Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 19 Jan 20 - 04:19 AM

Wow, Jim, an excellent resource! Many thanks. I will be looking at some of your blue clickies as soon as I get chance.

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M GOING TO MARRY-ARRY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 18 Jan 20 - 11:35 PM

Lyrics below are copied from the sheet music at Baylor University:


I'M GOING TO MARRY-ARRY
Words and music by Harry Lauder, ©1916.

1. I've never been so deep in love as what I am the noo.
I haven't slept for weeks and weeks; I don't know what to do.
It's Carrie Macintosh, a bonnie lassie I adore.
I've never been so looney over any lass before.

CHORUS: I'm going to marry-arry sweet little Carrie-arry
On the fifth or twenty-fifth of Janu-anu-anuary.
Won't we canoodle-oodle! Right fal-the-doodle-oodle!
On the fifth or twenty-fifth of January-O!

2. Last nicht was dark and stormy, ay, but it didna keep me in,
For when a fellow falls in love, he doesn't care a pin.
I went up to her house where I had never been before.
I sang to her and whistled through the keyhole o' the door. CHORUS

3. I had a dream the other nicht; I dreamt the war was past,
And ev'ryone was happy, and that peace had come at last,
And a' the flags in bonnie Scotland waving in the breeze,
And a' the kilty sojers singing in twenty diff'rent keys.

PATTER: I tell ye, it's a funny feeling, love. The first time I met Carrie, I couldn't resist her. I did not know what I was doing I was unconscious. I must have been, because when I came to myself I was down on my knees reciting to her:

Carrie, my lassie, my heart you have stolen.
Look at my chest; how my waistcoat is swollen!
List to the throbs of my heart as it goes
Ricketty-ticketty under my clothes. CHORUS.

- - -
You can hear a recording made by Harry Lauder in 1925 at the Internet Archive, but it is somewhat different from the sheet music. The title is given as "I'm Going to Marry 'Arry on the 5th of January." He sings verse 1, chorus, verse 2, then begins the chorus again but stops in the middle; then he speaks some patter but it is somewhat different from the patter given above; then he sings the chorus twice. The third verse and the recited verse are omitted.

Subject: Lyr Add: SHOUTHER TO SHOUTHER (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 18 Nov 11 - 10:01 PM

I transcribed this from a recording on Spotify.


SHOUTHER TO SHOUTHER (SHOULDER TO SHOULDER)
Written by J. Wilson and Harry Lauder
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1916.
As sung by Harry Lauder on "Oh! It's a Lovely War, Vol. 4" (CD41 011, 2008)

Have ye seen a' the men frae the braes an' the glen?
Have ye seen them a' marchin' awa'?
Have ye seen a' the men frae the wee but-an'-ben,
And the gallants frae mansion an' ha'?

They are marchin' shouther to shouther.
Determined an' proudly they gang.
They are marchin' shouther to shouther,
But deep doun there's a parting pang.

Have ye seen a' the men frae the hamlet an' toun
Where the mothers are a' greetin' sair,
While their ladies gang forth without murmur or froun
To defend our hames ...(?)?

They are marchin' shouther to shouther
Wi' a sang on their lips as they gang.
They are marchin' shouther to shouther,
But deep doon there's a parting pang.

Have ye been where the shells are bursting at large,
Dealing death to our sodjers so brave,
Where the kilties are waitin' the order to charge
For the allies' position to save?

They're not marchin' shouther to shouther,
But expended they swiftly gang,
Each stooping his burly shouther,
As wi' bayonet he dashes along.

Have ye seen others come forward to fill up the blanks
To uphold tradition so grand?
For they fight and they fight in the deathless ranks
To uphold Britain's stand.

They are marchin' shouther to shouther
Wi' a sang on their lips as they gang.
They are marchin' shouther to shouther
In a cause that will richt the wrang. REPEAT

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 07:24 AM

Suirichean-suirich, Gaelic for burdock plant, not quite sorrel but I can see how the word 'soorock' came about.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 07:06 AM

Jim, I was looking back at a couple of songs so here a few corrections/explanation for Aye Waukin' O:

Sourock is the sorrel plant which we used to suck. There is a Gaelic word 'sourachean' ... I'm not sure of the spelling but I can check later.
Gourock is a town at the mouth of the Clyde
Jings is just an exclamation
Bairdie or beardie is when a man rubs his rough chin on a woman's face.

Subject: Lyr Add: WE PARTED ON THE SHORE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 05:56 PM

This song is already in the DT, but I decided to post it anyway because the recording at The Internet Archive is different. Maybe the version in the DT ultimately came from the sheet music—it does have 2 more verses—but the following corresponds to what Lauder actually sang. I have boldfaced some differences in wording.

Lauder really trills his R's to a ridiculous extent in this song—for comic effect, I assume, although I don't find it very funny.

By the way, I find that the trilling of R's is not only a Scottish thing; most, if not all, music-hall singers did it, Scottish or no (but not to the extent Lauder does in this song).


WE PARTED ON THE SHORE
Words and music by Harry Lauder
London, New York: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1906.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1904

It's years an' years an' years an' years an' years an' years an' years
Since I parted from my sweetheart on the shore.
I never will forget the sicht; she shed so many tears.
I'd never seen so many tears before.
She asked me if I'd think of her, and I said perhaps I would,
But I'd often broke my promises before;
And then she stood, and sat and wept, and then began tae weep,
And when I saw that, we parted on the shore.

CHORUS: We parted on the shore, yes, we parted on the shore
I said, "Goodbye, love, I'm off to Baltimore."
An' I kissed her on the ship, the crew began to roar
Hilly-ho, hilly-ho, an' we parted on the shore.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SCOTCH ERRAND BOY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 04:47 PM

Tattie Bogle, Charley Noble, Jim McLean, and anyone else who's paying attention: your encouragement and your help are much appreciated!

My transcription from the recording at The Internet Archive:


THE SCOTCH ERRAND BOY
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1911.

1. I'm workin' wi' a grocer at the corner of our street,
An' I go all his messages for one an' six a week,
An' when the shop is fu' o' folk; I've got to serve as well,
An' when I've served the folks upstairs, I sometimes serve masel'.

CHORUS: Oh, I'm up, up airly in the mornin',
Whether weather is the rain or shine.
I'm up an doon an roon a' the hooses in the toon
Wi' ma basket till it's half-past nine. REPEAT

2. An we're goin' tae have a sale next week o' different kinds o' teas,
An' lamb an' ham an' eggs an' all the different sorts o' cheeses,
An' noo it's time the cheese was sold 'cause it could really talk!
A gorgonzola last nicht asked the ham out for a walk!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 03:43 PM

I ' m the simple Johnny graw aw aw .

I agree with Charlie, it's a great thread. Being a west coast Scot I can understand a lot of Lauder and hope my contributions help in a small way. Incidentally, Harry Lauder was my uncle Edwin Waterston' s uncle.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SAFTEST O' THE FAMILY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 01:10 PM

My transcription from the recording at The Internet Archive:


THE SAFTEST O' THE FAMILY
Words by Harry Lauder & Bob Beaton; music by Harry Lauder.
New York: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1904.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1908.

You've maybe heard a lot aboot wee silly Willie Winks
Frae a lot o' folk that thinks they're very nice;
And they're very good at giving you a thing that you don't need,
Especially what they call good advice.
Yes, an' all the boys that Ah play with tried to make a fool o' me.
They would make ye think that two an two are three;
But sometimes they get angry when I tell them to their face
That I'm as big as them if they're as big as me.

CHORUS: I'm the saftest o' the fam'ly.
I'm the simple junieraw(?).*
For everything ma mither blames me,
An' ma faither puts it onto me and a'.


[* I have spelled this word phonetically as I hear it. I have no idea what it should be; I have failed to find a suitable word in a Scottish dictionary that is even an approximate match. Maybe it is a phrase or a proper name.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 08:39 PM

This will be a thread to treasure.

Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: TATTIE SOUP (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 06:20 PM

My transcription from the recording at The Internet Archive:


TATTIE SOUP
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1904.

Oh, there was an old wife in ...*
In ...*, in ...*,
Oh, there was an old wife in ...*
Subsisted on tattie soup

And she picketed a' the rotten yins,
A' the rotten yins, a' the rotten yins,
Oh, she picketed a' the rotten yins
Because they werenae good.

And she picketed a' the good yins,
A' the good yins, a' the good yins.
Oh, she picketed a' the good yins
And she biled them in a pot.

So there's always been peoples,
And peoples, and peoples,
So there's always been peoples
Subsisted on tattie soup.

And she picketed a' the good yins,
A' good yins, a' good yins
And she picketed a' the good yins
And she biled them in a pot.

So there's always been peoples,
Subsisted, she subsisted,
She subsisted, she subsisted,
Ta-ta-ta-ta...(etc.)
On tattie soup.


[* I think this was the same place name repeated 4 times, but I can't make out what it was.

[His vocal ornamentation grows progressively more elaborate on each verse.]

Subject: Lyr Add: SHE'S THE LASS FOR ME (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 07:30 AM

My transcription from the recording at The Internet Archive:


SHE'S THE LASS FOR ME
Words and music by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1912.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1913.

1. It was on a bonnie summer day; the sun was shinin' clear.
I went away on a holiday an' I met a dear wee dear.
She looked so neat, a pairfect treat; her eyes were full of bliss;
And ever since I kissed her face, I'm always singin' this:

CHORUS: She's the lass for me; she's the lass for me.
I've never seen another face
That could ever take her place.
She has locked ma hairt an' stolen away the key.
She is, yes, she is, she's the lass for me.

2. Her age is only twenty-one on the sixth o' next July.
I'd like to buy her something nice but I don't know what to buy.
I'd like to buy her a tartan tie an' a bonnie wee tartan box,
For she's been kind to me; she's knitted me twenty pairs o' socks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 05:10 AM

Last line of above ' ,,,, Ah borrowed a couple o' bob' (Two shillings old money, 10p new money).
Second line of verse 2 begins 'in atween a ...'   (in between a ..)

Rob Roy Mackintosh: 3rd line ' ... ma faither did say'

Subject: Lyr Add: SHE IS MY ROSIE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Nov 11 - 07:35 PM

My transcription from the recording at The Internet Archive. The sound quality of this recording is very poor; so there are several gaps in my transcription and much more is doubtful.


SHE IS MY ROSIE
Words by Harry Lauder and J. D. Harper; music by Harry Lauder.
London : Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1915.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1916.

1. The regiment I'm in the noo it is ... so thick,
If the colonel gives us an order, we're bound to do it quick.
Discipline is discipline, an' ....
If it wisnae for a doubtsome thing, I believe that I'd desert.

[Patter omitted]

CHORUS: She is ma Rosie, ma Rosie-posy,
Oh, I love her, yes I do,
And if you saw her, so would you.
She is a beauty, just twenty-three,
An' when the fightin's done,
We'll be both made intae one,
'Cause I'm goin' tae stick tae Rosie if Rosie sticks tae me.

2. Oh, to a military dance I took her the other night.
... and we both sat out of sight.
We sat for an hour, an then she said, "Promise me one thing."
I said, "If I sit much longer, my love, I'll promise you ev'rything. CHORUS

3. I took her oot for a walk one night along the banks o' Clyde,
An' I went doon on ma bended knees an' I asked her to be ma bride.
She threw her arrums [arms] around ma neck an' then began to sob.
Says I to masel', "Now here's your chance ... couple o' bob."

[Patter omitted]

CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: ROB ROY MACKINTOSH (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Nov 11 - 06:54 PM

My transcription from the recording at The Internet Archive:


ROB ROY MACKINTOSH
As recorded by Harry Lauder on a wax cylinder, 1908.

1. Oh, when I came up tae London first, all the boys were jealous o' me
Because a' the ladies seemed tae like this braw laddie frae bonnie Dundee
The nicht I was born, ma faither said tae,
I'd be a ladies' man one day,
And his word o' mercy has come true,
For I'm a' honey with the ladies noo.
And—

CHORUS: My name is Rob Roy Mackintosh, enchantin' wi' ma lilt.
They adore me when I've got my troosers on, but they love me in my kilt. REPEAT

2. Oh, the very first time I went tae France, the people stared at me a lot,
And when they spoke tae me, I said, "Och! ... don't talk rot!"
There was a bonnie French girl and she
Went for a sit, and a-hangin' ontae me.
When she started to parlez-vous,
I said, "Miss, I dinnae comprehend ye the noo."
For— CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: GUEST,Jim McLean
Date: 09 Nov 11 - 02:01 PM

Jim, the last two words are defintely 'she didnae'. It could be 'in fact she didnae' but I'll keep listening. It could be she told him she would accept the ring but 'in fact she didnae (didn't).

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Nov 11 - 12:48 PM

Listening again to MY BONNIE, BONNIE JEAN, I now think the mystery line is something like:

"She said she thought that rather fashed to say"—that is, "annoying"

Dictionary of the Scots Language says:

Fasch, Fash, v. Also: fasche, fache. [OF. fascher F. fâcher.]
1. tr. To trouble, bother, annoy (a person)...
b. Freq. in the past pple. faschit, fashed....

By the way, remember the word that I spelled "heuch" in THE PICNIC—but I couldn't find it in any dictionary? Turns out it's actually "hooch" (also "hoogh" or "houch") "An exclamation of excitement or exhilaration, esp. the cry uttered by the male dancers during a Highland reel" according to the above dictionary. Still, I think "heuch" is a better representation of Lauder's pronunciation in that song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: GUEST,Jim McLean
Date: 09 Nov 11 - 10:46 AM

The line should read ' .. For wi' (with) a wife like Maggie...

Subject: Lyr Add: OH! HOW I WEARIE, DEARIE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Nov 11 - 08:04 AM

My transcription from the recording found at The Internet Archive. A few words are doubtful. The whole of verse 1 line 3 is doubtful because it doesn't make sense to me.


OH! HOW I WEARIE, DEARIE*
Words and music by Harry Lauder
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1926.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1927?

1. I've been a very lonely fella for a while.
I'm thinking it's because I miss ma bonnie lassie's smile.
Oh, I left her just I kissed her if ma love for her is true, (?)
An' it must be true because I feel I'm burstin'(?) through an' through.

CHORUS: Oh, how I weary for you, sweetheart!
I'm never cheery when we're apart.
Nights are lonely; days are blue.
Oh, how I weary, dearie, for you!

2. Noo I am back again tae Glasga on the Clyde,
I'm gonnae stay for ever by ma bonnie lassie's side.
Oh, the ecstasy o' seein' soon ma Maggie's bonnie face,
An' the scrumptiousness of bein' locked in Maggie's fond embrace!

3. When I get settled up I'll try an' settle doon,
An' I'll do ma very best to be a credit to the toon.
Oh for wey(?) a wife like Maggie I can face this world's care.
I feel I'll be a gladiator, feel I'll do an' dare.**


[* Title as given in the sheet music according to the catalogue of the University of Oxford. They even insert "[sic]" after "WEARIE." Recordings variously give the title as OH, HOW I WEARY DEARIE or OH, HOW I WEARY DEARIE FOR YOU.]

Subject: Lyr Add: IN THE ROTARY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Nov 11 - 08:56 PM

My transcription from the recording found at The Internet Archive. The lyrics have also been published in several issues of The Rotarian.


IN THE ROTARY*
Words and music by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms and Francis, Day & Hunter, 1916.

1. Once ev'ry week, ev'ry week in the year,
A very fine bunch of good fellows appear.
They are the livest of wires you could find.
Always ahead, they are never behind.

CHORUS: In the Rotary, in the Rotary,
That's the place to find sociability,
No worry or care, from bus'ness right away,
Having a smoke, cracking a joke
With your pals in the Rotary.

2. Once ev'ry week, ev'ry week in the year,
Ev'ryone's sure of an hour of good cheer.
Now an hour of good cheer is a tonic we're told.
An hour of good cheer is worth barrels of gold.


[* Title as given in the sheet music. On various recordings, the title is given as IN THE RO-TA-RY or IN THE R-O-T-A-R-Y.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: GUEST,Jim McLean
Date: 08 Nov 11 - 05:32 AM

Jim, I think he's singing 'She said she thocht her rarer fancy didnae'.

It doesn't make much sense to me except she says she thinks her 'rarer fancy' doesn't, i.e. doesn't want the ring. 'rarer' could be 'rather' but that doesn't make sense either. Perhaps someone else can help .. sheet muaic perhaps?

Subject: Lyr Add: MY BONNIE, BONNIE JEAN (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Nov 11 - 09:42 PM

You can hear this at The Internet Archive. Here is my transcription. Note there's a phrase that maddeningly eludes me in verse 2. Any help would be appreciated.


MY BONNIE, BONNIE JEAN: (SHE COMES FRAE BONNIE SCOTLAND WHERE THE BLUEBELL GROWS)*
Words and music by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1915
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1916.

1. In a nice wee hoosie
On the banks o' Loch Lomond
Lives a bonnie lass that I love best.
Oh, there no mistake aboot her;
I could never live withoot her
'Cause there's no another like her in the West.
She lives wi her grannie,
Her dear old grannie,
And very fond o' her she seems to be.
I ken how Grannie loves her.
Och! ev'rybody loves her,
But no one loves her half as much as me.

CHORUS: Oh, I love ma Jean, ma bonnie, bonnie Jean.
She's very fascinating an' she's only seeventeen,
An' her hair is nice an' crispy; her cheeks are like the rose,
An' she comes frae bonnie Scotland where the bluebell grows.

2. Oh, the first time Ah met her,
She went for a pail o' water.
She was waiting on it filling at the spring.
As she was standing waiting,
I said, "No use hesitating,"
So I asked her if she'd like to wear a ring.
She said that I was cheeky,
I was sly and I was sneaky.
She said she thocht that ....(?)
I said, "Ye're such a beauty
That I'll have to do ma duty."
So I kissed her 'cause there's danger in delay.


[* The sheet music uses the spelling BONNIE but some recordings have BONNY.]

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN I GET BACK AGAIN TO BONNIE SCOTLAND
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Nov 11 - 08:49 PM

You can hear this at The Internet Archive. Here is my transcription.


WHEN I GET BACK [AGAIN]* TO BONNIE SCOTLAND
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1908.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1909

Beside oor faither's cottage at the bottom o' the glen,
Ah've left ma bonnie lassie bathed in tears.
She nearly broke her hairt
When Ah said we'll have tae pairt,
Because Ah'm goin away for seeven years;
But she dried her tears away
When Ah spoke about the day
That I'd come back again an make her mine.
She said, "When you cross the sea,
Jock, Ah hope ye'll write tae me,"
An' since Ah left Ah'm singin' all the time:

CHORUS: Oh, her cheeks are like the bloomin' rose and her neck is like the swan.
Her face it is the sweetest face I've ever looked upon.
And I'll row her in the heather yet as sure as my name's John,
When I get back again to bonnie Scotland.


[* Some versions omit "AGAIN" from the title.]

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WEDDIN' O' SANDY MACNAB (Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Nov 11 - 08:30 PM

You can hear this at The Internet Archive. Here is my transcription.


THE WEDDIN' O' SANDY MACNAB
By Harry Lauder
London : Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1908.
As sung by Harry Lauder

I'm on ma way hame frae a marriage.
It's been a splendicious affair.
Of course I went there in a carriage,
In a beautiful carriage an' pair.
Sandy McNab was the bridegroom,
And the bride was a bonnie wee lamb.
Oh, a nice curly hair an' complexion
Redder than strawberry jam.

CHORUS: And the weddin bells were ringin'.
All the boys were singin'.
"Here's to you and yours an' me an' mine, ta-ra-ra"
Then we had a drappie,
Just tae make us happy
For the days o' auld lang syne.


[This song, or at least the wedding it describes, was mentioned in MACGREGOR'S TOAST—see above.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I'VE JUST GOT OFF THE CHAIN (Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Nov 11 - 02:07 PM

My transcription from the recording found at The Internet Archive. Publication data is from WorldCat.org.


I'VE JUST GOT OFF THE CHAIN
Words and music by Harry Lauder
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1927.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1928?.

1. I've never been away masel' before in all ma life.
I've never had a holiday away without ma wife,
And I've never felt so happy and I've never been so free.
I would give a gold and silver cup to know what's wrong with me.

[In the patter, he explains that his wife is in the hospital with a broken leg.]

CHORUS: For I've just got off the chain; I've just got off the chain,
Feeling as happy as a lord, or ducks amang the rain.
I'm gonna be havin' the time o' my life away from Mrs. McBain,
Because she'll mebbe never get the chance to break her leg again.

2. I've been a very happy man a' through ma married life,
But just like other married men, I've been subject to ma wife.
But mind, I've always been a man; I have always stood ma ground,
But I must admit I've often been knocked out in the first round.

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M LOOKING FOR A BONNIE LASS TO LOVE ME
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 06:28 PM

This song can be heard at The Internet Archive. Publication data is from WorldCat.org. These lyrics are my transcription:


I'M LOOKING FOR A BONNIE LASS TO LOVE ME
Words and music by Harry Lauder
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1924.
As sung by Harry Lauder

1. I've just been makin' up ma mind to settle doon for life.
I've made a bit o' money so I think I'll take a wife.
I'll build a cosy cottage on the hill beside the sea.
I'll keep some pigs an' chickens, have ham an' eggs for tea.
And so—

CHORUS: I'm lookin' for a bonnie lass to love me,
To love me, to love me, love me too.
I'm lookin' for a bonnie lass to love me,
To love me as ma mother used to do.

2. I'll take her to the city every Christmas for a treat.
I'll show her all the windaes walkin' up an' doon the street.
I'll maybe buy her something, but I wouldn't like to say,
'Cause I think the best of all the shops are closed on Christmas Day.

3. Ma nights are long an' lonely and I weary all the day.
I know I shouldn't say it, but I'm throwin' maself away.
I'm very fascinating when you get to know ma style.
Ma grannie alwis said I'd catch a lassie wi' ma smile.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE REFEREE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 05:43 PM

My transcription from the recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Here's another song that seems to exist only to provide a frame for a story told as patter.

THE REFEREE
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1927.

Some time ago I went an' joined the Duffers' Football Club.
Our pitch was on a bit o' ground behind the local pub.
The tailors came to play us fer a cup o' Lipton's tea,
And as I didnae ken the game, they made me referee.

CHORUS: They threw me up in the air and they rolled me in the mud
And then they tried to stop the circulation o' ma blood.
If I should live to be as old as Eve, you'll never catch
Me, the referee at a football match. REPEAT

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 04:32 PM

You're correct in thinking it means to 'whoop' in the Scottish sense.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PICNIC / EV'RY LADDIE LOVES A LASSIE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 03:29 PM

My transcription from the The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


THE PICNIC, or, EV'RY LADDIE LOVES A LASSIE
Words and music by Harry Lauder.
London : Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1910.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1911

Last July on a nice fine day,
Twenty lads an' lassies on a picnic went away.
I was there wi' my lass, helpin' with the fun.
We had a rare time baskin' in the sun.
The pipers they playing as we danced upon the green,
An' everyone was heuchin'* jist to liven up the scene.
I said, "Here, chaps; let's play kiss-in-the-ring,"
And whenever a fella kissed a lass, we all began tae sing:

CHORUS: Ev'ry laddie loves a lassie, whether she be dark or fair,
An' ev'ry lassie loves a laddie just because her love lies there. REPEAT

[* I couldn't find the word "heuk" or "heuch" (with this meaning) in any online dictionary or glossary; perhaps I have the spelling wrong. I'm pretty sure it refers to the "whoop" or "hoot" sound that Scots sometimes shout out while dancing. I once heard of a local band that put out an album of dance tunes called "I Think I'm Going to Heuch" (however they spelled it).]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: GUEST,Pizel
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 03:18 PM

J.D.
One of your sources gives a tune title as "Sterling Castle" this is of course "Stirling Castle". This is the same source that gives Mackie for Mackay and would be as J.Mc.states.
Excelent sources.
Thanks

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 02:11 PM

Harry Lauder sang 'Scotch' but did not sing 'Mackie'. I would suggest this was an English attempt at spelling MacKay. I can guarantee nobody in Scotland would write 'Mackie' and pronouce it as Harry Lauder did, i.e. 'Mac eye'.
I think you've done a wonderful job in transcribing Luader's works, I am merely pointing out a few relevant facts (in my opinion).

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: GUEST,Pizel
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 01:31 PM

MacKenzie Murdoch mentioned as the composer of the song [words and music] "Hame O Mine" was a fiddle player who played with Lauder from the mid 1890"s until his death in the early 1920"s.
My late father told the story of this composition:---Murdoch on his way to a tour of America and Canada with Lauder was one evening up on the boat deck doodling away on his fiddle when he composed the tune, it proved a tremendous hit in America and Canada during this tour.
On the return journey Murdoch playing his new tune in the dusk of a summers evening on the boat deck composed the words.

Fiddle players if you are on the lookout for a beautiful slow air I
can recommend this one, pity I cannot give the wee dots. I do sing it.

Murdoch composed a number of other tunes and songs, the only other that comes to mind at this moment is:--"The Brig O Balgownie".

Thomas the Rhymer made a prediction about this ancient brig:--
"Brig O Balgownie black be yer faa, a weedows yae bairn on a horses yae foal."
Lord Byron, when a schoolboy in Aberdeen, put this prediction to the test, needless to say the brig still stands to this day.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 11:14 AM

I don't care how the rest of the world spells or pronounces Mackie/MacKay/McKee/etc. My intention here is to document the works of Harry Lauder, and if the earliest published works of Harry Lauder used the spelling Mackie, that's how I'm going to spell it. Now let's examine the evidence.

Here's the British Library catalog data for the sheet music of Mr John Mackie.

In case that link goes dead, I have copied their catalog entry:

System number – 4469684
Cataloguing level – Minimal record
Author - personal – Lauder, Harry, Sir, 1870-1950.
Title – Mr. John Mackie. [Song.] Written, composed ... by H. Lauder.
Publisher/year – London : Francis, Day & Hunter, 1903.
Physical descr. – fol.
General note – With a separate voice part.
Holdings (All) – Details
Shelfmark – H.1309.b.(25.)

The sheet music is also held by University of Oxford and Syracuse University, which also use the spelling Mr. John Mackie.

Then there's the University of California, Santa Barbara, which shows that the 2 wax cylinders published (by Edison) in 1911 and 1927 used the spelling Mr. John Mackie, but the 78-rpm disks published in 1903 (Gramophone and Zonophone), 1909 (Victor), 1919 (His Master's Voice), and 1920 (Victor) used the spelling Mr. John MacKay (or Mackay). Go figure.

By the way, Lauder also sometimes uses the word Scotch where people today would insist on Scottish or Scots. Again, my intention is not to conform to current accepted usage, but merely to document Lauder's actual usage.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 06:24 AM

Sorry Mr John MacKay

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 04 Nov 11 - 06:18 AM

Jim, I would say the correct spelling is McKay or MacKay as Mackie rhymes with ee or sometimes MA-kee. There is a CD compilation which uses MacKay MacKay

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Nov 11 - 05:44 PM

I spelled it the way it's spelled in the song title.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 03 Nov 11 - 04:30 PM

McKay, Jim, McKay!!

Subject: Lyr Add: MR. JOHN MACKIE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Nov 11 - 02:50 PM

My transcription from the The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


MR. JOHN MACKIE
Words and music by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1903.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1911

1. Oh, excuse me for intrudin' but ma name is John Mackie.
My hairt is in the Hielands an' ma native place is Skye.
Although some hot(?) young fellas in the clan Mackie was got,
The ladies all declare that Ah'm the handsomest o' the lot.

CHORUS: Oh, my, Mister John Mackie,
You're the cockle o' ma heart an' apple o' ma eye.
You fairly take ma fancy every time you pass me by.
You're the nicest chap that ever crossed the border.

2. Oh, when I come up to London first I did create a stir
People took me for a duke, or at the least, a sir.
All the heck-ristocracy, 'twas me they did adore,
And daily I was getting invitations by the score.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Nov 11 - 08:30 AM

I'll drink to that!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: McGREGOR'S TOAST (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 11:08 PM

My transcription from the recording found at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


McGREGOR'S TOAST
As recited by Harry Lauder, 1926

I say, chaps, do ye mind o' me telling ye aboot the weddin' o' Sandy MacNab? Well, I'm gonna tell ye a wee incident that happened at the weddin' that nicht. O' course, ye see, me bein' one o' the principalities o' the weddin', I was asked to say something, and on this particular occasion I said, "The best thing I can do the noo is to gie ye a toast." So efter they filled up my gless once—well, I believe it was filled up twice—o' course, I was a teetotaller because I was only drinkin' ginger cordials—hooever, I looked at ma gless an' I said to the company, I said:

"Here's to the thistle an' shamrock an' rose!
Here's to yer eyes, yer mouth an' yer nose!
Here's to the dew an' a wee drap o' water!
Here's to the moon an' the sun an' the daughter!
Here's to employ and here's to employment!
Here's to enjoy and here's to enjoyment!
Here's to the time when we'll have eight hours a day!
And here's to the rise we deserve in our pay!
Here's to the roar, the whisper an' mutter!
Here's to the margarine, thick as if butter!
Here's to the doo an' the dook an' the dooker!
Here's to the soo an' the sook an' the sooker!
Here's to the sail, the sailor an' skipper!
Here's to the sea, an' the sand an' the tripper!
Here's to the bicycles, turbines an' motors!
Here's to the haddies and here's to the bloaters!
Here's to the bagpipes, the kilt an' the troosers!
Here's to the Templers and here's to the boozers!
Here's to the love an' the dove an' the cuddle!
And here's to the fool that gets fou on the fuddle!
Here's to the gaslight, the firelight an' daylight!
And here's to the coortin' that never needs no light!
Here's to the fella that's coortin' ma sister!
And here's to the thoosands o' times he has kissed her!
Here's to the well and here's to the sink!"

A wee chap settin' over in the corner rose an' said, "Here, MacGregor," he says, "time you would stop because I'm needin' a drink!"

Well, I needn't tell ye that the bottle went roond again, an' then it went roond an' roond an' roond— In fact, I don't know how many times it went roond. (Coughs) I'm telling ye, I've either got the swoopin' cough or the hookin' cough, some o' the two o' them. (Coughs) In fact, I havenae got the better o' the weddin' o' Sandy MacNab yet.

An' so I think the best thing I can do is, the very first time that I'm gonna get married, I'll invite ye all to my weddin'. So the best thing I can do noo, after letting ye ken what happened at the weddin', is just to say so long, an' good nicht the noo, an' ye don't know hoo pleased I'll be te see ye some ither nicht. An' we'll just talk about the same things under the same conditions an' circumstances. An' the meantime, allow me to retire. An' don't forget yer auld favourite Harry. Noo, chaps, for auld lang syne, eh? Ha-ha-ha! Good nicht the noo! Aye, ye're a lot o' boys, mind, I'm telling ye! I don't want to say any more, mind ye! I'm away! Well, good nicht! So long! See ye again!

Subject: Lyr Add: THE KILTY LADS (H Lauder/J H Milligan)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 06:46 PM

My transcription from a recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


THE KILTY LADS
Words by Harry Lauder and J. H. Milligan; music by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1912.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1913.

1. When a sodjer in his kilt is he goes walkin' doon the street,
With his military stride,
And his bayonet by his side,
All the lassies stare at him before he passes by,
And then you'll see them smilin' wi' a twinkle o' the eye.

CHORUS: Oh, the bonnie lassies love the kilty lads.
In love or war they know we're always true,
And well they know that we
For a bonnie lass wad dee.
The kilty laddies love the lassies too. REPEAT

2. She'd see me on a Sunday when I'm strollin' through the park.
Ah'm as straight as I can be,
An' ma kist's as big as three,
An' I've only got to wave ma cane an' give ma head a tilt.
And then the lassies follow me an' they criticize the kilt.

Subject: Lyr Add: KILLIECRANKIE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 06:28 PM

My transcription from a recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


KILLIECRANKIE
Words and music by Harry Lauder
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1900.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1911

1. Oh, years ago Ah used tae be
As smart a chap as you wad see.
The Prince o' Wales he wantit me
Tae go an' join the army.
An now Ah'm turnin' old an' frail
Like a dog without a tail,
An' Ah show through(?) Jean MacPhail,
The lass o' Killiecrankie.

CHORUS: Toora-loora-loora-loo,
Fall-the-doodle-all-the-doodle-dee,
She's as sweet as honeydew,
The lass o' Killiecrankie. REPEAT

2. Oh, one day Ah was cuttin' a spot(?).
As she passed Ah raised ma hat.
As her little nose was wet,
Ah handed her ma hankie.
"Jean," said I, "ye're lookin' smart.
Could you masticate a tart?"
She smiled a smile(?) near broke ma heart,
The lass o' Killiecrankie

3. Oh, maybe I was actin' brash
When Ah tried her waist tae squash.
She said, "Although ye're on the mash,
Stop yer hankie-pankie!"
She said that married we wad be.
Then she heaved a sigh, you see.
Then she heaved a brick at me
On the braes o' Killiecrankie.

4. Oh, I was kiltit to the knee.
"Jock, ma dear," she said tae me,
"We'll set down two hours or three."
Said I, "Ma darlin', thank ye."
But very soon Ah changed ma tune,
For on a thistle I sat doon,
An' I nearly jumped up tae the moon
On the braes o' Killiecrankie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 05:49 PM

PS I can send you a scan of the music page if you like, Jim.

Charlie, thanks for that, what else could one expect? I often wondered about the 'broken token' series of songs .... All those faithful maidens waiting for years for their lovers to return ....

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 05:35 PM

Hi JIm, The Hey Donald! How Donald, with music is in R A Smith's second volume, page 78, of The Scottish Minstrel. There are also two other verses written by William Motherwell. This is not to be confused with Donald Couper, page 38, Vol ll, which starts Hey Donald, How Donald (Donald Couper) but is an entirely different song, both in words and melody. Dr Fred Freeman produced a set of CDs of Tannahill's songs and mixed these two up. He wouldn't admit his mistake and there are people out there singing Donald Couper and assuming it is by Tannahill!

Subject: Lyr Add: JUST LIKE BEIN' AT HAME (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 04:53 PM

My transcription from a recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


JUST LIKE BEIN' AT HAME
Words and music by Harry Lauder and William Hargreaves.
London: B. Feldman & Co, ©1910.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1911

1. A highland reg'ment was forced to go
To a distant land across the foam,
While a poor old mother with a heavy heart
Waited anxiously at home.
Soon her sad face turned into a smiling one
When a letter came across the sea.
It said, "Don't cry, or don't you sigh.
I'm as happy as can be.

CHORUS: "There's a piper playing in the morning
An old Scotch tune sae fine.
There's a tartan plaidie buckled on each laddie.
It's just like auld lang syne.
I can hear them praisin' bonnie Scotland,
Bonnie Scotland's fame.
Don't sigh, dear; I'm all right here.
It's just like bein' at hame."

2. The fierce fight lengthened and the months dragged on,
And the roll call shortened day by day.
Though they saw their comrades falling one by one,
They bravely foucht their way;
For the handful left had sworn to do or die,
And with one great cheer they forged ahead.
While a highland lad foucht like mad,
His mother proudly read: CHORUS

3. The flag was planted 'neath a scorching sun
Where the white man's rule will ever reign,
And the brave Scotch sodjers who had foucht an' won
Were returnin' home again.
The highland mother watched the passing ranks
For the face of one she loved so dear.
In frenzied joy, she kissed her boy
As he whispered in her ear: CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: JEAN M'NEIL (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 05:44 AM

Here's my transcription from the recording found at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


JEAN M'NEIL* / JEAN McNEIL**
Words by Harry Lauder and Alex Melville; music by Harry Lauder.
London : Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1906.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1927.

1. I'm the happiest man alive,
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
Sure as four an' four are five.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
I cannae tell ye how I feel.
I feel as I could dance a reel.
I'm gonna get marriet tae Jean McNeil.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe

CHORUS: Jean McNeil's in love wi' me.
I'm as happy as Ah can be.
How would ye like if you were me?
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe. REPEAT

2. She is bonnier by a mile
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
Than the Duchess o' Argyll.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
She is just a pairfect queen.
She is the nicest ever seen,
An' her eyes are black an' blue an' green.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe

3. Jean's a lassie that likes a squeeze,
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
Just a bonnie wee tender squeeze,
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
But when the kissin' comes in great,
She clings tae me in such a state
That it's like a cat goin' round a plate.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe

4. Jean is fair an' Jean is fat.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
She wears her hair below her hat.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe
Ah meet her every nicht, Ah do,
An Ah kiss her on the bonnie wee mou'.
Mon, Ah wish that she was here the noo.
    Fol-the-doodle-eye-doe


[* Title as given on the sheet music held at the University of Oxford, as reported at WorldCat.org.]
[** Title as given on the Edison Amberol cylinder, as reported by the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I'VE LOVED HER EVER SINCE SHE WAS A BABY
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 11 - 04:59 AM

Here's my transcription from the recording found at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


I'VE LOVED HER EVER SINCE SHE WAS A BABY
Words by Harry Lauder and Bob Beaton; music by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1909.
As sung by Harry Lauder

1. I'm deep in love wi a bonnie wee lass,
But Ah don't think she cares much for me,
Because the last time Ah met her Ah told her that I
Wad do anything for her; in fact Ah wad dee.
She turned roond an' telt me she thocht Ah was saft,
Bit she fair broke ma hairt when she said:
"Marry you?" Och, a woman, ye're daft!

CHORUS: She doesnae care fir me,
Not a little B-I-T.
She is what the neighbours call a lady.
I've known her all her life.
Ah wad like to have her for ma wife,
'Cause Ah've loved her ever since she was a baby.

2. The Scotch wey o' coortin's the best wey of all
But it's not whit some folks may suppose.
She says that ma kissin' it won't do at all
But Ah cannae get near for the len'th o' ma nose;
An' I've got tae shave masel' six times a week
'Cause she says that ma whisker keeps jaggin' her cheek. CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S NICE WHEN YOU LOVE A WEE LASSIE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 08:12 PM

My transcription (singing only) of the recording found at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


IT'S NICE WHEN YOU LOVE A WEE LASSIE
Words by J. D. Harper & Harry Lauder; music by Harry Lauder.
New York : T.B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, 1912.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1913.

1. Sandy MacPherson and Sandy MacFee,
Sandy MacLean and his brother and me,
We were companions in bonnie Dundee.
Now we're residin' in London.
We've got a cosy wee flat in the West,
And there ev'ry nicht we dine on the best.
Nicht efter nicht ... we never tire.
We get a' oor pals up an' sing roond the fire:

CHORUS: Oh, it's nice when ye love a wee lassie.
'S nice when the lassie is true.
'S nice when ye ken that yer bonnie wee hen
Is in love and that lover is you. REPEAT

2. Last Friday nicht was a great nicht for we
Had the Duke o' MacDuff and his wife up for tea.
We had a bonnie wee private soiree,
But they'd finished up great at the finish.
We gave them as much as they wanted to eat,
And a wee deoch-an-doris before the retreat.
We broke up at twelve and the midnight all rang
As we stood on the steps at the door we all sang: CHORUS

3. I'll never forget big MacPherson's birthday.
He was born in June but we held it in May.
He was thirty; had never been kissed, so they say,
But that was a big fabrication.
We put Mike to bed; 'twas a terrible strain.
He fell out two times, then he fell out again,
And the last time he fell out, his head it went bang,
But we gave him a half and he startit to sing:

"Here's a hand, ma trusty freends,
An gie us a hand o' thine.
I cannae see ye a' the nicht.
But I can feel ye're doin fine."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 07:39 PM

Jim-

Well, it's a bit of a drift from your thread and I was assuming you had editing powers.

Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: INVERARY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 07:39 PM

My transcription (singing only) of the recording found at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, Santa Barbara:


INVERARY
Words and music by James Malarkey and Harry Lauder.
London, New York: Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1905.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1908.

I feel as proud as proud could be ...(?) like a joke
For I've got the nicest lass that ever buttoned on a frock.
It was just ...(?) I met her. Alloo me to explain.
I was going to Inverary at the fair time on the train.

And I got spooney on Mary. Mary got spooney on me.
Oh, what a day! Wasn't it gay? I was as happy as I could be,
And I told her she was a dove; told that she was a fairy.
Oh, what a jollification we had on the road to Inverary!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 07:07 PM

Charley: Why would you expect it to be "edited away"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 04:02 PM

Jim McLean-

Copy this reference if you're interested because it may be edited away soon:

By Janie Meneely

Twiddles

When the boats all get to sailing
and the men are off and gone
What about the women
who are up and left alone?
Do you think they sit and twiddle thumbs
until their men come home?
Oh there's other things to twiddle
when a girl's left on her own.

Chorus:

Oh, it's twiddley ai dee ai dee o,
twiddley ai dee ay
Well it's lots of times a man will leave you
broken with dismay
Oh, it's twiddley ai dee ai dee o,
twiddley ai dee ay
There's others willin' to twiddle
when your man is gone away

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: I WISH I HAD SOMEONE TO LOVE ME (Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 03:43 PM

This is perhaps inspired by the traditional song in the DT, a.k.a. THE PRISONER'S SONG, but Lauder puts his own comical twist on it.

Here's my transcription from the recording at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.


I WISH I HAD SOMEONE TO LOVE ME
Words and music by Harry Lauder
London: Francis Day & Hunter, ©1905.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1912.

1. I wish I'd been married tae Geordie.
I wish Geordie'd been married tae me,
For he coorted me weekly for nearly ten years,
Then left me tae drift like a rat on the sea.
Ah really don't know what induced him
An' tae trifle wi' me—what a sin!
Oh, he went an' he married another,
An' left me tae sink or tae swim.

CHORUS: I wish I had someone tae love me,
Someone tae call me his doodle-oodle-oo,
Someone tae say, "Love, come away,"
But it hasnae come off up tae noodle-oodle-oo.
I wish I had someone tae love me,
Someone tae call me his doodle-oodle-oo,
Someone tae say, "Love, come away,"
But it hasnae come off up tae noo.

2. He took me one day to a picnic,
An' he boiled me some tea in a tin,
An' he coaxed me tae three lumps o' sugar, an' then,
He kissed me then asked me if I would kiss him.
Ah really felt shy when he asked me.
Ah, but Ah did kiss him once on the broo.
When Ah think on, ma mooth often waters,
In fact, freends, it's wat'ry the noo.

3. Oh, he trifled with my young affections,
An' he told me a terrible lie,
For he said that ma face was a picture an' that
He'd be just as true as the stars in the sky.
Oh, Ah weep when Ah think on his conduct.
He used tae come roond ev'ry night,
An' treat me tae pancakes an' treacle, the rascal,
An' call me his lump o' delight.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: BTNG
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 02:49 PM

Harry Lauder at The Internet Archive

Subject: Lyr Add: HEY, DONAL! (H Lauder/A Melville)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 02:45 PM

Here's my transcription from the recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.


HEY, DONAL!
Words and music by H. Lauder and A. Melville
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1903.
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1908.

It was in the merry month o' May
That a bonnie wee lass Ah met one day,
And all the language she could say
Was "Donal, dinnae miss me.
Hug me, tug me, as ye please.
Watch an' mind ye dinnae squeeze.
When ye think that naebody sees,"
Says, "Donal, come an' kiss me."

CHORUS: Hey, Donal, ho, Donal!
Think upon yer vow, Donal,
In amang the bloomin' heather
Where ye vowed tae lo'e me. REPEAT

Oh, we stood that nicht at the fit o' the stair,
Blatherin' there like any other pair.
Ah kissed her till her gums were sair.
Said she: "Ye're misbehavin'."
When I tickled her, she said, "That's rash."
Then she gave me such a bash
And she said, "Yer whiskers needs a wash,
Or else they're needin' shavin'." CHORUS TWICE


*
Lauder's song HEY, DONAL! has the feel of an old or traditional song that has been modified, but this is the only old song I could find that could be his source, and I have no tune for it.

From The Poems and Songs of Robert Tannahill with life and notes by David Semple (Paisley: Alex. Gardner, 1874), page 262:


HEY, DONALD! HO, DONALD!

Though simmer smiles on bank an' brae,
An' Nature bids the heart be gay,
Yet a' the joys o' flow'ry May
Wi' pleasure ne'er can move me.

Hey, Donald! ho, Donald!
Think upon your vow, Donald;
Min' the heathery knowe, Donald,
Whar ye vow'd tae lo'e me.

*
(There is also LOVE AND FREEDOM, but that only has one line that is similar.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 12:10 PM

I was in the Swedish merchant navy in the early 1960s and remembering making that point one night. I thought I was being original!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 11:55 AM

Jim-

It's amazing how up to date old Harry was:

They say that ev'ry sailor has a wife in ev'ry port.
That's a lie, because he has got nothing of the sort.
If sailors have a wife in ev'ry port, well, take my tip,
That ev'ry sailor's wife has got a man on ev'ry ship.

I believe there is a contemporary song, composed decades later, that makes the same point.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 11:37 AM

It is amazing to hear Harry leading these songs at the various digital archives, along with his patter.

Jim-

We ran across a reference somewhere (...) of Harry reciting or singing "Homeward" aka "Home, Boys, Home" composed by Cicely Fox Smith. Have you run across such a reference or, better still, found a recording?

Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: HE WAS VERY KIND TO ME (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 11:08 AM

Here's my transcription from the recording at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.

This is another nearly insignificant song that was used as a vehicle for patter:


HE WAS VERY KIND TO ME
As sung by Harry Lauder, 190?.

When I was young and in my prime, when I was seventeen,
All the young fellows about the place they called me bonnie Jean.
But there was one that courted me for nearly seven years,
Till we got wed, but now he's dead, and has left me here in tears.

Oh, he was very, very, very, very kind to me,
Very kind to me, very kind to me!
He was very, very, very, very, very, very, very,
Very, very, very kind to me!

Subject: Lyr Add: GOODBYE TILL WE MEET AGAIN (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 10:47 AM

Here's my transcription from the recording at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.


GOODBYE TILL WE MEET AGAIN
As sung by Harry Lauder, circa 1913.

I'm going away but I'd like to stay longer with you
I don't like to part with friends so true
Old friends are best friends in sunshine or rain
So goodbye, goodbye, goodbye till we meet again.

[That's all there is. That verse is sung 3 times in the recording.]

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BOUNDING SEA (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 10:32 AM

Here's my transcription from the recording at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.

The song is practically insignificant. It serves only as an intro and "outro" (I hate that word) to a spoken tale about meeting Shackleton in a pub, and a subsequent voyage of exploration.


THE BOUNDING SEA
As sung by Harry Lauder

They call me quiet Sandy 'cause I like to be my lone.
I love the bounding bouncing where ocean is my home.
I could tell ye all a tale ye've never heard before,
And when I tell ye what I'm going to tell, ye'll simply roar.

Out on the bounding ocean over the bounding sea,
Bounding over the bounding wave, that's the place for me.
I'm a bounding bounder when a-bounding over the sea.
Up the north o' the Firth o' Forth, I bound on the bounding sea.

Subject: Lyr Add: BACK, BACK, TO WHERE THE HEATHER GROWS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 09:53 AM

Here's my transcription from the sheet music at Mississippi State University:


BACK, BACK, TO WHERE THE HEATHER GROWS (BELLA McGRAW)
Words and music by Harry lauder
New York: T. B. Harris & Francis, Day & Hunter, 1918.

1. It is very near five years ago since I sailed for Canada.
I was very sorry when I sailed away
Because I had to leave behind me bonnie Bella McGraw,
For I loved her more than ever I could say;
But I've been savin', savin' just a wee bit ev'ry week,
Savin', savin' for the rainy day;
So after counting up my savin's I'd been savin' up,
I wrote her hame a letter just to say:

CHORUS: Oh! Bella McGraw, tho' you're miles and miles awa,
How I love ye ev'rybody knows.
I know that you are true,
So I'm comin' back to you,
Back, back, to where the heather grows.

2. It is just about a month ago since I counted up my brass,
Then I booked my passage hame frae Canada.
I couldna close my eyes at nicht thro' thinking on my lass,
But at last I'm hame beside my Bella McGraw;
But I think I'll wait till twelve o'clock afore I let her ken.
By that time she'll be sleepin', sure to be;
Then I'll creep up to the window o' her mither's but-an'-ben,
And sing the song I sent her o'er the sea:

3. I know I'll no be long at hame afore I tie the knot,
Because I know she's longing to be mine.
Altho' I've been five years away, I know she'll not forget me.
Man! I really do believe that she's divine.
I'm sure I couldn't find another like her if I tried,
Were I to search the worl' thro' and thro'.
I have only one regret this nicht and it is this:
I'm very sorry she's no' here the noo.

Subject: Lyr Add: EARLY IN THE MORNING (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 08:18 AM

Here's my transcription from the sheet music at Mississippi State University:


EARLY IN THE MORNING
Words and music by Harry Lauder
New York: Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1900

1. I am a man a sort of man that likes to take things easy.
I'm married to a woman and she's awf'ly peasy-weezy.
When I should rise to go to work, continually she's roaring:
"D'ye hear me, Jock? It's five o'clock!" but I continue snoring.

CHORUS: For it's far too early in the morning for to waken me.
Such a thing as early rising I don't see;
And I may say that with my health it never did agree,
Rising early in the morning.

2. To go to church one Sunday I did finally determine,
But I began my snoring in the middle of the sermon.
It did create a lot of fun amongst the congregation,
And when the deacon wakened me, I yelled out, "Botheration!" CHORUS

3. One night in a saloon a fellow thought that me he'd frighten,
And very soon I got locked up, well, I suppose for fighting.
Next morn the copper said, "Wake up!" and started to abuse me.
He said, "The judge is waitin'!" "Well," said I, "he must excuse me." CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim McLean
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 07:56 AM

Great work, Jim. McKay is the correct spelling, not McKie.

Subject: Lyr Add: TOBERMORY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 12:23 AM

You can hear a recording of Harry Lauder singing this song at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Here are the lyrics as they are given in the sheet music found at The New York Public Library – Performing Arts 1875-1923:


TOBERMORY
Words and music by Harry Lauder
New York : Francis Day & Hunter, ©1901.

1. In summer when the sun is bright
When frost and snow have taken flight
It is MacKie's and my delight
Like trav'llers in a story
To go exploring here and there
In search of pleasure and fresh air;
So last year for our holidays we went to Tobermory.

CHORUS: Oh, my! Your ought to have seen MacKie
And me, for we were fairly in our glory,
For we roamed about together
'Mong the bonnie blooming heather
With the bonnie lassies up in Tobermory.

2. We soon had friends and fun galore
And sweethearts, tae, about a score,
I never had such fun before
To leave it I was sorry.
And when the time for parting came,
The tears ran down Mack's cheeks like rain,
You night will be remembered by the lassies in Tobermory

Subject: Lyr Add: CALLIGAN—CALL AGAIN (Rutter/Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 12:01 AM

You can hear a recording of Harry Lauder singing this song at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Here are the lyrics as they are given in the sheet music found at The New York Public Library – Performing Arts 1875-1923:


CALLIGAN—CALL AGAIN
Words and music by Herbert Rutter and Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms, & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1900
Lyrics as given in the sheet music:

1. Now Calligan the tailor always used to make my clothes,
And I always used to pay so much a week.
He always used to suit me well, and never did I suppose
He'd prove himself a very nasty sneak.
Some time ago from Calligan a pair of pants I bought,
But since I've had them trousers, well, my work has fallen short.
I miss'd him for a fortnight as I'd not the cash to pay,
So when he called upon me for his cash the other day—

CHORUS: Said I to Calligan, "You'll have to call again."
"Call again?" said Calligan. "Not I!"
Said I to Calligan, "You'll have to call again,
For I haven't got your M. O. N. E. Y.!"
Calligan vowed that he wouldn't call again.
He swore he'd put the coppers on my track.
My temper rose and then,
Said I to Calligan,
"Call again and take your trousers back!"

2. "Calligan," said I to him, "I've dealt with you for years,
And you must admit you've always found me straight.
And so I will be this time, but, in spite of all your fears,
There's not the slightest doubt you'll have to wait."
"Wait, bedad!" said Calligan, and then his temper rose.
We argued till I really thought our words would come to blows.
Said he, "Now when do you intend to settle up this score?"
I said, "When we go on full time," and then again once more— CHORUS

3. Calligan, quite angry, said no longer would he wait,
Though I told him I would pay him fair and square.
He told me for to take them off, tho' I to him did state
That they were all that I had got to wear.
"Take them off!" said Calligan. "I'll take them back with me,
And I'll let you have them back when you can pay the L. s. d."*
Said I to him, "What shall I be without a pair of pants?"
Said he, "A living picture, or else ta-ble-aux vivants?" CHORUS


[L. s. d. = pounds, shillings, and pence.]

Subject: Lyr Add: AYE WAKEN O (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 Oct 11 - 01:06 PM

You can hear this recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara. This is my transcription:


AYE WAKEN O
As sung by Harry Lauder, 1912.

1. Oh, once upon a time
I was very bonnie.
I used to hae a bonnie wee lad
But noo I havenae ony.

CHORUS: I'm aye wakin' O,
Wakin' aye and eerie,
Sleep I cannae get,
For thinkin' on my dearie.
I'm aye wakin' O. REPEAT

2. Oh, he was very kind
And nice tae me was Sandy.
He used to buy me ginger snaps
An' lumps o' sugar candy.

3. Oh, once he said tae me
"Maggie, you're ma sooroch(?)."
Then he kissed me on the nose
An he took me doon to Gooroch(?).

4. Oh, he took me for a walk one nicht
Roond aboot the yairdie,
An' then he set me down in a seat
And by jings(?) he gied me bairdie(?).


[Obviously borrowed and modified from AYE WAUKIN' O, the traditional song which Robert Burns also borrowed and changed.]

Subject: Lyr Add: BONNIE LEEZIE LINDSAY (Folloy/Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 Oct 11 - 11:43 AM

You can hear this recording at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at University of California, Santa Barbara. This is my transcription:


BONNIE LEEZIE LINDSAY
"Written by Frank Folloy; composed and sung by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day and Hunter, ©1909."*

O' sweethairts Ah have had a lot,
But their names an' faces Ah've not forgot,
An' as sure as Ah stand on the spot,
Ah'm in love with bonnie Leezie Lindsay.

When first Ah saw her bonnie wee face,
It was love at first sicht in ma case.
Oh, ma hairt it nearly left its place
When Ah saw ma bonnie Leezie Lindsay.

CHORUS: For Ah'm coortin' bonnie Leezie Lindsay noo,
Coortin' bonnie Leezie Lindsay noo.
Ma freends they say, "Mon, ye're a' richt noo
For ye're coortin' bonnie Lindsay noo." REPEAT

Last winter when the frost was on,
We both went skatin' on Loch Long(?).
O' coorse Ah had ma troosers on.
Well, Ah always do when Ah go skatin'.

An' as we went glidin' o'er the ice,
Ah was very near doon once or twice,
Ah, but Leezie liftit me so nice,
For of me she's very, very careful. CHORUS TWICE

We went on a motorin' tour last June,
An' we startit frae the toon o' Troon,
Up mountains, valleys, roond an' roond,
Till we landit at Balmoral Castle.

An' when the king an' the queen saw me,
We both were invitit in tae tea,
An' the king said to me, "Mon, Ah'm very pleased to see
That ye're coortin' bonnie Leezie Lindsay.

CHORUS: "Ye're coortin' bonnie Leezie Lindsay noo.
Ye're coortin' bonnie Leezie Lindsay noo.
Mon, Ah would give a fiver to be you,
To be coortin' bonnie Leezie Lindsay noo." REPEAT


[* The attribution comes from the catalogue entry at Oxford University, which has the sheet music. Despite the attribution, the tune sounds familiar, and I think it's traditional, although I can't name it. The tune is not the same as LIZZIE LINDSAY in the DT.]

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S A FINE THING TO SING (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 04:57 PM

From the sheet music at ParlorSongs.com:
[You might need to download and install Sibelius Scorch to see the sheet music.]

You can also see the sheet music at Mississippi State University.


IT'S A FINE THING TO SING
Words and music by Harry Lauder & Willie Cochrane.
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, 1921.

1. We've had a lot of trouble and we've had a lot of strife.
We've had our ups and downs as we have journeyed on through life.
We've had our little squabbles but they never lasted long.
Why? Because, just because, it's best to sing a song.

CHORUS: Oh, it's a fine thing to sing.
Singing is the thing.
It brightens ev'rything when dark and dreary.
It helps you on the road
When you have a heavy load.
Singing is the thing to make you cheery.

2. If ever you get worried and you don't know what to do,
You've got the humpy-dumpys and you're feeling black and blue,
Do the same as I do; I just simply jog along,
Because there's nothing stimulates a fellow like a song.

3. I'll bet a silver sixpence singing helps to make us glad.
We can face the world singing but we cannot if we're sad.
There's too much trouble in the world, I think you must agree.
[We'll] make the world brighter if you'll only sing with me.

4. Of course we know there's sure to be a kick-up now and then,
Because we've got to stand a lot, we poor old married men;
But do the same as I do when there's anything goes wrong.
I always say, says I to me, "Come on and sing a song."

Subject: Lyr Add: O'ER THE HILL TO ARDENTINNY (Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 04:36 PM

From the sheet music at ParlorSongs.com:

[You might need to download and install Sibelius Scorch to see the sheet music.]


O'ER THE HILL TO ARDENTINNY
Written, composed and sung by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, 1917.

1. I can ne'er forget the days when I was in the West.
I can ne'er forget the times wi' her I lov'd the best.
Sun or snaw, or frost or thaw, my passion was the same.
The lass o' Ardentinny aye attracted me frae hame.

CHORUS: O'er the hill to Ardentinny,
Just to see my bonnie Jeannie,
Just to get one o' her smiles,
I would walk a hunder' miles.

2. I can ne'er forget the day she promis'd me her hand.
I believe I was the proudest man in all the land.
She just wrote a simple note to say, "You've won my heart.
Come o'er to Ardentinny and we'll never, never part."

3. I can ne'er forget the day, the twenty-sixth o' June,
When the minister said, "Bless ye!" I commenc'd my honeymoon.
I grabb'd her round the neck and crumpled all her granny's lace,
Then tried to kiss her through her veil, but couldna find the place.

Subject: Lyr Add: THERE IS SOMEBODY WAITIN' FOR ME (Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 04:17 PM

From the sheet music at ParlorSongs.com:

[You might need to download and install Sibelius Scorch to see the sheet music.]


THERE IS SOMEBODY WAITIN' FOR ME
Written, composed and sung by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, 1917.

Once on a time—it's a very long time;
It's a year or it may be three—
I was out of a job and I didn't have a bob,
When an old tar said to me:
"Would you like to come and have some fun
While you're young and stout and strong?"
So the very next day I sailed away
To this good old shanty song:

CHORUS: There is somebody waitin' for me
In an old cabin down by the sea.
In the land where I wish I could be,
There is somebody waitin' for me.

I know a cot in a very sweet spot,
And I think of it ev'ry day.
It is all I've got, my whole job-lot,
And it's miles and miles away.
There were tears and sighs and fond goodbyes
When the time came 'round to go,
But as I jog along I sung this song
To myself because I know—

I know a face it's a very sweet face
It's the face of my very best girl
I have seen all sorts in the diff'rent ports
As I've sailed all round the world
On my last trip east I'd a rare old feast
I've the taste still on my tongue
But when I sailed west to my very very best
Little girl again I sung:

Subject: Lyr Add: TRIXIE FROM DIXIE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 03:48 PM

From the sheet music at Mississippi State University:


TRIXIE FROM DIXIE: A SCOTCH AMERICAN ROMANCE
Words by Harry Lauder, music by John Lauder
London: Francis, Day, & Hunter, ©1913.

1. When I came to America, I went down to Dixie,
And there I met a bonnie lass wi' lovely raven hair.
I asked her what her name was; she told me it was Trixie.
I kissed her and I hugged her like a bear.
Then I said to Trixie,
That day in dear old Dixie:

CHORUS: I just want to tell you I love you dearly.
I just want to tell you I love you sincerely.
I just want to tell you I love you alone.
I just want you to ornament my Highland home.

2. I caused a lot of jealousy wi' the fellows down in Dixie.
I never seen such jealousy before in a' my life;
But I told them very plainly that my heart was fix on Trixie,
And that she said that she would be my wife.
They swore that they would shoot me,
But I said, "She'll die withoot me."

Subject: Lyr Add: THAT'S THE REASON NOO I WEAR A KILT
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 03:31 PM

From the sheet music at Mississippi State University:


THAT'S THE REASON NOO I WEAR A KILT
Words by Harry Lauder & A. B. Kendal, music by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day, & Hunter, ©1906

1. A lot o' people say the kilt is not the thing to wear; in fact, they say the kilt is oot o date;
But I've got certain reasons why I'm wearin' mine, and so I'll tell ye if ye only care to wait.
I used to wear a pair o' breeks before I took a wife, but after I'd been wed a week or three,
I sold my troosers, bought this kilt, the reason was because—I'll explain it if you listen noo tae me.

CHORUS: Every nicht I used to hing my troosers up on the back o' the bedroom door.
I rue the day. I must have been a jay! I'll never hing them up any more.
For the wife she used to ramble through my pooches when I was fast asleep aneath the quilt.
In the mornin' when I woke, I was always stoney broke; that's the reason noo I wear a kilt.

2. I never would have found her oot, but one nicht I cam' hame; I was feelin' very queer aboot the head.
I soon was in the land o' dreams, but woke at three a.m., and there she was a-standin' up in bed!
She said, "Hush-wheesh! Be quiet! There's burglars! Dinna mak' a fuss! I'm feelin' in your pooches for a gun."
I don't ken if she was or not, but all I ken is this: there was naethin' in those pooches when she'd done.

3. I'm not as strong's I used to be; my blood is getting' thin, and wouldna tak' an awful lot to freeze.
The only thing I'm frightened for is winter comin' on; I'll feel it very cauld aboot the knees.
If I should take a freezin' fit one day and "kick the pail," and join the great majority that's gone,
Then maybe I'll be sorry that I ever took tae kilts and I'll wish I'd kept ma cosy troosers on.

Subject: Lyr Add: HAME O' MINE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 11:20 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:

[This song is labeled on its cover: "Harry Lauder's Character Creations"]


HAME O' MINE
Words and music by Mackenzie-Murdoch.
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1920.

1. Away in the Northland, the land of the mountain,
There stands a wee hoose on the breist o' the brae.
The streamlet runs past like a clear crystal fountain.
The lark in the cloud sings an ear-haunting lay.
Away in the wildwood the red deer is bounding.
The wind carries sweetly the scent o' the pine.
Afar in the valley the pibroch is sounding—
The scene of my childhood, that dear hame o' mine.

CHORUS: Hame o' mine, hame o' mine,
Where I dwelt in lang, lang syne,
There's where my heart and my thoughts are forever:
A wee thackit cottage, that dear hame o' mine.

2. I sit and I gaze o'er the wide lonely prairie.
There's nought meets the eye on that far-stretching plain.
In fancy I see through a mist, dear Glengarry.
In fancy I see that dear cot once again.
Its walls shine like iv'ry, so dazzling its whiteness.
The old thackit roof is unaltered by time.
The rapids and prairie to me are delightless.
Oh! give me that wee hoose, that dear hame o' mine.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN I WAS TWENTY ONE (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 10:44 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:

You can also see the sheet music at Mississippi State University.


WHEN I WAS TWENTY ONE
Words and music by Harry Lauder.
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1918.

1. Oh, I'm not so young as I used to be when I was in my prime.
Although I'm turning auld and grey I've had a lovely time.
To kiss a bonnie lassie I was never shy.
The lad that doesn't love a lassie is not the real McKay.

CHORUS: Oh, when I was twenty-one, when I was twenty-one,
I never had lots o' money but I had always lots o' fun.
Oh, I was a harem scarum and my courting days begun
On the very, very, very nicht when I was twenty-one.

2. Oh, I only wish that I were twenty-one again the noo.
I'd like to tell ye a' the nicht what I would like to do.
I'd like to start my life again in some secluded place,
With some bonnie lassie that would let me chew her face.

3. Oh, I used to court a bonnie lass; her name was McHwee.
I got very fond o' Mack and she got fond o' me.
I think she was the sweetest thing because she used to say:
"You're very yummy-yummy with your fascinating way."

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WEE HOOSE 'MANG THE HEATHER (H Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 10:06 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


THE WEE HOOSE 'MANG THE HEATHER
Words by Harry Lauder and Gilbert Wells, music by Fred Elton and Harry Lauder.
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1912.

1. There's a wee hoose on the hillside that I haven't seen for years.
I've an awful longing feeling and my eyes whiles dim wi' tears
When I think on a' the happy days I spent beside that spot,
And the games we played as laddies there will never be forgot.

CHORUS: There's a wee hoose 'mang the heather; there's a wee hoose o'er the sea.
There's a lassie in that wee hoose waitin' patiently for me.
She's the picture o' perfection, O! I wouldna tell a lee.
If ye seen her ye would love her just the same as me.

2. Though A'm far awa' frae Scotland and the scenes I lo'e sae weel,
There's a beat for the auld country that in ev'ry pulse I feel,
For though other lands are bonnie and the other folks are kind,
There is one scene and one only that is ever in my mind.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SAME AS HIS FAITHER DID BEFORE HIM
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 09:50 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


THE SAME AS HIS FAITHER DID BEFORE HIM
Words by Will Terry and Gilbert Wells, music by Harry Lauder.
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1912.

1. I've got a nice wee lassie; she's the joy o' a' my life,
And we've been very happy since she became my wife.
We've got a rare wee laddie; he's a grand wee Hielan' lad,
An' if ye only saw him, he's the picture o' his dad!

CHORUS: He's our pride an' joy; he's a bonnie, bonnie boy!
His faither an' his mither just adore him.
But mind, I'm telling you, he loves the lassies too,
Just the same as his faither did before him!

2. Of course he's just a boy, but he's got notions in his heid.
I've never had to smack him yet, an' hope I'll never need.
Ev'ry time he drinks the milk ,he blames it on the cat.
Well, a wee boy wouldna be a boy if he didn't do like that!

3. He says when he grows up to be a man, he'll work for dad.
He swears he'll gie me pennies when he is a great big lad.
So I've bought him nice wee bagpipes an' he'll mak' the rafters ring,
An' maybe someday he will be a piper to the King!


[This song can be heard at The Internet Archive, under the title BONNIE WEE MAN. Lauder only sings one verse and the chorus, and the words vary a bit from the sheet music.]

Subject: Lyr Add: OHIO (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 09:00 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


OHIO
Written, composed and sung by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1921.

1. I've been very, very busy packing up to go
Away to see a certain bonnie lassie whom I know.
I wasn't going to go at first, was always hesitating,
But I'll have to go to stop my heart a-palpitating.

CHORUS: I know a lassie out in Ohio.
Says she wants to see me so I guess I'll have to go. Oh!
If I'm very long away, I want you all to know,
I am never, never coming back from Ohio.

2. Ev'ry fellow has an opportunity, they say,
If he can only see it as he roves along the way.
I've been roving all my life, but somehow always miss'd her,
But when the right girl comes along, a fellow can't resist her.

3. I never, never, never thought that love is what it is.
I didna know the nervous system all began to fizz.
I've been fizzin' for a week, I've never been so happy.
I feel intoxicated and I haven't had a drappie.

[The following verse is recited as part of the "patter:"]

4. Dearest and sweetest, I'm sending you this,
Hoping you're well, and enclosing a kiss.
You'll be happy to hear my affection increases.
I think when I see you I'll squeeze you to pieces.

Subject: Lyr Add: LOVE MAKES THE WORLD A MERRY-GO-ROUND
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 11 - 09:39 PM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


LOVE MAKES THE WORLD A MERRY-GO-ROUND
Words by Harry Lauder & William Montague; music by Harry Lauder & Bernardo De Pace
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1923.

1. I have oft heard it said, "Out of sight, out of mind."
Well, that may be the case with a few,
But tho' we are absent, I always can find
A corner in my heart for you.

CHORUS: Love makes the world a merry-go-round; without love how sad it would be.
Stars in the sky to shine would not try, and the moon would find little to see.
But love fills the earth with gladness and mirth, and guides us in all we may do.
Love makes the world a merry-go-round and around it with you I'll go.

2. Now when we meet a friend on whom we may depend,
That's a friend whom we all call true-blue.
It's a joy all the while; it's just smile after smile,
The way to live all the year through.

Subject: Lyr Add: I THINK I'LL GET WED IN THE SUMMER(Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 11 - 09:17 PM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


I THINK I'LL GET WED IN THE SUMMER
Words and music by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1919.

1. Sometime ago I'd a cold in the chest,
And the doctor advised me to go for a rest,
So I went to the coast for a couple o' weeks.
The weather was fine and it coloured my cheeks.
I went for a sail ev'ry day I was there.
I didn't care whether rainy or fair.
The last sail I had was a bumping success.
I got acquainted with Nelly McNess.

CHORUS: So I think I'll get wed in the summertime. I think I'll get wed in July.
I think I'll get wed when the roses are red And the weather is lovely and dry.
Hand in hand together we'll stand at the altar united to be,
Sweethearts forever and ever, my bonnie wee Nelly and me.

2. I'd like to picture this lassie o' mine.
Her hair is like silk and her lips are like wine.
Her shoes they are twos and her bonnie blue eyes
They twinkle always like the stars in the skies.
She sings like a birdie that's building its nest.
She's a thing that's good; she's a thing that's best.
She's almost as perfect as perfect can be.
She only needs one thing and that one thing is me.

3. Since I met Nelly the fun has been great.
I meet her each night at a quarter to eight,
Then we both go for a walk up the glen,
But always get back about twenty to ten.
Then we stand at the gate and we plan and we plot
What we will do with the money she's got.
Last nicht I told her I thought that she should
Hand it to me so she promised she would.

Subject: Lyr Add: I LOVE TO BE A SAILOR (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 11 - 09:12 PM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


I LOVE TO BE A SAILOR
Written, composed and sung by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1916.

1. I think I love a lassie; they say all sailors do.
I've courted her for forty years, or maybe forty-two.
There's no mistake about it, but she is a dear wee dear,
And ev'ry time I sail away, I whisper in her ear:

CHORUS: I love to be a sailor, a sailor, a sailor.
I love to sail upon the ocean blue, yes, I do-oo-oo.
I love to be a sailor, a sailor, a sailor,
Sailing on the good ship Kangaroo.

2. I've been to Tobermory, I've been to Mexico,
I've been to Honolulu, and I've been to Jericho,
And ev'ry time I've sail'd away across the ocean deep,
I've sat up in my bunk at nicht and sung out in my sleep:

3. They say that ev'ry sailor has a wife in ev'ry port.
That's a lie, because he has got nothing of the sort.
If sailors have a wife in ev'ry port, well, take my tip,
That ev'ry sailor's wife has got a man on ev'ry ship.

Subject: Lyr Add: I LIKE MY OLD HOME TOWN (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 11 - 01:15 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


I LIKE MY OLD HOME TOWN
Words and music by Harry Lauder.
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1923.

1. Once I met a very very merry bunch of fellows,
Fellows just the same as you and me.
Some were drinking ginger ale, some drinking ginger beer;
Being prohibition I had tea.
Some were saying where they'd been in lands across the sea.
Some were saying where they'd like to go.
Some said "you can tell us; you've been up and down and 'round."
I said, "I have, and wish you all to know—

CHORUS: I like my old home town.
I like the place that gave me birth.
I like my old home town.
I think it's the sweetest spot on earth.
There is something always calling me
From the north, south, east or west.
I speak true when I am telling you:
I like my home town best.

2. There's a certain something always seem to take us back,
Way back to the days when we were boys,
Back to where our mother used to guide our ev'ry step
And share in all our sorrows and our joys.
Can you see the cosy corner down the winding lane
Where you used to meet your sweetest girl?
Can you see the cottage with the roses 'round the door,
The first and dearest home in all the world?

Subject: Lyr Add: FROM THE NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 11 - 12:31 AM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


FROM THE NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST
Written, composed and sung by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms and Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1918.

The camp was miles and miles and miles and miles and miles away,
And all the boys were very tired and weary.
They'd been marching, marching, marching, marching all the day,
Singing all the songs to keep them cheery.
They sang the Swanee River fifty thousand times or more.
The sergeant major said he never heard such songs before.
Of all the songs he ever heard, the one he liked the best
Was the North, South, East and West.

CHORUS: From the North and the South and the East and the West,
Marching with the President, we'll never, never rest.
We're going to do our very, very,very, very best,
From the North, South, East and West.

They reached the camp at midnight and then after they were fed,
All the boys were very, very cheery.
They sat and smoked and joked before they tumbled into bed,
To dream about their dearest little dearie.
For ev'ry soldier has a girl to fight for nowadays,
For ev'ry man can do his bit in lots of different ways,
Ev'ry man today has got to do his very best
From the North, South, East and West.

Subject: Lyr Add: BELLA, THE BELLE O' DUNOON (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 15 Oct 11 - 11:52 PM

From the sheet music at The Maine Music Box:


BELLA, THE BELLE O' DUNOON
Written by Harry Lauder and George Walker; composed and sung by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1921

1. I've got a secret to tell ye th' noo.
I've got a secret to tell ye that's true,
And when I tell ye, don't go and tell.
I want ye a' to keep it to yersel'.
I'm going to a weddin' the first in my life.
I've come to invite ye to meet my young wife.
I'm getting married, two weeks today.
I'm changing her name from Mackenzie to Maccrae.

CHORUS: There's a bonnie wee face in a bonnie wee place,
A place I'm longing to see.
A lassie is waiting with eyes so captivating.
She is oh! so dear to me.
She'll be full o' surprises in the morning when she rises
And she hears I'm in the toun.
I am the fellah who's going to marry Bella.
Bella is the belle o' Dunoon.

2. We met at a picnic; her smile was the thing,
The thing that induc'd me to buy her the ring.
I would have bought her a gold watch as well,
'Cause just for luck I bought it for mysel';
But when we get married, I'll buy her the lot.
When we get married, I'll spend all I've got.
Then when I've spent all I have on my dove,
We'll be living then on nothing else but love.

3. The first time I ask'd her if she would be mine
Is six weeks last Sunday at a quarter to nine.
It was exciting, I'll no tell a lie,
But she got agitated; so did I.
She lean'd on my waistcoat, right on my heart.
It was a signal, so I play'd my part,
Creas'd her and kiss'd her. "You've got me," she sigh'd.
If she had refus'd me I believe I would have died.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Oct 11 - 11:38 AM

Interesting, Jim. In addition to documenting some of Sir Harry's songs, you are also documenting his personal history. The way his songs changed after his son was killed in The Great War is very clear even though he was honored for his relationship with the troops during the war as well as his efforts on their behalf.

Subject: Lyr Add: SHE IS MA DAISY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Oct 11 - 06:46 PM

From the sheet music at The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music (Click for a PDF.):


SHE IS MA DAISY
Words by Harry Lauder & J. D. Harper; music by Harry Lauder.
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1905.

1. I'm in a corps that's stood before the King for half a day
I'm the pet of all the slavies and I'm very pleased to say—
They all throw kisses mixed with smiles to get me on the "dot,"
But there's one called Daisy; she's the dearest Daisy of the lot.

CHORUS: She is ma Daisy! ma bonnie Daisy!
She's as sweet as sugar candy
And she's very fond of Sandy,
And I weary for ma dearie.
I would rather lose ma whip than lose ma Daisy!

2. On payday when we get our pay, I buy her choc'late cream,
Then I go and spend the rest along with the boys in the canteen;
And when the guard comes 'roond at closing time to put us oot,
By that time we're half tipsy and you ought to hear me shout:

3. I often think I'd like a change, so one night I went oot,
And met a nice fat cook while I was wand'ring 'round aboot.
I kissed her on the nose and then I kissed her on the cheeks,
But it's not like kissing Daisy; I can taste her face for weeks.

Subject: Lyr Add: WE'LL ALL GO HAME THE SAME WAY (H Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Oct 11 - 04:57 PM

The sheet music is held at The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music (Click for a PDF.)--however, the pages containing the chorus seem to be missing. So I got the chorus from Parlorsongs.org--but you need to install Sibelius Scorch to see the sheet music there.


WE'LL ALL GO HAME THE SAME WAY
Written and Composed by Harry Lauder.
New York: T. B. Harms, ©1916.

1. You've all been at a party—you know the kind affair—
Where you've only got to wash your face and decorate your hair,
Then all meet in the parlour and all sit roond the fire,
And have a ginger beer or something strong if you desire.
Well, I was at a party like that on Thursday last.
We had our tea and smoked and joked till ten and then half-past.
We were all so happy, we didn't like to part,
So I said, said I, "I'll tell you what we'll do before we start:

CHORUS: We'll all go home the same way. We'll all go up the hill.
We'll all go hame the same way, 'round by the mill.
We've been very merry since we began at nine,
And we'll meet again some ither nicht for auld lang syne.

2. You've all been at a party,—you know the kind affair—
Where ev'rybody's happy and you're glad that you are there.
You're sitting in the corner with her that you adore,
And ev'ry time you kiss her, the party shout "Encore!"
Well, that's the kind o' party where ev'rybody's pleased,
Where ev'ry fellow's happy, where ev'ry lassie's teased.
The lassies like the teasin' and the fellows like their fling,
And just before we all break up, it's nice to hear us sing:

3. I like a nicht like what we've had;—I've loved it all my life—
Where ev'ry fellow brings his lass and ev'ry man his wife,
Where ev'rybody's happy, where nobody's glum.
I think it's nice when we can chase our troubles up the lum.
So now I think afore we go, I would like to say,
We'll all think on this nicht we've had when miles and miles away,
And then when we all meet again—I hope that won't be long—
We'll all be just as happy and we'll all join in this song:

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MESSAGE BOY (Harry Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 07:18 PM

From the sheet music at the The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music (Click for a PDF.):


THE MESSAGE BOY
Written, composed & sung by Harry Lauder
New York : T.B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter ©1911

1. I'm workin' wae a grocer at the corner o' oor street.
I go all his messages for one-and-six a week.
When the shop is full o' folk, I've got to serve as well,
And when I've served the folk I've served, I always serve mysel.

CHORUS: Oh! I'm up, up early in the mornin',
Whether the weather it is rain or shine.
I'm up and doon and roon
A' the hooses in the toon
With my basket till it's half past nine.

2. We're goin to hae a sale next week o' diff'rent kinds o' teas,
Lamb and ham and eggs, and all the diff'rent sort o' cheese.
I ken it's time the cheese was sold, 'cause it can really talk!
A gorgonzola last week ask'd a ham oot for a walk.

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T LET US SING ANYMORE ABOUT WAR...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 05:16 PM

From the sheet music at the Indiana University (Click for a PDF.):


DON'T LET US SING ANYMORE ABOUT WAR, JUST LET US SING OF LOVE: "PEACE SONG"
Written and composed by Harry Lauder
New York: T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1918.

1. When the cry of peace went ringing through the ranks of the English-speaking race
There were shouts of joy from ev'ry soldier boy and a big smile on his face
Then they all gathered 'round the old dugout where their home has been for long
Then cried, "Hurray! we've won the day! Let us sing this song:

CHORUS: "Hurray! The war is over! Hurray! The fight is won!
Back from the life of a rover, back from the roar of the gun,
Back to the dear old Homeland, home with the peaceful dove,
Don't let us sing anymore about war; just let us sing of love."

2. When the cry of peace went ringing through the ships and the crowds began to throng,
There were shouts of joy from ev'ry sailor boy and their cheers were loud and long.
Then they all gathered 'round the old canteen where they sometimes all get wet,
Then cried, "Hurray, hurray! We'll be home by Christmas yet.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 04:35 PM

Great stuff!

And some amazingly not so PC slang.

Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: AUSTRALIAN GIRLS ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 04:31 PM

From the sheet music at the National Library of Australia:


AUSTRALIAN/NEW ZEALAND GIRLS ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME
Written, composed, and sung by Harry Lauder
Sydney: J. Albert & Son, ©1923.

1. You've heard about the Yankee girls with all their dare and dash.
Of the frisky girls from Frisco you've been told.
The fame of France's daughters has been wafted o'er the waters,
And that English girls are worth their weight in gold.
To wander wi' a Scottish lass is just to be in heaven.
Some love an Irish colleen on their knee.
You give me {an Australian/a New Zealand} girl and they can have the rest.
{Australian/New Zealand} girls are good enough for me.

CHORUS: For {Australian/New Zealand} girls are good enough for me.
They are sweeter than the peaches on the tree.
They are just the "Dinkum Dears." I've been cuddlin' them for years.
{Australian/New Zealand} girls are good enough for me.

2. I know there's lots of fellows very fond of foreign blood,
And rave about the Asiatic charms.
Some think there's nothing finer than to hug a girl from China,
Or hold an Abyssynian in their arms.
Some chaps are only happy when they're jinkin' with a Jappy,*
Or dangling a Spaniard on their knee.
They can have the blooming lot; everything can go to pot.
If not {Australian/New Zealand}, they're no good to me.

3. Now I have got a sweet wee lass; she is my very own.
She simply is the sunlight of my life.
One night in the moonlight as we wandered all alone,
She promised me that she would be my wife.
Underneath the Southern Cross last night at ten to ten,
I never thought such happiness could be.
When she said she would be mine,
The atmosphere became divine.
I kissed her underneath a wattle tree.


[* I've never encountered the word "Jappy" before. I recommend extreme caution in using it. Also I'm not familiar with "dinkum" and "jinkin'"--maybe an Australian can comment on these.]

Subject: Lyr Add: AUSTRALIA IS THE LAND FOR ME (H Lauder)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 02:07 PM

From the sheet music at the National Library of Australia:


AUSTRALIA IS THE LAND FOR ME
Written, composed and sung by Harry Lauder
Melbourne: Allan & Co., ©1914.

1. There's a land I'd like to tell you all about. It's a land in the far south sea.
It's a land where the sun shines nearly every day. It's the land for you and me.
It's the land for the man with a big strong arm. It's the land for big hearts too.
It's the land will fight for ev'rything that's right, for Australia is the real true blue.

CHORUS: There's a land where the sun shines nearly ev'ry day, where the skies are ever blue,
Where the folks are as happy as the day is long, and lots of work to do;
Where the soft wind blows, and the gum tree grows, as far as the eye can see,
Where the magpie chaffs and the kookaburra laughs; Australia is the land for me.

2. Now, away in the land of the kangaroo and the wattle and the dear old gum,
We love one another, and we don't want to quarrel, but we're there when troubles come.
We will fight for the flag of the dear Homeland; British we will all remain.
Australia, son of the Motherland, we toast you once again.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHILE THE BRITISH BULL-DOG'S WATCHING...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 01:44 PM

From the sheet music at the National Library of Australia:


WHILE THE BRITISH BULL-DOG'S WATCHING AT THE DOOR
Written, composed, and sung by Harry Lauder.
Melbourne: Allan & Co., ©1915.

1. It's a dear old land is the Motherland, and when she sounds the call,
Her boys in her far-off other lands obey it, one and all.
For it is ev'ry Briton's duty to do what he can do
To defend our British Empire, to stand and see her through.

CHORUS: For it's a dear old land, is the Motherland; her sons are ever true.
Her boys in her far-off other lands will see her through and through.
It's a dear old home is the Homeland; it's as good as in days of yore.
We are steady, aye, and ready, while the British bull-dog's watching at the door.

2. It's a peaceful land is the Motherland; we never want to fight,
But shoulder to shoulder we ever stand for ev'rything that's right.
It's a dear old Home is the Homeland; we love her more and more.
We'll fight the German might down as we've never done before.

3. It's a grand old home, is the Homeland; then let us pledge that we
Will all fight for our Motherland, that Britons shall be free,
That the glory of our Empire from us will never fade,
And that we'll defend for ever the land our fathers made.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 01:22 PM

This'll be a great resource Jim, thanks!

Subject: Lyr Add: STOP YER TICKLING JOCK! (Lauder, Folloy)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 01:19 PM

From the sheet music at the National Library of Australia:


STOP YER TICKLING JOCK!
Words by Harry Lauder and Frank Folloy, music by Harry Lauder.

1. Oh, I'm courting a farmer's dochter. She's one of the nicest ever seen.
Her cheeks they are a rosy red, and her age is just sweet seventeen.
When I throw my arms around her neck and try to steal a kiss,
Oh, she'll wriggle and giggle and twist and twiggle, and they you'll hear her shouting this:

CHORUS: Will you stop yer tickling, Jock! Oh! stop yer tickling, Jock!
Dinna mak' me laugh so hearty or you'll mak' me choke!
Oh! I wish you'd stop yer nonsense, just look at all the folk.
Will you stop yer tickling, tickle, ickle, ickling, Stop yer tickling, Jock!

2. Oh, she went to the seaside with me. I though she would like to see the sea.
Oh, I did enjoy mysel' that day, and I can tell ye, so did she.
On the railway train, as we went through the tunnels in the dark,
Oh, every time I winked at her, the passengers heard her remark: CHORUS

3. Oh, I went to the farm one Sunday because she invited me to tea.
Her faither and mither went to the kirk, which was a'right for me.
What a lovely, lovely feed we had of ham and eggs and bun.
Oh, and after that we had some treacle roly-poly just for fun. CHORUS

4. Oh! I'm thinking o' getting married; in that, d'ye ken, there'll be nae harm,
Oh! because I think she's just the sort of lass to keep me nice and warm.
I think she has a lot o' brass, but that I'll find out soon.
If she has, then we'll go riding on the "Tupp'ny Tube" for the honeymoon. CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: I LOVE A LASSIE (H Lauder, G Grafton)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 12:34 PM

From the sheet music at the National Library of Australia:


I LOVE A LASSIE (MA SCOTCH BLUEBELL.)
"Written by Harry Lauder and Gerald Grafton; composed and sung by Harry Lauder."
Melbourne: Allan & Co., ©1907.
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, ©1905.

1. I love a lassie, a bonnie Hielan' lassie.
If ye saw her you would fancy her as well.
I met her in September, popped the question in November.
So I'll soon be havin' her a' to masel'.
Her faither has consented, so I'm feelin' quite contented.
'Cause I've been and sealed the bargain wi' a kiss.
I sit and weary, weary when I think aboot ma deary,
An' you'll always hear me singing this:

CHORUS: I love a lassie, a bonnie, bonnie lassie.
She's as pure as the lily in the dell.
She's as sweet as the heather, the bonnie bloomin' heather,
Mary, ma Scotch Bluebell.

2. I love a lassie, a bonnie Heilan' lassie.
She can warble like a blackbird in the dell.
She's an angel every Sunday, but a jolly lass on Monday,
She's as modest as her namesake, the blue-bell;
She's nice, she's neat, she's tidy, and I meet her every Friday.
That's a special nicht you bet I never miss.
I'm enchanted, I'm enraptured, since ma heart the darlin' captured.
She's intoxicated me with bliss. CHORUS

3. I love a lassie, a bonnie Hielan' lassie.
I could sit an let her tease me for a week,
For the way she keeps behavin', well, I never pay for shavin',
'Cause she rubs ma whiskers clean off with her cheek.
And underneath ma bonnet, where the hair was, there's none on it,
For the way she pats ma head has made me bald.
I ken she means no harm, for she'll keep me nice and warm
On the frosty nichts sae very cauld.

[A recording on "The First Knight of the Music Hall" (2008), which I found at Spotify, substitutes these lines for the last half of verse 3:]

In the gloamin' wi ma beauty, wi my bonnie tutti frutti cutie,
I like to wander by her side,
She's ma diamond, she's ma ruby, she's ma bonnie wee jujubee,
And if she was here I'd row her in ma plaid. CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: Music-hall songs sung by Harry Lauder
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Oct 11 - 08:20 PM

These songs by Harry Lauder are in the DT:

Soosie Mclean
We Parted on the Shore

And these are posted in other threads:

A Wee Deoch-an-Doris
Breakfast in Bed on Sunday Morning
Fou the Noo, or, Something in the Bottle for the Morning
It's Nice to Get Up in the Mornin' (but It's Nicer to Lie in Bed)
Queen amang the Heather
Roamin' in the Gloamin'
Ta Ta, My Bonnie Maggie Darling
The Blarney Stone
The End of the Road
The Laddies Who Fought and Won
The Waggle o' the Kilt
The Weddin' o' Lauchie M'Graw

I plan to add more songs to this thread shortly.