This is one of my favourite music hall songs. Unfortunately I am not using this in my PhD but it is still an excellent song. It was originally sung by Marie Lloyd
Oh! Mr Porter
Marie Lloyd
Lately I just spent a week with my old Aunt Brown,
Came up to see wond'rous sights of famous London Town.
Just a week I had of it, all round the place we'd roam
Wasn't I sorry on the day I had to go back home?
Worried about with packing, I arrived late at the station,
Dropped my hatbox in the mud, the things all fell about,
Got my ticket, said 'good - bye' "Right away." the guard did cry,
But I found the train was wrong and shouted out:
CHORUS
The porter would not stop the train, But I laughed and said "You must
Keep your hair on, Mary Ann, and mind that you don't bust'."
Some old gentleman inside declared that it was hard,
Said "Look out of the window, Miss, and try and call the guard."
Didn't I, too, with all my might I nearly balanced over,
But my old friend grasp'd my leg, and pulled me back again,
Nearly fainting with the fright, I sank into his arms a sight,
Went into hysterics but I cried in vain:
CHORUS
On his clean old shirt-front then I laid my trembling head,
"Do take it easy, rest awhile" the dear old chappie said.
If you make a fuss of me and on me do not frown,
You shall have my mansion, dear, away in London Town.
Wouldn't you think me silly if I said I could not like him?
Really he seemed a nice old boy, so I replied this way;
I will be your own for life, Your imay doodle um little wife,
If you'll never tease me any more I say.
CHORUS
Oh! Mr. Porter, what shall I do?
I want to go to Birmingham
And they're taking me on to Crewe,
Send me back to London as quickly as you can,
Oh! Mr. Porter, what a silly girl I am!
Not much has been happening except writing. I am finding the isolation a bit tricky. Got cabin fever I think. Hey ho.
3 comments:
Writing is good, and it's not forever. Are you going to do a compare and contrast 'Pretty Polly Perkins of Paddington Green' with 'Cushie Butterfield'?
Hi John. You're right it isn't forever - but it feels like it sometimes. I hadn't intended to compare these two but now you mention it I might do so on my blog sometime...unless you want to do the honours on yours???
Don't know enough about them really, other than they have the same tune and a near-identical theme. Don't know which one came first, and I suspect there may be some dispute over that. Which ever way it was, Cushie Butterfield feels less forced to me, much more down to earth, much more real. And despite living much nearer to Gateshead than to Paddington when I was a kid, they made us sing Pretty Polly Perkins at school...
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