Origins: Sung by my Grandfather

Subject: Origins: Sung by my Grandfather
From: GUEST,Nina Adams
Date: 06 Jul 26 - 01:50 PM

My Grandfather was born in 1896 in the East End of London. He always used to sing this song (of which I remember most of the words) but I can find no trace of it. Can anyone help?

About a week or two ago, by accident you know,
I tore me Sunday trousers up behind,
I took ´em to me wife, the treasure of me life,
And spoke to her so gently(?) and kind,
I said “I, I want my trousers patched with something that´ll stand a bit of wear,
It mustn´t be dark, it mustn´t be fair, or I shall be inclined to give a swear.”,
She obeyed me, there´s no doubt, but the next time I went out,
All the dogs went “bow, wow, wow” and around about the place they smelt,
And the children in the street cried “meat, meat, meat”, and very, very queer I felt,


The must be a few lines here but I have no recollection of them. Then the final line goes:

That the old girl patched my Sunday pantaloons with a quarter of a yard of tripe!

Subject: RE: Origins: Sung by my Grandfather
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 06 Jul 26 - 02:16 PM

It's pretty clearly a music hall song. I can't say I recognize it, but you might try the Folk Song and Music Hall site and see if any of the titles sound familiar.

Good luck!

Subject: RE: Origins: Sung by my Grandfather
From: Helen
Date: 06 Jul 26 - 06:05 PM

Is this the site?

Folk Song and Music Hall

Subject: RE: Origins: Sung by my Grandfather
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 06 Jul 26 - 06:19 PM

Helen asked: Is this the site?

Yes, that's the one. There is no first line index, sadly, but it's an excellent source for music hall songs. John Baxter, the proprietor, might even see your post here.