Music hall songs were sung in the music halls by a variety of artistes. Most of them were comic in nature. There are a very large number of music hall songs, and most of them have been forgotten. In London, between 1900 and 1910, a single publishing company, Francis, Day and Hunter, published between forty and fifty songs a month.

Examples

They number in their tens of thousands and include the following: *" After the Ball" ( Charles K. Harris) *"The Army of Today's All Right" *" Any Old Iron" (music by Charles Collins; lyrics by Terry Sheppard) sung by Harry Champion. *"

Boiled Beef and Carrots "Boiled Beef and Carrots" is a comedic music hall song published in 1909. It was composed by Charles Collins and Fred Murray. The song was made famous by Harry Champion who sang it as part of his act and later recorded it. The song extols the vi ...

" (Charles Collins and Fred Murray) sung by Harry Champion. *" The Boy I Love is up in the Gallery" ( George Ware) sung by Nelly Power and

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...

. *" Burlington Bertie from Bow" ( William Hargreaves) sung by Ella Shields. *" Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow Wow" ( Joseph Tabrar) sung by Vesta Victoria. *"

Daisy Bell "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)" is a song written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre with the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy / all for the love of you", ending with the words "a bicycle ...

" (

Harry Dacre Harry Dacre, the pen-name of Frank Dean (September 1857–16 July 1922), was a British songwriter best known for his composition " Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built For Two)". Biography Dean was born on the Isle of Man, where he was baptised on 6 Sept ...

) sung by Katie Lawrence. *" Don't Dilly Dally on the Way" (Charles Collins and Fred W. Leigh) sung by Marie Lloyd. *"

Down at the Old Bull and Bush "Under the Anheuser Bush" is a beer garden song commissioned by the Anheuser-Busch brewing company in 1903. With music by Harry Von Tilzer and words by Andrew B. Sterling, the title contains a pun on the surnames of the company's founders ("Busch" ...

" (music by

Harry von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

; lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling) sung by

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 ...

. *" Goodbye, Dolly Gray" (Paul Barnes; Will. D. Cobb) sung by George Lashwood. *" Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?" ( C.W. Murphy and Will Letters) sung by Florrie Ford. *" Hello, Hello, Who's Your Lady Friend?" (music by Harry Fragson; lyrics by Worton David and

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard ...

) sung by

Mark Sheridan Mark Sheridan (11 September 1864 – 15 January 1918), born Frederick Shaw, was an English music hall comedian and singer. He became a popular performer of lusty seaside songs and originated the J. Glover-Kind classic, "I Do Like to Be Beside t ...

. *"Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy" (C.W. Murphy and Will Letters) sung by Florrie Ford. *"

I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" (also "I'm Henery the VIII, I Am" or "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"; spelled "Henery" but pronounced "h-dropping, 'Enery" in the Cockney style normally used to sing it) is a 1910 in music, 1910 British music hall song by Fr ...

" (1911) ( Fred Murray and Bert Weston) sung by Harry Champion. *"The Honeysuckle and the Bee" *"

I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" is a popular British music hall song. It was written in 1907 by John H. Glover-Kind (18801918) and made famous by music hall singer Mark Sheridan, who first recorded it in 1909. It speaks of the singer's love ...

" sung by various people including

and Florrie Forde. *"I Live in Trafalgar Square" (C.W. Murphy) sung by Morny Cash. *"If It Wasn't For The 'Ouses In Between" (music by George Le Brunn; lyrics by Edgar Bateman) sung by Gus Elen. *" If You Want to Know the Time, Ask a Policeman" (Edward Rogers and Augustus Durandeau) sung by James Fawn. *"It's a Bit of a Ruin That Cromwell Knocked About a Bit" (Harry Bedford; Terry Sullivan) sung by Marie Lloyd. *" It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (1914) ( Jack Judge and Harry Williams) sung by Florrie Forde. *"

Knees Up Mother Brown "Knees Up Mother Brown" is a pub song, believed to date back as early as the 1800s, but first published in 1938, and with origins in the East End of London. With its origins in public houses of East London, it was associated with Cockney cult ...

" a song, published in 1938, by which time it had already been known for some years. *"

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 ...

" (

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 ...

and C.W. Murphy) sung by Charles R. Whittle. *" Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner" (

Hubert Gregg Hubert Robert Harry Gregg (19 July 1914 – 29 March 2004) was a British broadcaster, writer and actor. In his later years, he was known for the BBC Radio 2 "oldies" shows ''A Square Deal'' and ''Thanks for the Memory''. He was also a novelist, t ...

) *" Nellie Dean" ( Henry W. Armstrong) sung by Gertie Gitana. *" Oh! It's a lovely war" sung by Ella Shields. *" Oh! Mr Porter" (music by George Le Brunn; lyrics by Thomas Le Brunn) sung by Marie Lloyd. * " Proper Cup of Coffee" *"She Was A Sweet Little Dicky Bird" *" Ship Ahoy! (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor)", performed by

Hetty King Winifred Emms (4 April 1883 – 28 September 1972), best known by her stage name Hetty King, was an English entertainer who performed in the music halls as a male impersonator over some 70 years. Early life She was born in New Brighton, Ches ...

*" Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" (Harry J. Sayers) sung by

Lottie Collins Lottie Collins (16 August 1865 – 1 May 1910) was an English singer and dancer, most famous for introducing the song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay!" in England. Early life She was born Charlotte Louisa Collins in the East End of London in 1865. Her fa ...

. *" The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (Fred Gilbert) sung by Charles Coborn. *"To Be There" (1886) (written by C.A. Page ; composed by J. Iliffe.) sung by Sam Torr. *" Waiting At The Church" ( Henry E. Pether; Fred W. Leigh) sung by Vesta Victoria. *" We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" by

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a British songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr (composer), ...

was first published in 1939 *" When Father Papered the Parlour" (Weston and Barnes) sung by

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 ...

. *" Where Did You Get That Hat?" (James Rolmaz) sung by J.C Heffron. *"Your Baby Has Gone Down The Plughole" (also known as "A Mother's Lament" and "The Angels' Reply") (writer unknown), later covered by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

Bawdy examples

Many of the following burlesque songs, which were written before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, continue to be sung today in certain British

Rugby Football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

clubs. *" Christmas Day In The Cookhouse" *"Dinah, Dinah Show Us Your Leg" *"

Good Ship Venus "Good Ship Venus", also known as "Friggin' in the Riggin", is a bawdy drinking song devised to shock with ever increasingly lewd and debauched sexual descriptions of the eponymous ship's loose-moralled crew. The tune usually used (especially for ...

" *"It's Hard to Say I Love You" *" Ivan Skavinsky Skavar" *"My Father's a Lavatory Cleaner" *" Old Dan Tucker" *" Parlez Vous" *"The Great Big Wheel" a.k.a. the " Engineer's Song" *" The Moon Shines Bright on Charlie Chaplin" *"The Gentleman Soldier"

References

*Peter Gammond (1973) ''Your Own, Your Very Own!: A Music Hall Scrapbook''. London: Ian Allan,

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Hall Songs Music hall