Lyr Req: Oh, Fred, Tell Them to Stop!-cry of Maria

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh, Fred, Tell Them to Stop!-cry of Maria
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 01:41 AM

Anybody know of a recording of this song, preferably on YouTube so you can post a link?

Subject: ADD: Oh, Fred! Tell Them to Stop
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 02:25 PM

Here are the lyrics from the sheet music at the Levy Sheet Music Collection - almost the same as the lyrics above.

OH FRED! TELL THEM TO STOP!
(George Meen)

No doubt you have heard of the great Fancy Fair,
That used to take place every day,
Well, I thought for amusement I'd take my girl there,
To pass a dull hour away.
We went in, you must know, and saw Richardson's show,
And Forepaugh's (alt. Barnum's) Menagerie as well,
There were Roundabouts, swings, and all kinds of things;
Forget the day I never shall.

(Spoken after first verse)
Yes, when we got into the Fair, my girl wanted to have
a ride on one of the Roundabouts. I said, "All right, my
darling," and we had a swing, but directly the swing went to
and fro, she lustily called out—

CHORUS
"Oh! Fred, tell them to stop!" that was the cry of Maria;
But the more she said "Wo!" they said "Let it go!"
And the swing went a little bit higher.

The people that stood 'round, of course they all laughed,
But I only said, "Stop the swing;"
There were four or five others in the boats beside us,
Saying, "Master, don't do such a thing."
Then four or five roughs caught hold of the ropes,
Maria fell down on her knee,
And one of them said, "The young man's turning red,
But isn't he having a spree?"
CHORUS

They soon stopped the swing and Maria got out,
And quickly fell down on the floor,
They brought her some water, which soon brought her to,
This girl whom I now do adore.
Should you ever go there, to the great Fancy Fair,
Friends, take advice whilst I sing...
Of the great Roundabout, it's the best fun that's out,
And finish The day with a swing.

Spoken after third verse)
Mark now, before you go into the swing boat, make
a bargain with your young lady not to call out—
CHORUS

Undated sheet music, published by Oliver Ditson & Company

The Library of Congress also has a copy, dated 1880 - this one says "Barnum's Menangerie."

I found a MIDI here: http://cobs.rollerorgans.com/cobs/477/home

---

Click to play (joeweb)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh, Fred, Tell Them to Stop!-cry of Maria
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 12:56 PM

I found this at http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/01-oh-fred-tell-them-to-stop.htm.

OH, FRED, TELL THEM TO STOP!
As sung by Tom Sayers.

No doubt you have heard of the great Fancy Fair
That used to take place every day;
Well, I thought for amusement I'd take my girl there,
To pass a dull hour away.
We went in, you must know, and saw Richardson's show,
And Wombwell's Menagerie, as well;
There were roundabouts, swings, and all kinds of things,
Forget the day I never shall.

Spoken- Yes, when we got into the Pair my girl wanted to
have a ride on one of the roundabouts. I said, " All right, my
darling," and we had a swing, but directly the swing went to
and fro she lustily called out-

Chorus.
"Oh! Fred, tell them to stop!" that was the cry of Maria;
But the more she said " Whoa," they said " Let it go,"
And the swing went a little bit higher.

The people that stood 'round, of course they all laugh'd,
But I only said, " Stop the swing."
There were four or five others in the boats besides us,
Saying, "Master, don't do such a thing."
Then four or five roughs caught hold of the ropes,
Maria fell down on her knee,
And one of them said, "The young man's turning red,
But isn't he having a spree."-Chorus.

They soon stopped the swing, and Maria got out,
And quickly fell down on the floor;
They brought her some water, which soon brought her to-
This girl whom I now do adore.
Should you ever go there, to the great Fancy Fair,
Friends, take advice whilst I sing
Of the great roundabout, it's the best fun that's out,
And finish rhe day with a swing.

Spoken - Mark, now, before you go into the swing boat make
a bargain with your young lady not to call out-Chorus.


I should be able to find more soon. Here's the cover of the sheet music: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1246703/oh-fred-tell-them-to-print-concanen-alfred/

Subject: Lyr Req: That was the cry of Mariah
From: GUEST,Miles R - email to Joe Offer
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 12:46 PM

Dear Joe (no relation - see below!)
I found your site when searching for the origin of a family song which my mother used to sing regularly at appropriate moments during my childhood in the 50s and later, which I would like to pass on to my children. The lyrics are as follows:

"Oh Joe!         Tell them to stop!"
That was the cry of Mariah.
(But) The more she said whoa, he told them to go,
And the boat went a little a bit higher.

It provides a vivid picture of a damsel in distress, conjuring up all sorts of fates that await the poor Mariah, which appealed to all our family, but particularly to my mother. The tune had the 1-2-3 tempo of the waltz.

I should be most grateful if you could shed any light on it, and/or point me to where I might pursue my research.

Many thanks, and Happy Christmas.
Miles R