ADD: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church turned up
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Sep 11 - 07:13 PM

My old man JVK loved this but always sang


Mary Ellen as the bride turned up
Her Ma turned up and her Pa turned up
FAT auntie Gert and her rich Uncle Bert
And the Parson in a long white shirt turned up
But no bridegroom with the ring turned up
But a telegraph boy with his nose turned up
With a telegram that said the he didn't want to wed
And they found him in the river with his nose turned up.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church turned up
From: Billy Weeks
Date: 16 Sep 11 - 02:36 PM

'Toes turned up'. Better dead than wed.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: GUEST,Bob Moore
Date: 22 Aug 12 - 12:12 PM

Mary Allen at the church turned up,
and her pa turned up and her ma turned up.
Her big sister Gert and her rich uncle Bert,
and a tall white parson with his shirt turned up.

But no bridegroom with the ring turned up,
but a telegraph boy with a note turned up.
A note that said the Groom wouldn't wed,
'cause they'd find him in the river with his toes turned up.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: GUEST,jim
Date: 16 Aug 13 - 06:37 AM

any one know the guitar chords to mary ellen at the chuch turned up

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Aug 13 - 08:08 PM

I wonder if one of these songs was in the back of Stan Rogers mind when he picked on the name Mary Ellen Carter...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Aug 13 - 08:43 PM

GUEST,jim: I can't help with the chords, but someone more musically literate than I should be able to figure them out from the sheet music, which can be viewed at the website of the National Library of Australia: click here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: GUEST,Dave Cox
Date: 27 Jun 14 - 01:19 AM

The version my Gloucestershire Mum used to sing was "the telegram said 'You'll find me dead'; and they found him in the river" etc.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: GUEST,#
Date: 27 Jun 14 - 09:53 AM

MEATCTU can be heard at 22:10 on this YouTube presentation.

Subject: RE: ADD: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: GUEST,Danielle
Date: 18 Jun 22 - 02:38 AM

Very late to the party, but here we go. I used to sing it with my mum.

Mary Ellen at the church turned up
Her Ma turned up and her Pa turned up
Her sister Gert and their rich Uncle Bert
And the parson with his long white shirt turned up
But no bridegroom with a ring turned up
But a telegraph boy with his nose turned up
Brought a telegram that said he didn’t eant to wed
And they found him in the river with his toes turmed up.

Subject: RE: ADD: Mary Ellen at the Church Turned Up
From: Snuffy
Date: 18 Jun 22 - 06:11 AM

So many variants on a simple story line - and none of them exactly as I learned from my Mum about 1950:

Mary Ellen at the church turned up.
Her Ma turned up, and her Pa turned up.
Her sister Gert; her Uncle Bert;
The parson in his long white shirt turned up.
But no bridegroom at the church turned up:
Just a telegraph boy with his nose turned up
With a telegram to say "Can't marry you today,
And You'll find me in the river with my toes turned up".