The Genre of Funny English Songs

Subject: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: GUEST,Fretted Bloke
Date: 02 May 06 - 02:48 PM

I don't know whether that really qualifies as a musical genre. But there's so many funny English songs that it should. I guess it's because so many excellent British comedians have also been musicians, e.g: Peter Sellars, Spike Milligan, Dudley Moore, Bill Oddie, Eric Idle, Jasper Carrot.

I was wondering if you people could share some funny English song titles if you know any. Here's a few I know ......

Sister Josephine (Jake Thackeray)

Daytrip to Blackpool (Jasper Carrot)

Galaxy Song (Eric Idle)

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Cats
Date: 02 May 06 - 02:50 PM

Taking My Oyster for Walkies - Bill Oddie

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 02 May 06 - 03:51 PM

Anything by Peter Buckley-Hill!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: melodeonboy
Date: 02 May 06 - 04:04 PM

Sorry; that's me above. I forgot to sign in!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 May 06 - 06:41 PM

Then of course there is the wonderful combination of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, some hysterically funny situations and subtle wordplay.

Oddly enough, there was a programme on Radio 4 today about musical comedy and risque content, but at the moment I can't find it on Listen Again.

LTS

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Mr Fox
Date: 02 May 06 - 06:42 PM

Now the folksinger came from America
To sing at the Albert Hall,
He sang his songs of protest
And fairer shares for all.
He sang how the poor were much too poor
And the rich too rich by far,
Then he drove back to his penthouse
In his brand new Rolls Royce car.

'What a World' - Benny Hill

I'd also nominate 'Bantam Cock' - Jake Thackeray and 'Brother Gorilla' Georges Brassens, translated by Jake Thackeray.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Mr Fox
Date: 02 May 06 - 06:43 PM

'Brother Gorilla' Georges Brassens, translated by Jake Thackeray.

Which is a FRENCH funny song. oops!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Charmain
Date: 02 May 06 - 07:41 PM

For a more "Trad" angle to this

Rawtenstall Annual Fair
Billy Winker
Signora
John Willie's Horse - and John Willie's Ferret
Johnny Bugger ('scuse language)

- actually most things by the Oldham Tinkers et al...
- Eeee them Lancashire Lads and Lasses must 'ave spent 'alf their lives in stitches

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: EBarnacle
Date: 02 May 06 - 07:42 PM

We parted on the shore by that wonderful WWI era Scotsman, Maledictu, of all times to forget his name.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Charmain
Date: 02 May 06 - 07:43 PM

Ooooh - and Lilly the Pink
by...erm...Roger McGough and whatever the band was that he was in - don't know - My Dad used to play it all the time when I was a kid!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: EBarnacle
Date: 02 May 06 - 07:43 PM

Oh, Yeah, Sir Harry Lauder!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 02 May 06 - 08:18 PM

"Funny" is an interesting English word when used to refer to humour, as there as so many types - from very subtle, often even cynical and sarcastic, to 'low comedy' (refers to bodily functions!) and all between. There is even 'black comedy' - not racial at all, but the sort of humour where one is not sure whether to throw up or laugh, or do both at the same time! And then there are the 'nonsense songs' - consider Spike Milligan: eg "The Ying Tong Song".

Often though, the more serious the performance (and the performer's attitude), the funnier the result. A lot results from the actual performance, and not just the content.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: alison
Date: 02 May 06 - 09:06 PM

Charmain - the band was Scaffold

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Bert
Date: 02 May 06 - 10:22 PM

Just a few for starters

Tom Pierce
Lampton Worm
Ilkley Moor
Thrashing Machine
British Workmans Grave
Old Sow Song
Country Vicar
Cuckoo's Nest
Chandler's Wife
Ballad of Bethnal Green

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Muttley
Date: 02 May 06 - 11:03 PM

Tommy Steele: What a Mouth
Lonnie Donegan: My Old Man's A Dustman
??????????????: My Boomerang Won't Come Back (Gone blank on his name - but he had apart in that immortal short film "The Plank"

Pretty much anything by Monty Python

or The Goodies and though I didn't always like him - Benny Hill I always felt his humour was just a bit TOO crude in comparison to other British humourists but his songs were usually hilarious.

Let's not forget the stuff done by
Morecambe and Wise or The Two Ronnies

'Nuff Said

Eckyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy THUMP !!!!!!!!!!

Muttley

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 03 May 06 - 01:30 AM

Charlie Drake?

Seamus

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Sooz
Date: 03 May 06 - 02:51 AM

Can't believe that Leas Barker hasn't had a mention yet.
Or His Worship and the Pig.
Or Bernard Wrigley.
Or Richard Digance.
Or Mike Harding.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Bugsy
Date: 03 May 06 - 03:03 AM

Or Miles Whootton, or Derek Brimstone, Or Fred Wedlock, .........


Cheers


Bugsy

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 03 May 06 - 03:07 AM

My Daddy is left wing intellectual - Alex Glasgow
Political Economy - Randy Newman (well its in English!)
Me little stick of Blackpool Rock,
Aunty Maggie's remedy - George Formby

favourite verse
Now in a young lady's bedroom
I went by mistake
My intentions were honest you see
She shouted with laughter, I know what YOU'RE after
Its me Aunty Maggie's remedy!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Artful Codger
Date: 03 May 06 - 03:17 AM

Anna Russell?

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Scrump
Date: 03 May 06 - 05:27 AM

Don't forget the great Adge Cutler: Twice Daily, Thee's Got'n Where Thee Cassn't Back'n Hassn't?, Champion Dung Spreader, Shepton Mallet Matador, etc.

And Clinton Ford: My Baby's Wild About My Old Trombone, He Played His Ukulele As The Ship Went Down, Old Bazaar In Cairo, etc.

Fivepenny Piece: Big Jim, Ee By Gum, I'm Powfagged, etc.

Bernard Wrigley: Black Pud Stud, Buggerlugs Loves Sugar Butty, The Concrete Mixer, etc.

And just about anything by George Formby!

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Stu
Date: 03 May 06 - 05:45 AM

What about Stanley Holloway?

Sam, Sam, pick up thee musket . . .

Or Ivor Cutler? Rambling Syd Rumpo?

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Stu
Date: 03 May 06 - 05:46 AM

OK Ivor Cutler was Scottish :)

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 May 06 - 06:21 AM

The Hartlepool Monkey
In the boarding house where I live
Passengers are requested
The frog and the Vicar


Most of Don (WYZIWIG) Thompson's repertoire

Spencer the Peugeot
Das Wild Dachshund (both Doug Hudson)

The LLanfairllan(whatever)gogoch song heard at Miskin this year

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Flash Company
Date: 03 May 06 - 07:43 AM

One which I used to do in my singing days was 'The Ballad of the Outboard-motor Man'. It was written, as I recall , by a guy called Graham Penny from the Southampton area.
It takes the style of a broadside ballad, and included such gems as:-
'The hull was clinker moulded in stout English fibre-glass'.
It was probably the most frequently requested song I did.

FC

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: GUEST,Bruce Baillie
Date: 03 May 06 - 11:18 AM

...and what about 'The Ballad of the Assistant Banana Ripening Manager', 'Haemorroids? I've got piles of 'em', 'The Websters Beer Song', 'I Sorta Wish','Mianus',and others by that chap from Cleckheaton, whatsisname? Bruce something or other?

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Big Jim from Jackson
Date: 03 May 06 - 11:21 AM

Much of Adge Cutler's and the Wurzels (already mentioned), Fivepenny Piece (already mentioned) stuff, and how about "Dead Dog Scrumpy" by Trevor Crozier? And several of Shag Connors and the Carrot Crunchers' songs are very funny.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Hopfolk
Date: 03 May 06 - 12:53 PM

There is a genre that has much humour in it - the bawdy.
Such songs as "Fair maid of Islington", "Nine times a night", "Hole in the Elephant's bottom", "Firelock Style" etc etc.

Good stuff, although sometimes a singaround can get hijacked by silly filk or humourous songs to the exclusion of variety.

CamoJohn

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Mr Fox
Date: 03 May 06 - 03:46 PM

The Kipper Family - I forgot The Kipper Family.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 04 May 06 - 05:13 PM

How 'bout Right Said Fred? (can't believe it hasn't been mentioned yet!)
Some of Cyril Tawney's stuff is funny: Five foot Flirt comes to mind, and On a Monday Morning has at least a couple of very funny lines...
As for trad songs -- there's I Wish They'd Do it Now, Mary Ann (is after me...), Bonny Black Hare, and then there are all the song(s) about the mole catcher/piano tuner/clock repairman and the policeman/banker/whoever's wife -- to name just a few...

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 04 May 06 - 05:46 PM

"Most of Don (WYZIWIG) Thompson's repertoire".

Thank you most sincerely R.B.

My favourite "I wish I'd written that" is "The Vicar and the Choirboy" that you sing sometimes. Whose is that?

Don T.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 May 06 - 05:48 PM

'The Ballad of the Outboard-motor Man'
'The Ballad of the Assistant Banana Ripening Manager'

have these been posted in mudcat yet? if not, when.. :-)

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 04 May 06 - 05:56 PM

Alas I don't know - I heard Martin Harris sing it back in the 60s/70s and after a lot of thinking it sort of came floating back to me which may be why I have heard others sing a different tune to it....

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: GUEST,Lanfranc the Cookieless
Date: 04 May 06 - 06:42 PM

Anything by Paddy Roberts (who was South African, but UK Resident) - for example "The Ballad of Bethnal Green" (already mentioned), "The Belle of Barking Creek", "Follow Me", "The Englishman and his Sang Froid", "Tattooed Lady", "The Pie-eyed Piper" etc etc

Keith Marsden's "Wedding Song" and others, no doubt

The "Gladiator Song" that Micca performs at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of dropping hats, "A Song of Patriotic Prejudice" by Flanders & Swann

Numerous parodies written and performed by Derek Craft of "1812" way back when.

All the songs that Miles Wootton wrote and everyone thinks were written by Fred Wedlock.

etc etc

Alan

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 May 06 - 07:05 PM

Lanfranc the Cookieless

are you trying to tell me that anything out of Wedlock is good?

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Bill D
Date: 04 May 06 - 10:54 PM

I just recently discovered Alan Smethurst (The singing postman).."Hev You Gotta Light Bor" , "Oi Can't Git a Nice Loafa Bread", "The Cricket Match" and others.....quite a phenomenon,,

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Splott Man
Date: 05 May 06 - 03:06 AM

"The LLanfairllan(whatever)gogoch song heard at Miskin this year"

There are 2. If the singer was Snuffy, then it's the Les Barker one. If it was Pat Spoons, then it's Dewi Davies's Mystery Tour by Jack (The Bard) Sully, who has written many a fine funny song (and he's Welsh). Both hilarious.

Splott Man

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Fidjit
Date: 05 May 06 - 01:52 PM

The ones I put on seem to be missing. Praps Joe is having problems again
Bernard Cribbins

The Hole In The Ground
Right Said Fred (Which was here before)
Winckle Picker's Shoes Blues
Folk Song
Ringing The Engine Bell
One Man Band
Verily
Gossip Calypso
Sea Shanty
"B" Side Blues
(I Don't Like Your) Country Music

Oh and Any Benny Hill too!
Chas

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 05 May 06 - 01:58 PM

It was the one about having to spell it out so the kids would not know where they were going.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Lanfranc
Date: 05 May 06 - 02:02 PM

Now I'm recookied, I can explain to those who are not acquainted that Fred Wedlock is/was notorious for giving the impression that his songs were all his own, when Miles Wootton was, in fact, the author of many of them.

Attribute correctly, or be damned!

Alan

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Bert
Date: 05 May 06 - 05:31 PM

Boiled beef and carrots
Jellied eels
I'm glad we had a nice quiet day.
I live in Trafalgar Square.
If it wasn't for the 'ouses in between.
Pretty Little Polly Perkins.
One of the Ruins that Cromwell knocked about a bit
Oh Mr. Porter.
My Old Man said Follow the van.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Scrump
Date: 05 May 06 - 05:32 PM

A few of Jake Thackray's songs have been mentioned, but there are a lot more, e.g. The Widow of Brid, Nurse, The Blacksmith & The Toffee Maker to name but a few.

Where is this thread going? There must be thousands of humorous songs of vrying degrees of "funniness". Have we mentioned enough yet, OP?

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Bert
Date: 05 May 06 - 06:10 PM

Yer right Scrump, there's On Again, On Again, The Ballad of Billy Kershaw as well.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: rich-joy
Date: 06 May 06 - 12:18 AM

Joyce Grenfell?
(the list seems a bit light-on for women!)


Cheers! RJ

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Bugsy
Date: 06 May 06 - 05:54 AM

Bert, don't forget,

All I Want Is A Proper Cup Of Coffee,
They're Moving Father's Grave To Build A Sewer,

and my Dear departed Dad used to sing one about a Coconut Shy, I think it was called "Down Came The Blind" do you remember that one>?


Cheers


Bugsy

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: Snuffy
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:11 AM

And Victoria Wood if we're redressing the shortage of women.

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: jacqui.c
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:32 AM

Gracie Fields - The Biggest Aspidestra In The World and others....

Sheila Hancock - One Last Cigarette

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:39 AM

I didn't know Victoria Wood was short...

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BALLAD OF THE OUTBOARD MOTOR MAN
From: Flash Company
Date: 06 May 06 - 07:50 AM

The Ballad of the Outboard Motor Man.

now this is a broadside ballad, and as you know, broadside ballads usually feature lofty sailing ships, bold sea captains, maidens dressing up as men to go to sea, brave cabin boys saving their shipmates from disaster, you all know the kind of thing.
This has most of the elements.......
However, as it was written in the 1960's, there weren't many lofty sailing ships about, so we'll just have to do the best we can with what's available!


The Ballad of the Outboard Motor Man.

Come all you outboard motor men, and list unto me tale,
It's of a bold sea cap-ti-in and how he did set sail,
He bought himself a trusty ship, 'twas known as The Sapphire,
The cost it was one thousand pounds, the purchase it was hire.

It had an outboard motor with the power of horses three,
And bolted on the transom, 'twas plain for all to see,
Full ten foot six from stem to stern, one of the Moorhen class,
The hull was clinker moulded in stout English fibreglass.

The captain had two daughters fair, he bade them 'Stay at home',
But being young and foolish girls, they were inclined to roam,
So they pulled on their Brutus jeans and their rugby shirts so gay,
And went on board the ve-es-sel thus clad in men's array.

They went down to the harbour to take a trial run,
The engine started, off they shot like a bullet from a gun,
The mate cried out 'Oh captain, Sir, I do fear for my life',
But the captain did not heed the mate, 'cos the mate she was his wife

They carried on along their course for half an hour or more,
'Til all at once the engine stopped a hundred yards from shore,
The maidens wept, the mate cried out 'Oh how can we be saved?
I have no wish to pe-e-rish all in these dreadful waves!'

Then up there spoke the captain's son, a lad of only eight,
Saying 'I will bring you safe to shore if you will navigate',
Then boldly he leapt o'er the side, which caused the mate to weep,
But the lad he did not perish for 'twas only one foot deep.

So come all you outboard motor-men, and warning take from me,
Beware of shallow wa-a-ter when first you put to sea,
Save that you have a trusty lad a-serving in your crew,
To bring you safe to ha-ar-bour when you have fouled your screw!

Originally heard from the singing of a guy named Graham Penny (or Payne?) from the Southampton area. A few amendments by yours truly, I only heard it the once so may have taken a few liberties with the words. A'60's time capsule really, anyone remember Brutus Jeans?

FC

Subject: RE: The Genre of Funny English Songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 06 May 06 - 08:14 AM

Et Tu, Brutus?