Songs

Songs from my childhood - as dictated by my mother and friends.

Glorious Beer

Beer! Beer! Glorious Beer!

Fill yourselves right up to here.

Drink a good deal of it

Make a good meal of it

Stick to your old fashioned Beer!

Don’t be afraid of it

Drink till you’re made of it

Now all together a cheer

Up with the sale of it

Down with the pale of it

Glorious Glorious Beer

Bull & Bush

Come! Come! Come and make eyes at me

Down at the old Bull and Bush

Come! Come! Drink some port wine with me

Down at the old Bull and Bush

Hear a little German band

Come let me hold your hand dear

Do! Do! Come and have a drink or two

Down at the old Bull and Bush! Bush! Bush!

Daisy, Daisy

Daisy, Daisy. Give me your answer do

I’m half crazy. Oh for the love of you

It won’t be a stylish marriage

I can’t afford a carriage

But you’ll look sweet upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two

She was a dear little dickey bird

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet she went

Sweetly she sang to me

Till all my money was spent

Then she went off song

We parted on fighting terms

She was one of the early birds

And I was one of the worms

Bye Bye Blackbird

Pack up all my cares and woe

Here I go Singing low

Bye Bye Blackbird

Where somebody waits for me

Sugar’s sweet so is she

Bye Bye Blackbird

Noone here can love or understand me

Oh what hard luck stories they all hand me

Make my bed and light the light

I’ll arrive late tonight

Blackbird Bye Bye.

You are my sunshine

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy, when skies are grey

You’ll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

The other night dear as I lay sleeping

I dreamt that you were by my side

But when I woke dear, I was mistaken

So I hung my head and cried.

Down by the riverside

I met my little bright-eyed girl

Down by the riverside

Well I met my little bright-eyed girl

Down by the riverside

She said have patience little man

I know you’ll understand

That I hardly know your name

Well maybe some sweet day

If I can have my way

Your name and mine will be the same

When Irish eyes are smiling

When Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure ‘tis like the morning spring

With a lilt of Irish laughter,

You can hear the angles sing

When Irish hearts are happy, all the world seems bright and gay

But when Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure they’ll steal your heart away.

Molly Malone

In Dublin’s fair city,

Where the girls are so pretty,

‘Twas there that I first met

Sweet Molly Malone.

She drove her wheelbarrow

Through the streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and muscles, alive, alive oh

Alive, alive oh, alive, alive oh

Crying cockles and muscles alive, alive oh.

Wild colonial boy

‘Tis of the wild colonial boy

Jack Doolan was his name,

Of poor but honest parents

He was born in Castlemaine.

He was his fathers only hope,

His mothers pride and joy.

And dearly did they love their son,

The wild colonial boy.

Toora Loora Loora

Toora Loora Loora - Toora Loora Li

Toora Loora Loora – Hush now don’t you cry

Toora Loora Loora - Toora Loora Li

Toora Loora Loora – That’s an Irish Lullaby

Goodnight Irene

Irene, Goodnight Irene – Irene, Goodnight

Goodnight Irene, Goodnight Irene

I’ll see you in my dreams

Roll out the barrel

We’ll have a barrel of fun

Roll out the barrel

We’ve got the blues on the run

Zing! Boom! Too-rarrel

Ring out a song of good cheer

Now’s the time to roll out the barrel

Cos the gang’s all here

There’s a tavern in the town

There’s a tavern in the town, in the town

There my true love sits him down

And drinks his wine as merry as can be

And never ever thinks of me

Fare thee well for I must leave you

Do not let this parting grieve you

And remember that the best of friends

Must part, part, part

Adieu, adieu, kind friends adieu, adieu, adieu

I can no longer stay with you

I’ll hang my heart on a weeping willow tree

And may the world go well with thee.

Knees up Mother Brown

Knees up Mother Brown,

Knees up Mother Brown

Under the table you must go

Ee i ee i ee i oh!

If I can catch you bending

I’ll saw your legs right off

Knees up, Knees up

Don’t get the breeze up

Knees up Mother Brown,

Oh my! What a rotten song

What a rotten song

Oh my! What a rotten song

What a rotten song

And what a rotten singer too!

Yes! We have no bananas

Yes we have no bananas,

We have no bananas today

We’ve got string beans and onions

And cabbages and carrots

And all kinds of fruit and say

We’ve got an old fashioned tomato

And a Long Island potato

But yes! We have no bananas

We have no bananas today!

I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts

I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts,

There they are a standing in a row

Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head,

Give them a flick, A twist of the wrist,

That’s what the showman said

Oh, I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts

Every ball you throw will make you rich

There stands me wife, the idol of me life

Singing “Roll or bowl a ball a penny a pitch”

Singing “Roll or bowl a ball a penny a pitch”,

“Roll or bowl a ball a penny a pitch”

“Roll or bowl a ball”, “Roll or bowl a ball”

Singing “Roll or bowl a ball a penny a pitch”.

A Gordon for me

A Gordon for me, A Gordon for me

If you’re nae a Gordon, You’re nae use to me

The Black Watch are braw,

The Seaforths and awe

But the cocky wee Gordon’s,

The pride of them awe.

Northern lights

The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen

Mean home sweet home to me

The Northern Lights of Aberdeen

Are where I long to be

I’ve been a wanderer all of my life

And many a sight I have seen

God speed the day when I’m on my way

To my home in Aberdeen

I belong to Glasgow

Dear old Glasgow town

There’s something the matter with Glasgow

For it’s going round and round

I’m only a common old workin’ chap

As anyone hear can see

But when I get a couple o’ drinks on a Saturday

Glasgow belongs to me.

Scotland the brave

Hark when the night is falling

Hear hear the pipes are calling

Loudly and proudly calling down

thru’ the glen

There where the hills are sleeping

Now feel the blood a leaping

High as the spirits of the old highland men

Towering in gallant flame

Scotland my mountain hame

High may your proud standards

Gloriously wave

Land of my high endeavour

Land of the shining river

Land of my heart forever

Scotland the brave.

Just a wee deoch’n’doris

Just a wee yin that’s awe

Just a wee deoch’n’doris

Before we gang awa’

There’s a wee wifie waitin’

In a wee but and ben

If you can say

It’s a braw moonlight nicht

Then you’re all right ya ken

Loch Lomond

By yon banks and by yon bonnie braes

Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond

Where me and my true love

Were ever want to gae

On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

Oh ye’ll tak the high road

And I’ll tak the low road

And I’ll be on Scotland afore ye

And me and my true love

Will never meet again

On the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

Flower of Scotland

O flower of Scotland

When will we see your like again

That fought and died for

Your wee bit highland glen

And stood against him

Proud Edward’s army

And sent him homeward

To think again

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner

That I love London so

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner

That I think of her wherever I go

I get a funny feeling inside of me

Just walking up and down

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner

That I love London town.

Don’t dilly dally on the way

My old man says follow the van

And don’t dilly dally on the way

Off went the van with me home packed in it

I followed on with me old cock linet

But I dillied and dallied, dallied and I dillied

Lost me way and don’t know where to roam

I stopped on the way and had 10 pints of lager

Now I can’t find my way home.

Barrow Boy

All me life I wanted to be a barrow boy

A barrow boy I always wanted to be

I wheels me barrow I handles it with pride

I’m a coster, a coster from over the other side

I turns me back upon the old society

Now put me where the ripe bananas grow

I sells them a dozen a shilling

That’s how I earns me living

I ought to have been a barrow boy years ago

….. get off me barra

I ought to have been a barrow boy years ago

I’m forever blowing bubbles

Pretty bubbles in the air

They fly so high – nearly reach the sky

Then like my dreams they fade and die

Fortunes always hiding

I’ve looked everywhere

I’m forever blowing bubbles

Pretty bubbles in the air

Lambeth walk

Any time you’re Lambeth way,

Any evening, any day

You’ll find them all

Doing the Lambeth Walk OI!

Every little Lambeth gal

With her little Lambeth pal

You’ll find them all

Doing the Lambeth walk OI!

Everything’s free and easy,

Do as you darn well pleasy

Why don’t you make your way there,

Go there, stay there.

Once you get down Lambeth way,

Any evening, any day.

You’ll find them all doing

The Lambeth walk OI!

Pack up your troubles

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

And smile, smile, smile

While you’re a Lucifer to light your fag

Smile boys that’s the style

What’s the use of worrying?

It never was worthwhile …so!

Pack up your troubles in you old kit bag

And smile, smile, smile

It’s a long way to Tipperary

It’s a long way to go

It’s a long way to Tiperary

To the sweetest girl I know

Goodbye Piccadilly

Farewell Leicester Square

It’s a long, long way to Tipperary

But my heart’s right there.

Kiss me goodnight

Kiss me goodnight Sergeant Major

Tuck me in my little wooden bed

We all love you Sergeant Major

When we hear you balling “show a leg”

Don’t forget to wake me in the morning

And bring me round a nice hot cup of tea

Kiss me goodnight Sergeant Major

Sergeant Major be a mother to me

Bless ‘em all

Bless ‘em all, Bless ‘em all

The long and the short and the tall

Bless all the Sergeants and WO1’s

Bless all the Corporals

And their bloomin’ sons

Cos we’re saying goodbye to them all

As back to their billets they crawl

You’ll get no promotion this side of the ocean

So cheer up my lads, bless them all.

White Cliffs of Dover

There’ll be blue birds over

The White Cliffs of Dover

Tomorrow, just you wait and see

There’ll be love and laughter

And peace ever after

Tomorrow when the world is free

The shepherd will tend his sheep

The valley will bloom again

And Jimmy will go to sleep

In his own little room again

There’ll be blue birds over

The White Cliffs of Dover

Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

Lilli Marlene

Underneath the lantern by the barrack gate

Darling I remember the way you used to wait

‘Twas there that you whispered tenderly

That you loved me you’d always be

My Lily of the lamplight,

My own Lilli Marlene

Time would come for roll call

Time for us to part

Darling I caress you

And press you to my heart

And there near that far off lantern-light,

I’d hold you tight, we’d kiss goodnight

My Lily of the lamplight,

My own Lilli Marlene.

We’ll meet again

We’ll meet again, don’t know where,

Don’t know when

But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day

Keep shining thru’ just like you always do

Till the blue skies chase

Those dark clouds far away

And won’t you please say hello

To the folks that I know

Tell them I won’t be long

They’ll be happy to know

that when you saw me go

I was singing this song…

We’ll meet again ….. etc

Vegemite Song

We’re happy little vegemites

As bright as bright can be

We all enjoy our vegemite

For breakfast lunch and tea

Our mothers say we’re growing stronger

Every single day

Because we love our vegemite

We all adore our vegemite

It puts a rose in every cheek.

Aeroplane Jelly

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me

I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,

A little each day is a good recipe

The quality’s high as the name will imply

It’s made from pure fruits that’s a good reason why

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me

You’ll never walk alone

When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm there’s a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of the lark

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone.

They were sung to me, I sang them to my children and I have annoyed captive audiences in the car all my life with them - now it's your turn.

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I recall my mother singing this to me, when I was little, probably around 3 years of age, although she probably sang it to me when I was a babe in arms.

This was 'My Song'. It was sad but it sat right at the time. When my grandparents died I was very young, but I recall that they also were taken by angels - a concept that I understood from this song.

Little Boy Blue by Eugene Field (1850-1895)

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place---
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there.

******************

My Other Song was "Perspicacity" or

The Lilac Tree

A little boy and a little girl,
In an ecstasy of bliss,
Said the little boy to the little girl,
"Won't you give me just one kiss."
The girl drew back in great surprise
"You're a stranger sir," said she,
"But I will give you just one kiss
When the apples grow on a lilac tree!'

The boy felt very sad at heart,
She was the only one;
The girl felt quite remorseful
At the terrible wrong she had done.
So bright and early on the very next morn,
He was quite surprised to see
His little sweetheart standing in the garden
Tying apples on a lilac tree.

George H. Gartlan (1882-1963)

***************************************

Heard around the house, but not as a lullaby was the ditty:

Billy Boy Traditional - (pre 1912)

Oh, where have you been,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been,
Charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife,
She's the idol of my life.
She's a young thing,
And cannot leave her mother
.

The other dozen or more verses can be researched easily - if you need them - All probably stem from:

"My Boy Billy" Trad - (published 1912 Ralph Vaughan)

Where have you been all this day,
My boy Billy?
Where have you been all this day,
Pretty Billy, tell me."
"I have been all this day,
Courting with a lady gay,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy

**********************

Girl on the Police Gazette - Irving Berlin - 1937

Some fellows see the girl that they love in a dream
Some fellows see their love in a rippling stream
I saw the girl that I can't forget
On the cover of a police gazette
If I could find her, life would be peaches and cream

Oh, my search will never cease for the girl on the police gazette
For the pretty young brunette
On the pink police gazette

And above my mantelpiece there's a page of the police gazette
With the pretty young brunette
On the pink police gazette

I love to stop
At my fav'rite barber shop
Just to take another look at
The girl I haven't met
Yet

And my longing will increase for the girl on the police gazette
For the pretty young brunette
On the pink police gazette.

*****************

The King's Horses - (1930 -Noel Gay - Harry Graham)

The king's horses, the king's men,
Marched down the street and then marched back again,
The king's horses and the king's men.

They're in scarlet, they're in gold,
All dollied up, it's a joy to behold!
The king's horses and the king's men.

They're not out to scare the foe,
You might think so, But oh dear no!
They're out because they've got to go
To put a little pep into the Lord Mayor's Show!

It's their duty, now and then,
To march down the street and then march back again,
The king's horses and the king's men.

The king's horses, the king's men,
Marched down the street and they marched back again,
The king's horses and the king's men.
They're in scarlet, dressed in gold,
All dollied up, it's a joy to behold!
The king's horses and the king's men.

They're not out to scare the foe,
You might think so, But oh dear no!
They're out because they've gotta go
To put a little pep into the Lord Mayor's Show!

It's their duty, now and then,
To march down the street and then march back again,
The king's horses and the king's men.

**********************

Other verses added by the Nazis during the 2nd World War as a propaganda campaign were also sung (on occasion)

The King's horses and the King's men
Marched down to France and then marched back again
The King's horses and the King's men

They're avowed to march to the Rhine
And hang out their washing on the Siegfried Line
The King's horses and the King's men

They couldn't do a thing to fight the foe
You might think so, but, oh dear, no
All the men are feeling low
'Cause they couldn't put some pep into Churchill's show
It's their duty now and then
Make a glorious retreat and be decorated again
The King's horses and the King's men

*********************************

The Fairies - William Allingham (1824-1889)

Up the airy mountain Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting, For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk, Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap, And white owl's feather.

Down along the rocky shore Some make their home,
They live on crispy pancakes Of yellow tide-foam;
Some in the reeds Of the black mountain-lake,
With frogs for their watch-dogs, All night awake.

High on the hill-top The old King sits;
He is now so old and gray He's nigh lost his wits.
With a bridge of white mist Columbkill he crosses,
On his stately journeys From Slieveleague to Rosses;
Or going up with music, On cold starry nights,
To sup with the Queen, Of the gay Northern Lights.

They stole little Bridget For seven years long;
When she came down again Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back Between the night and morrow;
They thought she was fast asleep, But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since Deep within the lake,
On a bed of flag leaves, Watching till she wake.

By the craggy hill-side, Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn trees For pleasure here and there.
Is any man so daring As dig them up in spite?
He shall find the thornies set In his bed at night.
Up the airy mountain Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting, For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk, Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap, And white owl's feather.