Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge

Subject: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Liz Randall
Date: 26 Apr 12 - 02:15 AM

Can anyone give me the words to the song which has the chorus:

Tuppence to London Bridge, Threepence to the Strand
Fourpences to Whitehall stairs unless you go by land.?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 26 Apr 12 - 04:35 AM

Hello Liz,

Tuppence to London Bridge aka The Muffin Man's Song is one of my songs. I wrote it back in the 70's and it has been a staple of my repertoire ever since!

You can find it on my CD "In from the Cold" (available from CDBaby). If you PM me I can do you a deal on the CD!

Hope that's helpful,

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Liz Randall
Date: 09 May 12 - 03:42 PM

Thanks Pete, please let me know your terms - did you get my pm?
best wishes
liz

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Aug 14 - 08:57 AM

How do you write a song when most of the bits come from elsewhere? Assembled might be a better term. Bricolage I thinks the French call it. It is a good song though!

Fred Hogshead

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: GUEST,#
Date: 03 Aug 14 - 10:24 PM

Fred, no one would claim to have written a verse from 1874.

Twopence to London Bridge,
Threepence to the Strand,
Fourpence, Sir, to Whitehall Stairs,
Or else you'll go by land.

Different 'song'.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Aug 14 - 05:07 AM

Please explain yourself - seems the same song to me and Waddon says he wrote it back in the 70s.

Fred Hogshead

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Aug 14 - 12:08 PM

I don't know what Pete Waddon meant; maybe he wrote a new tune for it. Or maybe he wrote additional words, not given here. The words we have quoted are at least 140 years old:

From London Cries: With Six Charming Children by Andrew White Tuer (London: Field & Tuer, 1883), page 13:

One of London's best-known characters, the Waterman, does not appear to have adopted a cry; or, if he did, no mention of it can be found. But a correspondent of Notes and Queries (5th S. I. May 2, 1874) says: "I heard this verse of a very old (waterman's) song from a very old gentleman on the occasion of the last overflow of the Thames:—

" 'Twopence to London Bridge, threepence to the Strand,
Fourpence, Sir, to Whitehall Stairs, or else you'll go by land.' "

The point of departure, however, is not given.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Mysha
Date: 08 Aug 14 - 12:27 PM

Hi,

Well, considering the fares, one would expect the point of departure to be (near) Tower Bridge. It could be a bit further east, but then you'd need to know what was there first half of the nineteenth century.

Bye,
                                                                  Mysha

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Aug 14 - 03:31 PM

Quoth he now my money's gone all to one two-pence
I'll make a clear end and spend that on a whore.

Lines from a broadside, printed for T. Passenger at the three Bibles on the middle of London Bridge.
Nat. Libr. of Scotland.

Steamers- London, 1841
London Bridge to Chelsea (or intervening piers)- Two pence
"            to Westminster bridge- One penny
" to Greenwich- Six pence (1849)

(Google)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tuppence to London Bridge
From: Mysha
Date: 08 Aug 14 - 04:22 PM

Hi,

Looking at it again, I think we'd get a closer match if the trip to London Bridge was actually going in the other direction. With one penny to get into the boat, if that was done at the time, you'd get fairly well matching distances for the rest of the fares from a point somewhat west of Southwark Bridge. In that case the point of departure could be Bank Side, as I understand it for centuries the entertainment quarter of the London. That would certainly be a point where Watermen would offer their services.

It does mean a larger difference between the waterman and the steamer, though, as the waterman would probably charge 5 pence to get from London Bridge to Whitehall Stairs or Westminster Bridge, while travelling with the steamer would cost only 1 penny.

I wonder what made travelling to Greenwich per steamer so expensive, though. The distance can't be that much greater than to Chelsea. But I also can't imagine a 200% inflation in 8 years.

Anyway, my current best guess for the point of departure is Bank Side.
(The quote of the price of female entertainment would appear to be appropriate for Bank Side as well.)

Bye
                                                                Mysha