a but ...

'' and by

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress, producer, and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles on stage and screen. Among her numerous accolades wer ...

in the 1945 film ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...

'' and again by Lansbury in the 1985 episode " Sing a Song of Murder" from her TV series ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''. With frequent collaborator Dan Lipton (1873–1935) Murphy also wrote both "She's a Lassie from Lancashire" (1907) and "My Girl's a Yorkshire Girl" (1908), the latter mentioned by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

in his novel ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

'' and also turned into a 1909 short sound film of the same name. Murphy is perhaps best known for the song "

Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?", with music and lyrics by C. W. Murphy and Will Letters (1908), is a British music hall song, originally titled "Kelly From the Isle of Man". The song concerns a Manx woman looking for her boyfriend during a visi ...

" with lyric by Will Letters, published in 1909. The song was written for

Florrie Forde Florrie Forde (born Flora May Augusta Flannagan;16 August 187518 April 1940) was an Australian-born British vaudevillian performer and popular singer, notable in music hall and pantomime. From 1897 she lived and worked in the United Kingdom, wh ...

, and was a follow-up to another Murphy song written for Forde, "Oh, Oh, Antonio", a success the previous year. Forde regularly performed in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

each summer, and "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?" made reference to "Kelly from the Isle of Man" as being "as bad as old Antonio". The song was immediately successful, becoming "the rage all over England". In discussing the song, Murphy said: "To find a refrain which will go with a swing is the secret of success in popular song-writing for the general public... It must have a melody in which 'something sticks out', so to speak."Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.114-115 The song reached the United States, where the lyrics were partly rewritten by William McKenna to set it in New York; it became a hit for

Nora Bayes Nora Bayes (born Rachel Eleonora "Dora" Goldberg; October 3, 1880March 19, 1928) was an American singer and vaudeville performer who was popular internationally between the 1900s and 1920s. She is credited with co-writing the song " Shine On, Har ...

. In 1926, "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?" was made into an animated short of the same title directed by

Dave Fleischer Dave Fleischer (; July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American film director and producer who co-owned Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City. Biography Early life and career Fleisch ...

, and in 1928 into a feature film directed by

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Aca ...

. The song was also performed in the 1943 film ''Hello Frisco, Hello''. Murphy and Letters wrote further songs for Forde including "Flanagan" (1910) with the refrain "Flanagan, Flanagan, take me to the Isle of Man again", alluding to Forde's real surname of Flanagan. Murphy also wrote several songs for

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is an American former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National L ...

, including "Put Me Amongst the Girls" (with Dan Lipton, 1908), as well as continuing to write for Florrie Forde songs including "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy" (with Worton David, 1913). Murphy died in the night of 18/19 June 1913 in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England, at the age of 43. His name is sometimes given as Clarence Wainwright Murphy, apparently in error.. The notice of his probate gives his date of death as 19 June.

Peter Gammond Peter Gammond (30 September 1925 – 6 May 2019) was a British music critic, writer, journalist, musician, poet, and artist. Peter Gammond was born in Winnington, Northwich, Cheshire. The son of John Thomas Gammond (1892–1970), a clerk, a ...

wrote that "the life of Murphy is shrouded in silence, but the catchy songs he wrote have not perished".Peter Gammond, ''The Oxford Companion to Popular Music'', Oxford University Press, 1991, p.402,

Works

* Sole credit ** "Clara & Sarah" – 1897 ** "Baby Loo (How Can I Be Poor)" – 1898 ** "Hooligan's Canary" – 1898 ** "How Can I Be Poor?" – 1898 ** "How Can They Tell That Oi'm Oirish?" – 1898 ** "Kelly, the Car-man" – 1898 ** "Jane Magee" – 1898 ** "Everybody Loves You" – 1900 ** "Just the Same To-day" – 1900 ** "Mulligan's Motor-car" – 1900 ** "Just As Long As You Love Me" – 1901 ** "Dat Little Gal of Johnson's" – 1902 ** "I Did Feel Sorry" – 1902 ** "I Don't Want To Be A Honeysuckle" – 1902 ** "I Live in Trafalgar Square" – 1902 ** "If That Comes True" – 1902 ** "Mama's Little Sleepy-eyes!" – 1902 ** "Molly O'Malley" – 1902 ** "My Home is My Garden" – 1902 ** "The Coloured Millionaire" – 1902 ** "The Girl in the Panama" – 1902 ** "Hanging Mother's Picture on a Nail" – 1903 ** "The Giddy Little Isle of Man" – 1903 ** "Good-night, Little Girl" – 1904 ** "The Little Irish Postman" – 1904 ** "You Wish You Were A Girl" – 1904 ** "Welcome Home, Sailor Boy!" – 1905 ** "Betty, I'm Pining" – 1906 ** "Little Cloud with the Silv'ry Lining" – 1907 ** "My Chateau in Barcelona" – 1907 ** "The House, the Flat and the Bungalow" – 1907 ** "Alphonso, My Alphonso" – 1909 ** "Mum-mum-mum-Mary" – 1909 ** "Boss of the House" – 1910 ** "In Your Old Tam-O'-Shanter" – 1910 ** "The Kelly" – 1910 ** "O'Brien" – 1911 ** "Hogmanay" – 1912 ** "You Must Come Round on Saturday" – 1912 ** "We Must Have a Song about the Isle of Man" – 1912 * with Andrew N. Allen ** "Let's All Go into the Ballroom" – 1912 * with Walt Alwyn ** "Kicking Up a Row Like That" – 1900 * with George Arthurs ** "Making Up the Quarrel" – 1904 ** "Bashful!" – 1906 ** "Costumes, Gowns & Frocks" – 1907 ** "Fire! Fire! Fire!" – 1907 ** "Firelight" – 1907 ** "Get It Over!" – 1907 ** "Put Me Amongst the Girls" – 1907 ** "Don't Be Ridiculous, Nicholas!" – 1908 ** "I Could Get Along So Nicely With You" – 1908 ** "I'm Not Looking for a Beautiful Girl" – 1908 ** "I've Been Fishing for Pearls" – 1908 * with Edgar Bateman ** "Mrs. Carter" – 1900 ** "The Garden Filled With Gold" – 1904 ** "Dear Little Shadow" – 1905 ** "It's Our Silver Wedding" – 1907 * with

Harry Castling Henry Castling (19 April 1865 – 26 December 1933) was an English lyricist of music hall songs. Biography Castling was born in Newington, London, the son of a street musician. He began writing songs in the 1890s, often collaborating on both ...

** "

Let's All Go Down the Strand "Let's All Go Down the Strand" is a popular British music hall song of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, written by Harry Castling and C. W. Murphy. It was first performed by Castling, and was published in 1909. It was inspired by the S ...

" – 1904 ** "Good-Night, Number One!" – 1905 ** "Hello, Little Girl! Who Are You?" – 1905 ** "It's the Best World We've Ever Seen" – 1905 ** "Little Glow-worm!" – 1905 ** "Bangalore" – 1906 ** "Barbados" – 1906 ** "Farewell, New York!" – 1906 ** "If Your Hair Were Not So Curly" – 1906 ** "Rowing To Hampton Court" – 1907 ** "I Would Still Love You" – 1908 ** "Meet Me, Jenny, When the Sun Goes Down" – 1908 ** "Pull Yourselves Together, Girls" – 1909 ** "The Girl in the Clogs and Shawl" – 1909 (cited in

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author. He is best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910) and '' A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous shor ...

's novel, ''

A Passage to India ''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th-century English liter ...

'') ** "The Singer Was Irish" – 1910 ** "Have a Banana!" – 1910 ** "I'm the Man That Buried Flanagan" – 1911 ** "We All Go the Same Way Home" – 1911 * with Charles Collins ** "Come and Hear Him Play His Oom-Tera-Ra" – 1909 ** "On the Same Place Every Time" – 1910 * with Worton David ** "Have You Heard John James O'Hara?" – 1911 ** "Follow The Footsteps in the Snow" – 1912 ** "They're All Single by the Seaside" – 1911 ** "Hold Your Hand Out You Naughty Boy" – 1914 ** "Keep Your Head Down, Fritzi Boy (We Saw You)" – 1918 * with Charles Deane ** "All Have A Dinner With Me" – 1893 * with W. Farrell ** "Irish As She's Spoken" – 1893 * with Albert Hall ** "Still His Whiskers Grew" – ? ** "Maggie Marney" – 1894 ** "Oh Where is My Wandering Boy To-Night?" – 1894 ** "A Glorious Sprig of Shamrock for Your Coat" – 1900 ** "The Baby's Name" – 1900 ** "My Blind Norah" – 1901 * with W. Hargreaves ** "Little Yellow-bird" – 1903 * with Fred W. Leigh ** "Dominic McCue" – 1906 ** "Goo-Goo Land" – 1908 * with Will Letters ** "

" – 1908 ** "The Kelly Two-Step" – 1909 ** "Flanagan" – 1910 ** "Hi, Hi, Hi, Mr. McKie" – 1911 * with Dan Lipton ** "Don't Tell the World Your Troubles" – ? ** "If I Had A Girl As Nice As You" – ? ** "Run, Run, You Little Ones (Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!)" - 1904 ** "The Ugly Duckling" – 1904 ** "Go Away Mr. Crocodile" – 1904 ** "Bombombay" – 1905 ** "Ain't Yer Gwin Ter Say 'How Do?'" – 1906 ** "As I Stand by the Old Church Door" – 1906 ** "It is the Scarecrow" – 1906 ** "Put Me Amongst The Girls" – 1907 ** "My Girl's A Yorkshire Girl" – 1908 ** "Oh, Oh Antonio" – 1908 ** "Take Me Back to the Isle of Man!" – 1908 ** "I Only Got Married To-Day" – 1909 ** "I'll Be Cross, Arabella" – 1909 ** "Plink Plonk, Or: The Skin of a Spanish Onion" – 1909 ** "We Don't Want More Daylight" – 1909 ** "I Shall Sulk" – 1910 ** "Shirts" – 1910 ** "The First Time That I've Been in Love" – 1910 ** "We'll Treat You like One of Our Own" – 1910 ** "No Wonder I Look Jolly" – 1911 ** "You Must All Do as I Do" – 1912 ** "Beautiful, Beautiful Bed" – 1915 ** "Bed, Wonderful Bed" – 1915 * with Dan Lipton and Magini ** "I Wonder What It Feels Like To Be Poor" – 1920 * with Dan Lipton and John Neat ** "She's A Lassie from Lancashire" – 1907 * with Dan Lipton and Hugh Owen ** "I've a Garden in Sweden" – 1907 ** "If You Were The Only Girl on Earth" – 1908 * with Hugh Owen ** "Don't Throw Stones at Other People's Windows" – 1907 * with George A. Stephens ** "I'm the Best Pal I've Ever Had!" – 1908 * with R.P. Weston and F.J. Barnes ** "I Don't Like Your Stovepipe Hat" – 1907

Biography

Works

References

External links