Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas

Subject: Lyrics? -- Cabbages & Peas
From:
Date: 14 Aug 97 - 02:29 AM

Can anyone assist me with the lyrics to the song (a version of which was done by Oscar Brant) that begins

Oh she sits among the cabbages and peas . . .

Thank you, as always.

Subject: Lyr Add: SHE SITS AMONG THE CABBAGES AND PEAS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 06:13 PM

SHE SITS AMONG THE CABBAGES AND PEAS

Oh, she sits among the cabbages and peas
With a pretty little peapot 'tween her knees
She's a whiz at shelling peas
So she sits and shells with ease
Till the pretty little peapot's full of peas.

Oh, she sits among the cabbages and peas
And she talks to all the little bugs and bees.
They climb up her legs and arms
And all round her other charms.
They see lots of things nobody ever sees.

Oh, she sits among the cabbages and peas
With her little dress away above her knees.
All the boys that pass her way
Stand and stare and wish that they
Were that pretty little peapot 'tween her knees.

Oh, she sits among the cabbages and peas
And the little birds are singing in the trees
Waiting till she falls asleep,
Then fly down and take a peek
At her pretty little peapot full of peas.

Oh, among the cabbages and peas she sits,
And her pretty little dress so tightly fits
When she stoops to take a pea
That's the time that you can see
That she's got a pair of very lovely hips.

Oh, she sits among the cabbages and peas,
But one day she felt so very ill at ease.
She was sitting on a hole.
In that hole there was a mole.
It's no wonder that she felt so ill at ease.

[As sung by standup comic Neil Hamburger on "Raw Hamburger," Drag City CD #139, 1998.]
[You can download the archived radio program that contains this song at http://rubberroomradio.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=53589#. The song begins about 4 minutes and 12 seconds from the beginning of the program.]

Subject: RE: Lyrics? -- Cabbages & Peas
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 05:45 AM

Is it the Marie Lloyd song?
BLICKY

Quack!
GtD.

Subject: ADD: A Rural Ballad
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 06:11 PM

From MusicWeb-International.com:

I'll give you £100 if you can show me the words and music of 'a Marie Lloyd song called She Sits Among The Cabbages and Peas or Leeks' It may be a good story but it just aint true.
Max Tyler.
Historian and Archivist. British Music Hall Society

The story he was reacting to was this:

Marie [Lloyd] once had a song about gardening called "I Sits Among My Cabbages and Peas" but when the Lord Chamberlain, effectively the theatre censor, saw the words he was outraged. Such vulgarity would not be allowed, she was told by his office. Quick as a flash, Marie changed the words and the song became "I Sits Among My Cabbages and Leaks". The Lord Chamberlain's blushes were spared, the crowd roared and Marie Lloyd marched on. Soon she reverted to the original, of course.

Different versions of the story have circulated, and can be found on the Internet, and at Mudcat. Sometimes it's "…Lettuces and Leaks."

Unfortunately, I can find no information about the origin of the song that Neil Hamburger sings. I suspect it's a recent composition inspired by the Marie Lloyd story.

However, I did find this, at immortalia.com:

A RURAL BALLAD

Tempt me not away to mountains, to lakes or shady dell,
Nor to the sea shore where the sands are full of fleas;
But take me [to] the country, the place I love so well,
'Mid the hay fields, and the cabbage and peas.

Tempt me not with lovely ladies, with their husbands left at home,
And a bunch of bathers basking at their knees;
I prefer the dairy maiden upon her native loam,
In the land where grows the cabbages and peas;

Where the hay upon the meadow gives a fragrance to the air;
Where the cow and calf are browsing 'neath the trees;
In the golden glow of evening I would greet the maiden fair,
As she sits among the cabbages and peas.

--from "The Book of a Thousand Laughs," by "O. U. Schweinickle," 1928.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Mr Happy
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 06:15 PM

Can be sung to same tune as

'If the sergeant drinks your rum, never mind'

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 08:31 AM

The initial post was probably a reference to Oscar Brand, not Oscar Brant.

Quite a charming little ditty! And excellent notes!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: GUEST,Whyperion
Date: 06 Feb 13 - 12:14 PM

I think the song could be , Dear Old Uncle Joe ( or Muckin'(g) About The Garden. Recorded by a number of artists in the UK, , one on Zonophone , written by Q Cumber and sung by sometime Pantomime Dame Clarkson Rose in the 1920s.

The Marie Lloyd reference dates back at least to the 1980s when I heard it mentioned on radio , possibly by Cosmotheka , but could have been on a radio documentary on Marie Lloyd.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: GUEST,Anon
Date: 06 Feb 13 - 12:16 PM

Line from the refrain Being , He Sits among his Cauli's and Leeks , Watching His Onions Grow.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Snuffy
Date: 06 Feb 13 - 04:54 PM

This one has peas, but no cabbages: THE GREENFIELDS OF DUNDEE

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Mr Red
Date: 30 Jun 15 - 03:23 AM

Well Alan Coren &/or Ned Sherrin told the Marie Lloyd tale. And they were pretty studious on the subject of show biz anecdotes.

Another of Marie Lloyd quotes was one where a punter shouted "Show us yer fanny Marie" to which she replied "Shan't now for asking!"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: The Sandman
Date: 30 Jun 15 - 07:43 AM

I used to sing this song with the new mexborough concertina quartet, there was another line about she sits among the cabbage and leeks,this isit writen by lesley sarony

We're a happy family; I'd like you all to know.
We live with Uncle Joe
In a little bungalow.
It has got a garden and it keeps him on the go.
When a friend says, "Where's your uncle?" we just answer, "Oh,
He's mucking about the garden, always on the go."
Seeds begin to show.
Weeds begin to grow.
Mucking about the garden, dear old Uncle Joe
Works for hours
Among the flowers
And then begins to grow
Everything is lovely-uvely everywhere, everywhere.
Morning noon and night he's on the go.
Oh!
Mucking about the garden, dear old Uncle Joe
Sings, "Ripe tomatoes, apples or plums,"
Watching his onion grow.

(Musical Break)

On useful garden hints and knowledge
I will now expound
Always plant rice pudding seeds
A mile beneath the ground
Go and get your toasting fork
You find there's lots of jobs on
And don't forget that water cress
Are radishes with knobs on
And there's one thing more
I'd lie to say while on this tack
If your rhubarb's far too forward
Simply bend it back

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: The Sandman
Date: 30 Jun 15 - 07:45 AM

the cabbage and peas verse was an optional verse not shown in the above lyrics

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 30 Jun 15 - 03:40 PM

Tone Deaf Leopard

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Jul 15 - 11:03 PM

MUCKING ABOUT THE GARDEN sung by Leslie Sarony and Tommy Handley.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 03 Jul 15 - 05:29 AM

Can't get Snuffy's link on 06.02.13 to work, so here is the song he referred to, by Watt Nicoll: a couple of my friends sing it and have added a chorus. You can hear it as peaing or peeing - pick your own!

Peaing in the Green Fields of Dundee

There's a factory on the outskirts of Dundee
Round it grow the fields of Smedley's peas
After school they set me free
Every year when I was wee
To pea in the green fields of Dundee

Ah the highlight of school life was for me
The six weeks every year they let us pea
But they fairly drove us daft
Before they let us aff
Teaching us to pea in the green fields of Dundee

Now you might think that anyone can pea
Wonder what the joy of it could be
We had contests of the best
Man you had to pass a test
To pea in the green fields of Dundee

'Twas at the pea-ing that the girls first caught my e'e
I noticed they pea-ed different frae me
Being five foot six or so
I pea-ed high whilst they pea-ed low
As we pea-ed in the green fields of Dundee

Ah my heart soon was lost to Polly the Pea
The finest little pea-er in Dundee
We braved all kinds of weather
That we might be together
To pea in the green fields of Dundee

I found happiness in many different ways
But aye my mind returns to childhood days
Won't the kids all think me soft
Would they just stand there and laugh
If I went back to one last pea in the green fields of Dundee.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 04 Jul 15 - 04:37 AM

I first heard the Marie Lloyd reference in a one woman show by Elizabeth Mansfield and she did consult with the British Music Hall Society Study Group. They would know more about the provenance of the story. As I can not find any reference the song itself in bibliographies on the music hall canon -it does not appear to be part of Marie Lloyds repertoire the story could be apocryphal possibly even made up by Marie Lloyd herself who had many run-ins with the entertainment and culture establishment.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: EBarnacle
Date: 04 Jul 15 - 11:16 PM

By coincidence, tonight I was at a local show in Fort Lee, NJ, hosted by "Uncle Floyd" Vivino where he performed this piece. When I approached him after his set I mentioned this thread and he said that he never went on line. I suggested that he have one of his kids join the discussion for him.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: Mr Red
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 05:08 AM

Marie Lloyd, by all accounts, was a past mistress at handling a crowd. Maybe the Cabbages and Peas was a quip, a throw away line. So looking for documented evidence of a song is fruitless. She certainly was not averse to provoking the establishment - it was all part of her charisma.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas
From: GUEST,Uncle Floyd's agent
Date: 07 Jul 15 - 09:33 AM

I represent Uncle Floyd. (I get alerts when his name is mentioned so I found this thread.)

It's true, Floyd doesn't use a computer. I handle his online business.

Regarding the song, Floyd's background is burlesque. He probably heard "Cabbages and Peas" on a burlesque LP. I'm sure I have it in my collection, but I'm not sure which album it is and I don't feel like digging it out. This would have been a record released in the late 1950s or early '60s.

Meanwhile, check this out:

She Sits Among The Cabbages and Peas