The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #70850   Message #1210056
Posted By: GUEST,A. Nony Mouse
18-Jun-04 - 03:37 PM
Thread Name: Tune Req: Mrs Gill is Very Ill
Subject: Tune Req: Mrs Gill is Very Ill
For a production of J. M. Barrie's THE OLD LADY SHOWS HER MEDALS, currently in rehearsal, I have been asked to find the melody for the following ditty, as sung by the leading characters:

Mrs. Gill is very ill
Nothing can improve her
But to see the Tuileries
And waddle through the Louvre.

So far, all I have discovered is that the song predates the play by several decades, having been quoted previously in in THE CONFESSIONS OF HARRY LORREQUER, a novel by Charles James Lever (1806-1872), publ. Dublin, 1839. Nice to know; but alas! - it doesn't get me nearer the tune.

The song was apparently still known as late as 1917, when Barrie's play was first produced. I've tried the database and come up empty - I'm a complete newbie here, so apologies if I've missed something.

Thank you very much for any help you can provide.