Lyr Req: Irish Maltese / Brothers St. John

Subject: Irish Maltese
From: Mitch
Date: 06 May 02 - 05:44 PM

Hi, Can anyone help with the words to what I think is an old music hall song called "The Irish Maltese"

The first verse starts -

We are two Irish Maltese, we come from the Island of Gozo. And the first time we met, was down in Vallette, we are two Irish Maltese.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Irish Maltese
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 May 02 - 07:11 PM

shorty test

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Irish Maltese
From: Hrothgar
Date: 07 May 02 - 05:47 AM

Cyril Tawney had something like this - whether it's one of his own or collected I'm not sure. I'll do some digging.

Subject: ADD: Irish Maltese (The Brothers St. John)
From: Hrothgar
Date: 07 May 02 - 06:17 AM

No 105 in Tawney's book "Grey Funnel Lines." He gives it as trad, and whether it had any music hall background I wouldn't know.

The Brothers St John

We
Are
Two Irish Maltese,
We come from the island of Gozo.
The first time we met, it was down in Valett..
We are two Irish Maltese.

Chorus:
We're the twins, ringa linga ling,
We're the twins, ringa linga ling,
We're the brothers St John and you know where we're from,
When we're out
There's no doubt
We're so much alike in our figure and height.
As we stroll along on the prom
The bass band plays tiddly-om-pom.
They say as we pass, "There go two blades of grass,"
Me and my brother St John.

In the summertime, you know,
To the seaside we go,
Where the air is so fresh and so bracing.
We sing and we shout when there's no one about,
Me and my brother St John.

"Grey Funnel Lines - Traditional Song and Verse of the Royal Navy 1900-1970;" Cyril Tawney; Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. Copyright 1987 Cyril Tawney. ISBN 0-7102-1270-4

It's on Tawney's tape "Round the Buoy." If you can't get it in the shops, you can probably get it direct from Cyril.