Lyr Req: Swearing Jim (monologue - Leonard Henry)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Monologue - swearing
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Nov 09 - 07:35 PM

It all seems very mild today, when you compare it with the language you hear on a bus full of schoolkids!

But you do have the saucy postcards to go with it...

Subject: Lyr Add: SWEARING JIM (Leonard Henry)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Nov 09 - 01:06 PM

Might as well have it here, don't you think? I have fixed the spelling errors (I thimk).


SWEARING JIM
By Leonard Henry

I had a friend whose name was Jim. His fate was hard to bear,
For every time he wished to speak, he couldn't help but swear.

His trouble so oppressed him that he vowed he'd never talk,
And every time he wished to speak, he'd write it out in chalk.

At length poor Jim went off his head. To the mad-house he was sent,
And he wrote his rude words on the wall, no matter where he went.

And so they told a warder off, to follow him about,
And with a little piece of sponge, to wipe his rude words out.

One night with screams the asylum rang, and there was Jim, poor man,
Rushing through the corridors, and writing as he ran.

"Stand back," he cried. "Don't stop me!" as onwards he did lunge.
"I'm fourteen 'Damns' and a 'Devil' in front and the warder's lost his sponge!"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Monologue - swearing
From: Paul Reade
Date: 08 Nov 09 - 05:40 PM

Thanks Bainbo. I Googled Leonard Henry - there's a lot of them, but I found this film of him from 1929:-

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=72570

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Monologue - swearing
From: Bainbo
Date: 08 Nov 09 - 05:16 PM

Neither do they know the difference between "whose" and "who's". Watt's the whirled coming to?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Monologue - swearing
From: Bainbo
Date: 08 Nov 09 - 05:12 PM

This looks like the one.

Sadly, whoever's transcribed it doesn't know the difference between "bare" and "bear". But their you go ...

Subject: Lyr Req: Monologue - swearing
From: Paul Reade
Date: 08 Nov 09 - 04:47 PM

I remember hearing a monologue (don't know the title) that started:-

"I had a pal, his name was Jim, his fate was hard to bear
For every other word he spoke, he couldn't help but swear"

The gist of the story is that his language was so bad they locked him up, but then he took to writing "rude words" on walls. That became such a problem that a warder was assigned to follow him round with a sponge and wipe off his graffiti.

The last line I seem to remember went:-

"There's fifteen "damns" and a "devil" in front, and the warder's lost his sponge!"

It all seems very mild today, when you compare it with the language you hear on a bus full of schoolkids!

Anyone help?