Subject: Major General Worthington From: pavane Date: 26 Apr 02 - 06:31 PM I mentioned this in the typo's thread, but thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone can find it. I didn't bring it up on a search. I have only ever heard it at a concert by Barry Dransfield about 1972/3 (Actually, they had booked the Dransfields, but only Barry arrived) |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: pavane Date: 26 Apr 02 - 06:34 PM The chorus of the song I mean goes
I'm Major General Worthington, Worthington, Worthington, Maybe a music hall song
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Sorcha Date: 27 Apr 02 - 10:14 AM I didn't find a thing, pavane. Well, not so. Looks like there is some museum in Ontario........ |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: pavane Date: 28 Apr 02 - 08:31 AM A few more words have just surfaced, part of the first verse. From memory, so not guaranteed accurate.
The commander of the 51st Brigade,
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: allanwill Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:47 PM pavane This song was just one of the excellent tracks on the brilliantly excellent Barry Dransfield solo album that I USED to have and which someone so kindly pointed out to me in a previous discussion is now worth a couple of hundred British quid. GRRRR! I now have to make it my life's ambition to find the lyrics to this and other tracks off the album such as Girl of Dances and Be My Friend just to remind me of what I had. Allan |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: allanwill Date: 29 Apr 02 - 10:10 AM One thing that has resurfaced from the memory bank is that, on the record, he sang "When I came home from Bloemfontein, in the month of May ...." Allan |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,Pavane (at work) Date: 30 Apr 02 - 02:20 AM AHA - he is not consistent! I have now dug out the cassette and will listen to it ASAP, but it was recorded at the back of a hall, on an old portable, about 1973. I didn't know he had recorded it, but I shouldn't have been surprised. There were also these lines somewhere
Red nose through inability to masticate his food Then chorus. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Les from Hull Date: 30 Apr 02 - 10:55 AM I'll try and dig out the LP (which I still own, ha ha) and get the stuff you want off it. I've always fancied learning Girl of Dances, so that might be a motivator. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,Pavane (at work) Date: 01 May 02 - 02:19 AM Thanks Les. I have listened to my tape now,and realise that he forgot some words of the second verse, then repeated the second half of the first verse! And Allan, Bloemfontein does get a mention, but in a verse, not the chorus. It is about a charge in the canteen, which turned out to be 1/9 a bottle for Worthington.
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: allanwill Date: 02 May 02 - 01:50 PM Les I hope you can get stuffed, I mean, get the stuff I'm particularly looking for. Don't you dare sell that record! Pavane We'll have to make sure he follows through on this. Allan |
Subject: Lyr Add: GENERAL WORTHINGTON (Barry Dransfield) From: Les from Hull Date: 02 May 02 - 06:12 PM I've played this record so many times it now sounds like 'Barry Dransfield Fries Bacon For You'. What a shame that these tracks are not available any more. The record in question is Polydor 2383 160 Super. This is what I hear, anyhow.
GENERAL WORTHINGTON |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,Pavane Date: 03 May 02 - 02:18 AM Thanks Les,and yes, he DID mess up one verse in the live recording I have. I think the line in the chorus should be written I have not ONE,I have not ONE in contrast to WON in the previous line but of course, you wouldn't hear the difference!
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Les from Hull Date: 03 May 02 - 10:16 AM Well Barrie allus claimed to come from Leeds (Harrogate was considered 'posh'), and in Leeds there's no difference in the pronunciation at all, so take your choice. Of course, in 'ull we talk proper. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,pavane Date: 07 Jan 04 - 07:48 AM We never did find out where the song came from, though. Anyone know? |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: The Borchester Echo Date: 07 Jan 04 - 08:25 AM I seem to recall Barry saying that 'General Worthington' was used in the music halls as an ad for the beer. 'Barry Dransfield' was re-released on CD about a year ago. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Billy Weeks Date: 07 Jan 04 - 04:22 PM 'Major General Wortthington is a music hall song. It was sung by J W Rickaby (who also sang 'The Galloping Major'), written by his brother Ted Waiteand published by Lawrence Wright in 1916. First place to look for this,kind of information (i.e when you think a song is of music hall origin) is Michael Kilgarriff's 'Sing Us One of the Old Songs' 1998. MG also has a web site. Try Google. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,pavane Date: 08 Jan 04 - 08:24 AM Thanks Billy_Weeks. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Bonnie Shaljean Date: 08 Jan 04 - 09:06 PM The CD that Countess Richard refers to is "Barry Dransfield" on Spinney Records No Y003CD and the contact advertised on the back cover is 7 Sandra Court, Spencer Road, Chiswick, London W4 3SU (at least as of 2002), run by (I think) Paul Lambden. It really is a brilliant album, criminally under-promoted at the time of release because Polydor had decided folk was finished. And now of course the masters have been lost. Re Worthington, liner note sez: "General Worthington is a song learned from Barry's father and was an old music hall advert. In the days before electronic recording was widely available, adverts were performed live in the theatre and this song dates from that time." |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Billy Weeks Date: 09 Jan 04 - 10:54 AM George Leybourne is believed to have been kept in champagne by Moet @ Co while he was singing 'Champagne Charlie' and, for all I know, Rickaby may have been sent the odd complimentary crate of Worthington to encourage him to keep the song in his repertoire, but the idea that overt advertising (other than on bar mirrors and safety curtains) was common or even permitted by music hall proprietors is, I am afraid pure myth. Some authors of liner notes (like journalists and preachers) are apt to fill the gaps in their knowledge with little snippets of entertaining non-fact. The 'live advert' story was one of them. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Billy Weeks Date: 11 Jan 04 - 03:47 PM Silly mistake in my reply of 7 January. J W Rickaby was, indeed, the original singer of 'Worthington', but 'GallopingMajor' was sung by George Bastow. Sorry. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: Bonnie Shaljean Date: 12 Jan 04 - 10:54 AM Since we're in mistakes-correcting mode, the catalogue number I quoted above should read 003CD, not "Y00". The Y is actually part of "Spinney" and I just sort of... well... you know... |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,harvey Date: 05 Apr 07 - 12:03 PM My grandad wrote Major General Worthington, hundreds of others including "Don Alfonso" recorded by Mike "tubular bells" Oldfield and released as a single following his huge international hit. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST,old git Date: 05 Apr 07 - 06:08 PM Jim Eldon used to sing a veraion of this don't know if he still does |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Major General Worthington From: GUEST Date: 06 Apr 07 - 05:09 PM |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Major General Worthington From: GUEST, - Luke Day, Luke Day. To GUEST old git. Date: 23 Oct 11 - 07:40 AM I know Jim Eldon through his son Dan Eldon. They all come from Hull, upnorth where its grim. Barry Dransfield sings with unbeatable tone and diction but you can hear that accent in many other musicians including Jim Eldon and son Dan. Even the Watersons. Lovely lovely english music for people who have constant bad weather. We were up long before the Day. I have been to Barry's house in Hastings and he is the same person outside of music as inside. I'll never forget the few things he said to me, I was about 17/18... "Your voice will improve" Barry Dransfield to Luke Day ...and it did (I'm a pro musician now) "I sometimes practice holding the whole frog with my thumb underneath" Barry Dransfield to Luke Day (This one can be understood by Fiddle players, I am one) "On some of the recordings I've tuned down a whole tone to get that Viola sound" He also told me tales of interest like the one about the grubby engineer who came to Barry's door dressed in overalls. He gave barry the shock of his life when he began to play fiddle. Look up Garry Blakley or just Listen to Blakley's Reel (by Barry). And the tale of "Cat and the Fiddle" where-in Barry is writing new music and practicing fiddle and his cat slept in the fiddle case providing the inspiration for the lovely tune which is in my personal repertoire as a Dransfield Cover... although I try to do him justice by making out he's a legendary fiddle player from hundreds of years ago. -(We were talking about churches and organised religion. I was relieved to find he has the same view as me. God is just a bullshit word designed to make you do as you're told. I wanted to re-join the gospel band when I was about 15 but was re-nounced due to my "Spiritual Maturity" in other words "logical brain") Needless to say my life has improved I live in an old farm house on a hill with chickens and a cat(one that goes outside at night and can climb trees and catch mice you know a proper cat) with my beautiful girlfriend Catherine and our Roadie Don. WE are a duo and we're totally in love and we do gigs and have fun and life could not be better, YET the others are still going to church and they can't work out why their lives are so unfulfilling. MY ADVICE - God has no control over your thoughts only YOU DO. Please,Choose life outside of the Box/Church. If you must pray then do it in private and it will work better. I always used to get told off at dinner for saying: "May the lord realise that I am already thankful for mum's cooking, that he cannot make Me thankful for I am a Human and I have the ablility to choose") This was his church quote: "Burn the churches; burn them all to the ground" Barry Dransfield to Luke Day |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Major General Worthington From: Jim Dixon Date: 27 Oct 11 - 11:50 AM Copies of the sheet music are held by the British Library, Oxford University, and The National Library of Australia. Images are not viewable online, but their catalogues show this information: MAJOR GENERAL WORTHINGTON. [Song.] Words and music by Ted Waite London: Ted Waite, [1916] or London: The Lawrence Wright Music Co., ©1916 or Melbourne: E.W. Cole, ©1916. |
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