Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)

Subject: Lyr Add: STRIPEY AND BLONDIE (from Cyril Tawney)
From: Gurney
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:46 AM

STRIPEY AND BLONDIE
As sung by Cyril Tawney, tune Frankie and Johnny.

C'm'ere and I'll tell you a story,
It's all about Malta, you know.
It's all about a Valletta-bound jane
And a fellow called Stripey Joe,
Ch.
He was her man,
He was doin' her wrong.

Blondie was just in her twenties,
Stripey was past thirty-two!
Stripey was running Blondie
And an O.D. winger, too.

Blondie walked down into Sliema.
Stripey hadn't been with the car,
And you all know the place where Blondie went;
It was the dive called The Cairo Bar.

Blondie walked into The Cairo,
She ordered a nice 'Juicy Blue,'
And over in the corner sat Stripey
And the O.D. winger, too.

Stripey saw Blondie approachin'
He said "A sherry for Blondie, please."
"You can stuff your sherry!" said Blondie,
"And take you hands off that O.D's knees!

Blondie stormed out of The Cairo,
She rowed around to P.G. Bay,
And goin' on board the Warspite
she stole a 15-inch away.

Blondie rowed back round to Sliema,
15- incher as well,
And aiming by director
She blew The Cairo Bar to Hell!

Blondie, she's up in Corradina,
-that's if she's still alive!
And she's chamferin' down that 15-inch
To make the barrel of a four-point-five!

Glossary, as far as I know it.

Jane: a woman. Not a completely respectful term.
Stripey: An experienced seaman with good-conduct badges. 'Stripes.'
O.D. winger: A newer seaman that a more experienced man 'takes under his wing.'
Juicy Blue:   No idea!
P.G. Bay(sp?) No idea. Can't find it on the map. That's what it sounds like.
Warspite: H.M.S. Warspite, a battleship armed with 15-inch guns. (Ladies often giggle at the 'stole a 15-inch' line.
Director: An aiming mechanism.
Corradina (sp?) Was a naval prison, for men only! That's what it sounds like.
4.5: anti-aircraft gun, for shooting 'angels!'

This is from memory of 35+ years ago, and was never in my repertoire. I stand to be corrected on any point.
I was looking for the words for a Maltese friend.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie
From: Joe_F
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 06:33 PM

It's in Tawney's collection _Grey Funnel Lines_. According to his notes, Blue is a brand of Maltese beer, and Corradino is the naval prison in Malta.

His version has "I don't want your sherry" for "You can stuff your sherry". And it has the following after that stanza:

The OD he blushed crimson,
The Cairo Bar it was packed,
And every matelot started whispering:
"I bet that OD's just been cracked."

and then

Blondie got into a di-so,
She rowed round to Bighi Bay,
She went aboard the Warspite
And took her fifteen-inch away.

(No rooty-toot-toot for her!)

The rest is pretty much as you have it, but there are two alternative final stanzas:

Now this is the moral to the story
As any matelot can tell,
Never run an OD winger
And a blonde barmaid as well.

or

Now this story has no moral,
It only goes to show what I've said,
That there's more than one Valletta-bound Jane
And they ain't in the blinking Med.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie
From: Gurney
Date: 12 Sep 09 - 02:30 AM

Thanks, Joe.
I've never heard nor seen the LP that it's on, but I was a member of Cyril's club for a while. I'm almost certain he SANG it as I wrote, and also as "you can keep your sherry..." and the 'jumped into a Dghajsa...' line.
Bighi Bay does appear on the Malta website, but not in the main 'bays' list, so unless you know how to spell it, you can't find it!

There's a difference between what he sang and what he recorded, sometimes, like 'Diesel and Shale' on 'Between Decks,' where he missed the last verse off the recording, but referred to it in the notes.
I have no memory of the three verses you mention, but I've only heard the song live. I'll include them in the song to my friend, and I'm sure Joe will include them on the D.T.
Regards, Chris.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie
From: Gurney
Date: 12 Sep 09 - 02:45 AM

By the way, did Cyril write the words?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie
From: Joe_F
Date: 12 Sep 09 - 06:18 PM

No -- or at least, if he did, he was coy about it. _Grey Funnel Lines_ is an anthology of 20th-century British Navy songs collected by him (a book, not an LP, in case you misunderstood). The only song in it that is explicitly his is the eponymous one at the beginning.

As to "Bighi Bay", that's the way it's spelled in the book, and it gets plenty of Google hits.

It's getting on dinnertime, but I'll copy the printed version presently.

Subject: Lyr Add: STRIPEY AND BLONDIE (Cyril Tawney)
From: Joe_F
Date: 12 Sep 09 - 06:40 PM

STRIPEY AND BLONDIE
(Tune: 'Frankie and Johnny')

Now come here and I'll tell you a story
It's all about Malta you know.
It's all about a Valletta-bound Jane
And a guy named Stripey Joe.

_Chorus_
He was her man, but he was doing her wrong.

Now Blondie was still in her twenties,
Stripey was past thirty-two.
Stripey was running Blondie
And an OD winger too.

Now Blondie she went round to Sliema,
Stripey hadn't been with the car,
And you all know the place that Blondie went,
It was a dive called the Cairo Bar.

Blondie walked into the Cairo,
Ordered a nice juicy Blue,
And over in the corner sat Stripey
And his OD winger too.

Stripey saw Blondie approaching,
He said 'A sherry for Blondie please.'
'I don't want your sherry,' said Blondie,
'And get your hands off that OD's knees.'

The OD he blushed crimson,
The Cairo Bar it was packed,
And every matelot started whispering:
'I bet that OD's just been cracked.'

Blondie she got in a di-so,
She rowed around to Bighi Bay,
She went aboard the _Warspite_
And took her fifteen-inch away.

Blondie rowed back round to Sliema,
Fifteen-inch as well,
And aiming by director
She blew the Cairo Bar to hell.

Now Blondie she's up in Corradino,
That's if she's still alive.
She's chamfering down that fifteen-inch
To make the barrel of a four-point-five.

Now this is the moral to the story
As any matelot can tell,
Never run an OD winger
And a blond barmaid as well.

An alternative final verse runs:

Now this story has no moral,
It only goes to show what I've said,
That there's more than one Valletta-bound Jane
And they ain't in the blinking Med.

-- _Grey funnel lines: traditional song and verse of the Royal Navy, 1900-1970_, by Cyril Tawney (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)
From: Joe_F
Date: 23 Mar 13 - 05:12 PM

The person who edited the title of the preceding posting made a mistake: The song is not by Cyril Tawney; it is anonymous and appeared in his collection.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)
From: GUEST,Jim Green
Date: 30 Apr 14 - 12:17 PM

A juicy blue is a bottle of the local blue label beer, I have a label in the attic. It is'nt pg Bay, it is Bhigi Bay.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)
From: bubblyrat
Date: 01 May 14 - 09:25 AM

Could you "buy-out" a bar-girl with a "juicy blue" instead of a "sticky green " , I wonder ?

OD , also "Ord" is the abbreviation for Ordinary Seaman, and is generally applied to anyone nautically maladroit or inept , as in "Nobby Hall , the Big OD, cleaned his suit in CTC " which , I believe , Cyril DID write !!

I see someone's written "Di-so " , pronounced "Dye So " but actually "Dghaisa " or something similar, a Maltese version of a Gondola . Watch the excellent film (an early Michael Winner effort , believe it or not !) "Floating Fortress" about HMS Victorious in Malta in 1959-60 for shots of Jack going ashore in one .

PS I have never been to Malta !! ; because of the "6-day War " , the Suez Canal was closed ,so we went to Singapore and Aden via Capetown !!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Sep 17 - 04:00 PM

When I heard Cyril sing this (over forty years ago) he said a juicy blue referred to a a cocktail.
I went to Malta about thirty years ago and went into a back where they were selling Blue Lagoon cocktails (I think I even tried one) and there was a list on the wall of sailors who had set records drinking these.
Colin Weller

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Sep 17 - 03:05 PM

This song is remarkably frank, for its time, about sexual exploitation of young sailors by their older messmates. One of the most important relationships in the Navy is that between a green hand and his "sea daddy", and when that goes wrong the result can be tragic.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Stripey and Blondie (Cyril Tawney)
From: GUEST,MichaelKM
Date: 03 Feb 22 - 01:27 PM

I apologise for necro-posting. I heard Cyril Tawney sing 'Stripey and Blondie' in a concert in Bedford over 40 years ago. He explained that stripes on a sailor's uniform were not badges of rank but indicated length of service and also what an OD was. He likened Blondie's never-ending punishment to that of the Flying Dutchman.

I don't doubt that he sometimes varied his wording between performances and my memory may be letting me down but my recollection differs from some of the earlier posts. First, when Blondie refuses the sherry the words were, 'She said, "I don't want none of your sherry / And take your hand off that OD's knee"'. Secondly, I don't remember a verse about the OD blushing crimson. Thirdly, when Blondie went aboard the Warspite 'she stole a fifteen inch away', as in the OP. Finally, as in the OP, Tawney finished with the verse describing Blondie's punishment.

Of course, this is of little consequence. The song is still a wonderful parody.