Lyr Add: Like the Big Pots Do (Gracie Fields)

Subject: Lyr Add: LIKE THE BIG POTS DO (Gracie Fields)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 24 Mar 11 - 11:39 PM

You can hear this recording at either YouTube or The Internet Archive.


LIKE THE BIG POTS DO
Words and music by John P. Long, ©1929.
As sung by Gracie Fields, 1929.

Isn't it disgusting how some vulgar folks behave
When they sit down to eat their food?
My father was a baker, so I'm quite well bred, you see,
And no one's more particular when eating food than me.
To give you information I am able
On how you should behave when you're at table.

Never use your fingers when you're eating stew.
Wipe your plate with bread just like the big pots do.
Peas should not be eaten with your knife, it's true.
Eat them from the saucepan like the big pots do.
Never put both elbows on the table when you eat.
Leave a bit of room for other folks to park their feet.
Always hold your kipper with one hand, not two,
And wave it while you're talking like the big pots do.

You should all remember when you're eating your dessert,
That tripe is not a hothouse fruit.
When you're eating oranges, mind where you shoot the pits,
And hold the papers gracefully when eating fish and chips.
Don't call attention to your host's apple core,
Or remind him of the day they hanged his uncle.

Soup should not be eaten with a sponge, oh no.
Gargle with it loudly like the big pots do.
When you're eating winkles and the pins are few,
Smash it with a hammer like the big pots do.
Watermelons make you rather damp behind the ears.
Onions are pathetic and they make you melt in tears.
When you eat these dainties, you may get wet through,
So wear your bathing costume like the big pots do.

Smoke between the courses. That's the fashion new.
Leave the fag-ends on your plate. The big pots do.
If your playful hostess throws a roll at you,
Smack her with a jelly like the big pots do.
When you're eating ices, here's a wheeze that you can crack:
Ices look so pretty sliding down a lady's back.
If the spoons are silver, pocket one or two
To add to your collection like the big pots do.


[George Formby also recorded this in 1938. You can hear his version at YouTube. (There are about 35 seconds of silence at the beginning of that "video.")]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Like the Big Pots Do (Gracie Fields)
From: Bert
Date: 24 Mar 11 - 11:48 PM

Thanks Jim, my Dad used to sing bits of that one.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Like the Big Pots Do (Gracie Fields)
From: JHW
Date: 25 Mar 11 - 06:41 AM

Great memories this of our old gramophone on the landing with no spring so we had to spin the turntable with a finger on the record label. 'Always hold your kipper with one hand, not two' Brilliant

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Like the Big Pots Do (Gracie Fields)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 25 Mar 11 - 08:42 AM

"My father was a baker, so I'm quite well bred..."