Lyr Req: Better for maids to live single...

Subject: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 10:05 AM

Yet another addition to the many wonderful threads on Harry Clifton, music hall singer/song writer. This one's something of a long shot.
According to Kilgarriff and the back page of some of Clifton's sheets he wrote a song called LBL c1865.

I am rearching a song 'Better for Maids to Live Single' for the notes to 'The Wanton Seed'. The song is very Cliftonesque and starts 'Oh you maids that do mean to get married, I pray look before you do leap'. None of the researchers I know have been able to identify this song (No other known versions). Frank Purslow who edited the original Wanton Seed book merely conjectured it sounded like something out of the 1840s. I think probably later, 1860s.

Any of you Clifton fans out there got any info at all on 'Look Before Leaping'?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 10:23 AM

Steve

I've just checked the Oxford OLIS/Opac directory and they hold a copy. The index entry is:

Author Clifton, Harry, 1832-1872.   
Title Look before leaping / composed and sung by Harry Clifton.
Publisher London : Hopwood & Crew, 1869.
Description 1 score (5 p.) : port ; 36 cm.
Notes Song for voice and piano.
First line: When little children learn to use their copy books at school.
First line of the chorus: Then will your days pass cheerily.
Pictorial t.p. (col.): Alfred Concanen, lith.
Portrait on t.p.: Harry Clifton.
Manufacturer No. H & C. 1656; Hopwood & Crew
Subjects Popular music -- To 1901.   
Alternate Title When little children learn to use their copy books at school
Then will your days pass cheerily
Other Names Concanen, Alfred.   

Library Holdings
Location Shelfmark Status
Bodleian
BOD Bookstack Harding Mus. R 659 In place


They also hold something titles "Look before ye loup...". I've no idea if it has any bearing for you, but here's the index:

Author Thrum, Tam.   
Title Look before ye loup; or, A healin' sa' for the crackit crowns of country politicians, [electronic resource] / by Tam Thrum, an auld weaver. ; [Two line epitaph]
Publisher Philadelphia: : Printed for Thomas Dobson, at the Stone House, no. 41, South-Second Street., M,DCC,XCVIII. [1798]
Description 40 p. ; 19 cm. (12mo)
Series Early American imprints. First series ; no. 34661.
Notes Political satire in the form of a short play. Includes as song "The progress of liberty."
Electronic text and image data. [Chester, Vt. : Readex, a division of Newsbank, Inc., 2002-2004. Includes files in TIFF, GIF and PDF formats with inclusion of keyword searchable text. (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 34661).
References Evans 34661
Subjects Great Britain -- History -- George III, 1760-1820.   
Other formats Microform version available in the Readex Early American Imprints series.
Electronic Resources
Evans Digital Edition


Library Holdings
Location Shelfmark Status
Netwrk Res.
NET Resources (Click on link)


Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 01:47 PM

Mick,
Many thanks for this. Unfortunately neither of these songs seem to be the 'Better for Maids to live single' so that's that sketch knackered!
At least it eliminates that line of enquiry.

Looks like we should be encouraging the Bodl to get their sheet music online as well as the broadsides!!!

Is that Opac catalogue online and open to anyone or do you have to be attached to a uni?

Cheers,
Steve

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 02:00 PM

Just in case anyone else wants a crack at it, here's first verse and chorus.

Oh you maids that do mean to get married, I pray look before you do leap
For fear that a fool or a sloven like me you might happen to get,
If he's either one or the other, he's just the lad I have got,
And for fear you should think that I love him, I'll give him the name of Watch-Pot.

So it's better for maids to live single, than marry a miser like me (he),
Until I get rid of my darling, contented I never will be.

I've already checked Kilgarriff and the Bodl and tried Googling.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 02:06 PM

Sorry Steve I should have noted the URL - It's online and open to eveyone: OLIS. Click Start on that page to begin a session. You then get a choice of Both Oxford Olis and Bodleian pre-1920, Oxford Olis or Bodleian pre-1920 (I generally choose both!).

And re sheet music, I don't know of any English source like Levy or the several American university sites that have sheet music online; I always thought it a shame - the American sites are naturally more biased towards American published stuff.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Jul 09 - 03:44 PM

Google Books shows that Folk Song Index: A Comprehensive Guide to the Florence E. Brunnings Collection by Florence E. Brunnings (New York: Garland Pub., 1981) contains a reference to BETTER FOR MAIDS TO LIVE SINGLE on page 27.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Look Before Leaping: Clifton
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 01 Jul 09 - 05:21 PM

Thanks Jim
The Brunnings Collection is just a list of songs in books indexed. That particular reference is back to my source which is The Wanton Seed book. Thanks for trying anyway.

Joe, is it possible please to rename this thread 'Lyr Req: Better for maids to live single'?

Cheers,
Steve