Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down

Subject: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: and e
Date: 12 Feb 25 - 09:34 AM

HERE'S TO THE GOOD OLD BEER.

Here's to the good old beer---
Mop it down, mop it down.
Here's to the good old beer---
Mop it down.
Here's to the good old beer,
Thant never leaves you queer,
Here's to the good old beer,
Mop it down.

Here's to the good old whisky,
Mop it down, mop it down.
Here's to the good old whisky,
Mop it down,
Here's to the good old whisky,
That makes you feel so frisky,
Here's to the good old whisky,
Mop it down.

1933. With the Diggers 1914-1918. A rare mimeographed bound book
commemorating Australian WWI soldiers, with a selection of songs (bowderlized).

This song seems the progenitor of "The Quartermaster's Corps" which uses some
of the same rhymes... but is bawdier.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 25 - 01:50 PM

The Book of Popular Songs (1860):


HERE’S SUCCESS TO TODDY.

A POPULAR CONVIVIAL SONG.

Here’s success to Toddy,
Drink it down, drink it down,
Here’s success to Toddy,
Drink it down, drink it down,
Oh, here’s success to Toddy,
For it cheers both soul and body.
Then here’s success to Toddy,
Drink it down, drink it down.

Here’s success to Wine,
Drink it down, drink it down,
Here’s success to Wine,
Drink it down, drink it down,
Oh, here’s success to Wine,
For it makes you feel so fine,
Then here’s success to Wine,
Drink it down, drink it down.

[Similarly:]
...Sherry,
For it makes the heart so merry....

...Whiskey,
For it makes you feel so frisky....

...Punch,
With some good friends in a bunch....

...Gin,
For it makes the heart to grin....

...Brandy,
For it makes you feel so handy....

...Port,
But let it be of the right sort....

...Beer,
The thirsty soul to cheer....

...Ale,
That will make you strong and hale....

...Porter,
Of strength a true supporter....

...Lager,
For it does not make you stagger.....

...Cider,
For it makes the mirth flow wider....

... Water,
On the earth’s remotest quarter....

...Water,
That brings no care or slaughter....

...Water,

’Tis the noblest drink in nature....


The Universal Songster (1864):

DRINK IT DOWN.

A popular Camp Song.

Here's success to Port,
Chorus — Drink it down, drink it down,
Here's success to Port,
Chorus. — Drink it down.
Here's success to Port,
For it warms the heart for sport,
Drink it down, drink it down, drink it down.

Here's success to Sherry,
Drink it down, drink it down,
Here's success to Sherry,
Drink it down.
Here's success to Sherry,
For it makes the heart beat merry,
Drink it down, drink it down, drink it down.

[Similarly:]
... Whiskey,
For it makes the spirits frisky....


...Cider,
For it makes the frame grow wider....

...Brandy,
Just enough to make us handy....

...Ale,
When it's made us strong and hale....

...Punch,
With a little social lunch ...

...Porter,
While we use it as we "oughter,"....

... Water,
Heaven's draught that does no slaughter....


Selecting and ad-libbing must have been common: some of these rhymes are too lame to sing.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 12 Feb 25 - 02:42 PM

This is Roud #17004. and Roud has more than a dozen citations (though I wonder about one or two of them). Silber's Songs of the Civil War would date it to the Campfire Songster of 1862. McNeil's Southern Mountain Folklore would push it back all the way to 1853. McNeil also claimed that one Julien Carle wrote it. I have no proof of that either way. It does seem to date back at least to the American Civil War, though, and to have been quite popular in the First World War.

Obviously it can be as bawdy or clean as you like.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: and e
Date: 12 Feb 25 - 03:03 PM

....The German compositors, of whom there were a
goodly number, sang their songs and glees in
good style, while the Yankee lads, not to be out-
done in this respect, sang, among other merry
strains, an original glee, the chorus of which will
be duly appreciated by all members of "The Art
Preservative."

"Here's success to King & Baird, drink it down, drink it down,
Where the "fat" and the "lean's" well shared, drink it down, &c, &c."

Legal Intelligencer. Friday, July 27, 1855.


See here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Legal_Intelligencer/mcqDXqjqalwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22drink+it+down+drink+it+down%22&pg=PA190&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Nick Dow
Date: 12 Feb 25 - 03:21 PM

I collected a version in Dorchester Dorset in the 1980's The same singer had songs like the Two Brothers, Grace Darling, In good King Arthurs day and others. mainly in fragmentary form.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: and e
Date: 12 Feb 25 - 04:14 PM

My Dad, now over 90, used to sing:

Here's to the good old whisky, drink it down, down, down, (x2)
Here's to the good old whisky,
That makes you so frisky,
Here's to the good old whisky, drink it down.

Chorus:

Drink it down, drink it down,
By the light of the silvery moo-oo-oo-oon,
Happy shall I be with the bottle on my knee,
And the shadow of the glasses on the wall.

And many other verses about other alcoholic beverages, even though my Dad was not really a big drinker!

Posted to mudcat by Tattie Bogle on Feb 5, 2008 to the What did your Dad used to sing? thread.


See here: https://mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=2254635

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: r.padgett
Date: 13 Feb 25 - 02:33 AM

Certainly used to sing this one:
Here's to good old whiskey Mop it down Mop it down,
here's to good old whiskey, Mop iy down mop it down.
Here's to good old whiskey mop it down
Here's to good old whiskey the drink that makes you frisky ~~etc

Lot of scope for rhyming lines

Ray

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: GUEST,Rossey
Date: 13 Feb 25 - 03:18 AM

Before anyone jumps in and misappropriates or associates a song my father wrote, it has nothing to do with this similarly titled but entirely different song.   My father Stewart Ross wrote an original song called Here's to Scottish Whisky in 1974. He wrote both the words and the music, and went for a line about Whisky making you frisky. This already has its own thread and lyric on Mudcat.

He wrote it for a BBC Documentary TV programme ceilidh scene, but they didn't want it.   They wanted a sing a long song that people knew, so he and a few others can be seen singing Andy Stewart's Campbelltown Loch.   The programme was called a dram for all seasons. Started in 1974, completed in 1975, and not broadcast until January 1st 1976 (so weirdly they put 1976 on it!)

The song went on to many compilations of Scottish tartan music. Back to the other song...

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: GUEST,Rossey
Date: 13 Feb 25 - 03:54 AM

Looking at this song older some lead with the title Here's To Good Old Beer drink it down, some have it as Here's To Good Old Whiskey..   all variants are that kind of listing song.. that can be varied to suit. I see it gets mentions in British newspapers of the early 1900's, and was already well known then as a rollicking type of song.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: GUEST,Rossey
Date: 13 Feb 25 - 03:55 AM

Excuse the typos.. I wish Mudcat had a correction/edit button!

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 14 Feb 25 - 01:12 PM

Following on from Bob's reference to McNeil and the 1853 date, McNeil goes into more detail in Southern Mountain Folksongs at p.154.
'This lively drinking lyric is a variant of the song Arthur Loesser includes in his 'Humor in American Song, pp.304-5. As Loesser indicates, the song is known both as 'Bingo' and 'Here's to good old Yale, drink it down, drink it down,' with the latter being the earlier title. This song dates from 1853 and probably was written by Julien Carle, about whom nothing else is known, but the lyrics usually heard today date from an 1861 arrangement by H. T.Bryant. Today the refrain of 'Balm of Gilead' is used commonly for the song, but Bryant featured a tune strongly reminiscent of 'The Old Grey Mare'. Neither of those melodies is used in the version here (Drink 'er down')----it could mean that the song was in existence prior to the 1853 Yale song.'

There may be further info in Loesser and an investigation of Yale songs of that period might throw up more info.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Lighter
Date: 14 Feb 25 - 02:13 PM

I find no Internet references to either Julien Carle or to an 1853 reference to "Here's to Good Old Yale."

The earliest mention, of the title alone, is in an 1866 issue of (ironically) "The Harvard Advocate." The words and tune appear in "Carmina Yalensia" (1867).

In any case, it seems to me more likely that the Yale song came from the drinking song, rather than the other way around, particularly since the Yale song has "balm of gilead" and "bingo" elaborations.

Around 1860 there were far more tipplers than there were Yale students.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 14 Feb 25 - 03:18 PM

Lighter wrote: The earliest mention, of the title alone, is in an 1866 issue of (ironically) "The Harvard Advocate." The words and tune appear in "Carmina Yalensia" (1867).

We can beat that for earliest date on the Internet. The Campfire Songster cited by Silber is available here:

https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt:31735061819136

"Drink It Down" is on page 61. That version reads "Here's success to Port, drink it down.... Here's success to Port, For it warms the heart for sport...."

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Lighter
Date: 14 Feb 25 - 03:48 PM

Robert, my post of Feb. 12 presents both an 1860 and an 1864 text of the drinking song.

Neither refers to Yale University.

BTW, the description of Yale in the college song - "so hearty and so hale" - is rather close to the characterization of ale in the earlier texts. The Yale song has only one "drink it down" stanza.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here's to Good Old Beer, Drink It Down
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 14 Feb 25 - 04:15 PM

Robert, my post of Feb. 12 presents both an 1860 and an 1864 text of the drinking song.

Sorry. I interpreted what you were saying to be a reference to internet use of the title. I made no claim that this was the earliest date; just that it was an internet source earlier than the ones you were citing.