Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed

Subject: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: GUEST,Compton
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 10:59 AM

Thanks to all who helped with "I don't know who you are sir etc"..Mudcat is very impressive.
Here we go again. Many years ago, A London singer named John Foreman sand (again) an old Music Hall song called "Marri-i-ed to a merm-i-ed at the bottom of the deep blue sea"...or at least, that was the last line of the chorus. The beginning line was "Twas in the mid Atlantic, mid an equinoxial gale, a younf fellow fell overboard, beneath the sharks and whales" etc.
Answers please if you can....and whatever happened to John Foreman?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:03 AM

Found the song in the DT--Married to A Mermaid. Don't know about John.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:07 AM

Found this.... Don't know how much help it is.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Freso
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:10 AM

I get a 404 on yours, Sorcha, use this instead :)
And I don't know about John either...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: MMario
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:11 AM

Version in DT
There is also a version out at the comntemplator site.

I have seen elsewhere (though I cannot locate it at this time) a version without the "Rule Crittania" chorus.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:28 AM

Oops, thanks guys. Not awake enough, I guess.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:39 AM

I sing sing a fairly similiar version to the one in the DT (minus one of the verses).

If I remember, John Foreman's version has yet another verse or two. I've known John for years and got his phone number so I might have a word with him - If anyone wants to contact him (he lives in the London Borough of Camden) PM me and I'll put you in touch.

A version of the lyrics are to be found in "The Penguin Book of Comic Verse".

BTW Crompton - why not become a Mudcat member, it's free and means that people can PM (send personal messages to you).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: masato sakurai
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:48 AM

A 3-stanza version is in Stan Hugill's Songs of the Sea (McGraw-Hill, 1977, p. 184; with music).
~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 04:36 PM

For those who are interested, John Foreman describes himself as "The Broadside King" and loves to sing the old broadsides and music hall ditties. I was lucky to hearm him sing one night during the monthly sing at the Cecil Sharp House in London a few years ago. I hope he's still well.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MERMAID
From: masato sakurai
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 12:55 AM

The song, titled "The Mermaid" and sung by Sarah Walker and Thomas Allen, is on The Sea (Hyperion CDA66165; track 12; with sound clip).

There's another set of lyrics in The Scottish Students' Songbook (Bayley & Ferguson, 1897 edition, pp. 120-121; with tune).

            THE MERMAID
    (Words by A.J.C.; Arr. by Michael Watson)

               1.
Oh, 'twas in the broad Atlantic,
'Mid the equinoctial gales,
That a young fellow fell overboard
Among the sharks and whales.
And down he went like a streak of light,
So quickly down went he,
Until he came to a mermaid
At the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Chorus: Singing, Rule Britannia, Britannia, rule the waves!
And Britons never, never, never shall be married to a mermaid
At the bottom of the deep blue sea.

               2.
She raised herself on her beautiful tail,
And gave him her soft, wet hand,
"I've long been waiting for you, my dear,
Now welcome safe to land.
Go back to your messmates for the last time,
And tell them all from me,
That you're mar-ri-ed to a mer-ma-id
At the bottom of the deep blue sea."
Chorus: Singing, Rule, Britannia, etc.

               3.
We sent a boat to look for him,
Expecting to find his corpse,
When up he came with a bang and a shout,
And a voice sepulchrally hoarse.
My comrades and my messmates,
Oh do not look for me,
For I'm mar-ri-ed to a mer-ma-id
At the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Chorus: Singing, Rule, Britannia, etc.

               4.
In my chest you'll find my half-year's wage,
Likewise a lock of hair,
This locket from my neck you'll take,
And bear to my young wife dear.
My carte-de-visite to my grandmother take,
Tell her not to weep for me,
For I'm mar-ri-ed to a mer-ma-id
At the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Chorus: Singing, Rule, Britannia, etc.

               5.
The anchor was weighed, and the sails unfurled,
And the ship was sailing free,
When up we went to our cap-i-taine,
And our tale we told to he.
The captain went to the old ship's side,
And out loud bellowed he,
"Be as happy as you can, with your wife, my man,
At the bottom of the deep blue sea."
Chorus: Singing, Rule, Britannia, etc.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: masato sakurai
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 01:47 AM

Sorry again, MERMAID is already in the DT.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 06:04 AM

Hi Charley,

John was fine when I spoke to him a couple of months ago. He sometimes gets to Sharp's folk Club at CSH on a Tuesday night. He insists that he has retired from singing now though, and no-one seems to be able to budge him on that decision. It's a great pity, because he has some wonderful bits of patter with his songs.

I can remember some of his spiel for "The little shirt me muvver made for me". He'd explain that it was made "wiv a crotchet 'ook - wot was like an embrionic 'arpoon" and then launch ito the first line of the song.

I remember well the day that I was born
- Oh yes I do - it came as a great shock to me - and to quite a few of the fellows wot knew me mum.
One minute I was tucked up all nice and warm an' comfy
then the next thing, I'm bunged out into the cold world wiv the midwife smacking me bum, an I still don't know wot I'd done wrong.
It was also a big disappointment for me - I'd been ambitious - wanted to be twins, so when I was born I counted meself. When I kept getting the answer of only one, I cried for forty days and forty nights, an' coz I was cross-eyed all the tears ran down me back an' I got backteria.
Then he'd carry on with the second line of the first verse.

As I said in my previous posting, if anyone wants to contact John, PM me and I'll let you have his phone number.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 08:43 AM

Dave-

Raise a glass to John for me the next time you see him, if you would. I was querying him that evening about the origins of "Pity the Downtrodden Landlord". a continuing mystery but which only dates from about 1940 (see Mudcat thread for commentary).

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Jeanie
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 08:50 AM

Sorry to hear that John isn't singing any more, Dave. He used to be a regular in the clubs around Essex and always so wonderfully *entertaining* ! The website that Sorcha found lists a recording - so if anyone missed John and these great songs, you can hear them.

- jeanie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Leadfingers
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 02:08 PM

I learned this one at school ( Yes they DID have schools back then )
It was ,I think number seventy one in the Oxford Book of Songs,along
with classics like A Right Little Tight Little Island. Ah Memories.They called it Twas in the Broad Atlantic.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: GUEST,Compton
Date: 08 Jan 03 - 06:29 PM

What a wonderous lot you all are!!
Thanks for info. I did register but not convinced it worked. Must try again..Good to hear that Mr Foreman hasn't gone to the bottom of the deep blue sea.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 06:23 PM

Schoolboy Chorus

Rule Britannia marmalade and jam
5 Chinese crackers up your arsehole
Bang, bang bang bang bang

:>}

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 06:28 PM

Just a thought
Sanitised version , substitute "earhole" for "a...."
Mindblowing stuff ????

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: breezy
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 01:14 PM

The 1st verse starts
Its of a nice young farmers son kept sheep on Salisbury plain
He fell in love with a knights daughter and she loved him the same
This Knight was so ditressed that they should sweethearts be
That he had the young man pres-sed and shipped acroos the sea
singing
Rule brit
and when you get to the word 'waves' sustain it, while the audience performs a wave 'mexican'- crowd style. it works but get them to practice it first.
I have only sang 4 verses and thats been long enough. mine, 1, 3 and 5
Have fun.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Schantieman
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 01:16 PM

Sounds like a keith Donnelly act!

Steve

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: Bendigo
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 11:06 PM

Coming in on the end of this thread......
    Compton,do you have a good tune to go with Marr-i-ed etc ? Reading the data base you get the impression that Dr.Arne wrote the tune to the music hall version(if that,s what it is)
    I sing a version of this song with my Morris dancing mates here in Toronto. It's a real barn-stormer of a song......its always great to find a song that rattles the windows.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: breezy
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 11:16 AM

Keith Donnelly pinched my act!
Thanks Shintyman, Ive got others with actions too, and if you dont join in you'll get singled out as well.
I've got K D booked for May 16th in St Albans.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Marri-i-ed to a Merm-i-ed
From: GUEST,guest gripper
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 03:36 PM

Subject dates to 1866 was sung by Arthur Lloyd. I have a copy of original sheet music if further info required.