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10 Feb 11 - 07:33 AM (#3092373) Subject: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: Jim Dixon This was a tough one, especially verse 4, which is full of holes, and the rest is pretty uncertain, and doesn't make much sense as I have transcribed it. Help! You can hear this at YouTube or at The Internet Archive. DOWN CAME THE BLIND Words and music by Fred J. Barnes and Robert P. Weston, 1909. As recorded by Harry Champion 1. Not so long ago, in a big wash tub, Mother made a puddin'. 'Twas a lovely bit of grub. While mother stirred it with our yard broom, Neighbours full of jealousy come looking in the room. They yelled out, "Oh!" pointing with their thumbs, "Half a ton of dough and not a pennyworth of plums!" Down came the blind. Father took his slippers off, Danced on the dough. Mother kept the nippers off. Scouting about, a rolling pin to find, We hadn't got a puddin' cloth so down came the blind. 2. Father had a pitch down at Mitcham Fair Got a lot of cannonballs, covered 'em with hair. "Roll or bowl or pitch," you could hear him cry. Thinking they were coconuts, the people had a try. One big bloke bowled up at them a treat, Hit my sister Polly. She was holding up the sheet. Down came the blind. He thought it hit a coconut. Hit Polly Jane, knocked her bonnet off her broken nut. Out came her brains, and a feller just behind Said, "Lovely, what a milky one!" and down came the blind. 3. Sally Brown, a pickle maker, so they say, Came to work on Monday in a wedding gown of grey. "All married now?" all the work girls said. "Sally, tell us all about the day that you were wed." "Well," Sal said, "I stumbled along with John. Then he blew the candle out." Said they, "Go on! Go on!" "Down came the blind." "Sally, tell us all the rest of it! Lor! In the dark, Sal! Tell us all the best of it!" "Well, Sally said, "Till ... you can find, Lovely to be in the dark, so down came the blind." 4. Now Private Macnavoe of the old Black Watch Used to have to wear the kilt to prove that he was Scotch. ... Sitting on the table chewing at a leg of pork, Sergeant McGinty walking on his beat Looked as though the ... demolishing his meat. Down came the blind. The Scotsman didn't marry her Sergeant ... the gov'nor's Yorkshire terrier Went for his ... started swinging on behind. The folks who ate the pudding ... down came the blind. |
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10 Feb 11 - 08:06 AM (#3092397) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: Charley Noble Jim- Certainly must be a challenge. But, take heart, the mystery will be unraveled in ten years or so. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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10 Feb 11 - 02:58 PM (#3092642) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST,Grishka The YouTube version has been heavily noise-reduced, which makes for nice music at the expense of intelligibility. The original recording may be much easier to understand. |
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06 Oct 12 - 07:12 PM (#3415641) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST,joolz I hear: "Down came the blind." "Sally, tell us all the rest of it! Lor! In the dark, Sal! Tell us all the best of it!" "Well, Sally said, "Till a hubby you can find, Don't wish to be in the dark, and down came the blind." That 4th verse is impossible, my version sounds peculiar too, but I'm sure it's McNaboe which is a Scots name, and I'm pretty sure it's 'paper' not 'table' so I think the dog was eating the meat but the Highlander private stole it and the dog was starved and started biting a kilt and swinging on it?? Fork is the only thing I can think of to do with food that rhymes with pork, but if there's a breed of wire terrier that rhymes then that may be a better answer. The reference to not marrying 'her' may refer to a female in the missing line? 4. Now Private McNaboe of the old Black Watch Used to have to wear the kilt to prove that he was Scotch. ...... cook had a nice wire fork (?) Sitting on the paper chewing at a leg of pork, Sergeant McGinty walking on his beat Looked and saw the heilander demolishing his meat. Down came the blind. The Scotsman didn't marry her Starved it to death? ... the gov'nor's little terrier Went for his kilt, started swinging on behind. The ... ate the pudding ... but down came the blind. If these aren't the words then maybe they can form the basis of a new song hahahaha! cheerz joolz |
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07 Oct 12 - 01:37 PM (#3415913) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST One of my grandad's songs... Angelina Snuff was a fast young cat, She used to wear some padding cos she wasn't very fat, And here's a secret I must divulge- She was very flat where ladies like to have a bulge. One day when she was going to gad about She couldn't find a bit of rag to pad her bodice out, So down came the blind. She thought she'd make a pad of it, She was so flat On her bosom she was glad of it- "Oh what a bust!" said a fellow where she dined- He tried to stick a rose in it And down came the blind. |
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07 Oct 12 - 03:20 PM (#3415959) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: Mick Pearce (MCP) Here's my hearing of it. I agree with most, but not all, of joolz' changes. I think it is table rather than paper, but it's close and I wouldn't say it was definitely table. I think in the last verse that it starts with the cook's name, which sounds like Baldon, but again I'm not sure. I'm fairly certain of quiet, but not of what's quiet. It could be just dog pronouned more like dawg, it could also be just talk, but I like dog better. (Or as joolz says it could be a type of dog, but I can't think what). I'm also not sure of the word I've put in as suit; it sounds more like /xjut/ (xyute) where x is some sound! The archive and youtube recordings linked by Jim above have a lot of annoying artifacts introduced by the noise removal. There's a better recording on youtube: Harry Champion - Down Came The Blind / Never Let your Braces Dangle (1910), which hasn't had the noise removed and even just using Audacity you can do a better noise removal than the other two copies (I've got Soundforge on my XP machine, but I can't be bothered booting it just for this; I think it wouldn't be possible to get much better than the Audacity removal). I think there's still some work to do on the last verse. Mick DOWN CAME THE BLIND (Words and music by Fred J. Barnes and Robert P. Weston, 1909) 1. Not so long ago, in a big wash tub, Mother made a puddin'. 'Twas a lovely bit of grub. While mother stirred it with our yard broom, Neighbours full of jealousy come looking in the room. They yelled out, "Oh!" pointing with their thumbs, "Half a ton of dough and not a pennyworth of plums!" Down came the blind. Father took his slippers off, Danced on the dough. Mother sent the nippers off. Scouting about, a rolling pin to find, We hadn't got a puddin' cloth so down came the blind. 2. Father had a pitch down at Mitcham Fair Got a lot of cannonballs, covered 'em with hair. "Roll, bowl or pitch," you could hear him cry. Thinking they were coconuts, the people had a try. One big bloke bowled up at them a treat, Hit my sister Polly. She was holding up the sheet. Down came the blind. He thought he'd hit a coconut. Hit Polly Jane, knocked her bonnet off her broken nut. Out came her brains, and a feller just behind Said, "Lummee, what a milky one!" and down came the blind. 3. Sally Brown, a pickle maker, so they say, Came to work on Monday in a wedding gown of grey. "Y'all married now?" all the work girls said. "Sally, tell us all about the day that you were wed." "Well," Sal said, "I stumbled along o' John. Then he blew the candle out." Said they, "Go on! Go on!" "Down came the blind." "Sally, tell us all the rest of it! Gor! In the dark, Sal! Tell us all the best of it!" "Well, Sally said, "Till a hubby you can find, Don't wish to be in the dark, or down came the blind." 4. Now Private Macnaboe of the old Black Watch Used to have to wear a kilt to prove that he was Scotch. ?Baldon? the cook she had a nice quiet ?dog? ?hawk? (sounds like torc/talk) Sitting on the table chewing at a leg of pork, Sergeant McGinty walking on his beat Looked and saw the hielander demolishing his meat. Down came the blind. The Scotsman didn't marry her Started to dance, the gov'nor's little terrier Went for his suit started swinging on behind. The cook she went to pull him off but down came the blind. Source: As recorded by Harry Champion |
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07 Oct 12 - 04:56 PM (#3416001) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST,joolz Initially I balked when I read the 'Y'all' thinking of the US term, but then listened and realised it's not the US 'yall' but a cockney 'y all' with a glottal stop in the middle, a totally different thing :-). 'Gor' sounds alien, but the sound does seem harder than an 'l' in Lor. Could it be 'Cor' which is common? Then again, the 'cor' in 'cor bliimey' is a corruption of 'god' so maybe it was pronounced 'Gor' at one time. Probably talked myself into that as I typed LOL. In the Sally bit I still think it's 'and' down came the blind, but it's sung fast so it sounds shorter. In Scotland we say 'wear the kilt' but you are right, others would say 'wear a kilt' and that's what it is here. Don't think there's a 'she' after 'cook'. Positive the dog 'Went for his kilt' rather than suit. Both because it sounds like it and because you would swing if you were biting it, more so than a suit anyway. Still listening, could it be that Macboe: "Called on the cook, had a nice quiet talk"? I still think it sounds like 'paper' as you don't sit *on* a table? But if the above is correct then it must be 'table'. Two people having a meal then dancing seems logical, so I started doubting 'didn't marry' as it sounded disconnected, so I think the Scotsman was getting merry (tipsy) which is why he danced. As it was him dancing, the dog must have grabbed his kilt. I may also have an explanation for the 'Sitting on the table' - the logical words would be 'Sitting AT the table chewing ON at a leg of pork', but if Champion possibly sang it with the capitalised words swapped, either deliberately or in error. I'll leave in my thoughts above so you can see how I came to my conclusions in case you disagree, but I think the lyrics may be as follows: 1. Not so long ago, in a big wash tub, Mother made a puddin'. 'Twas a lovely bit of grub. While mother stirred it with our yard broom, Neighbours full of jealousy come looking in the room. They yelled out, "Oh!" pointing with their thumbs, "Half a ton of dough and not a pennyworth of plums!" Down came the blind. Father took his slippers off, Danced on the dough. Mother sent the nippers off. Scouting about, a rolling pin to find, We hadn't got a puddin' cloth so down came the blind. 2. Father had a pitch down at Mitcham Fair Got a lot of cannonballs, covered 'em with hair. "Roll or bowl or pitch," you could hear him cry. Thinking they were coconuts, the people had a try. One big bloke bowled up at them a treat, Hit my sister Polly. She was holding up the sheet. Down came the blind. He thought he'd hit a coconut. Hit Polly Jane, knocked her bonnet off her broken nut. Out came her brains, and a feller just behind Said, "Lummee, what a milky one!" and down came the blind. 3. Sally Brown, a pickle maker, so they say, Came to work on Monday in a wedding gown of grey. "Y'all married now?" all the work girls said. "Sally, tell us all about the day that you were wed." "Well," Sal said, "I stumbled along o' John. Then he blew the candle out." Said they, "Go on! Go on!" "Down came the blind." "Sally, tell us all the rest of it! Gor! In the dark, Sal! Tell us all the best of it!" "Well, Sally said, "Till a hubby you can find, Don't wish to be in the dark, and down came the blind." 4. Now Private McNaboe of the old Black Watch Used to have to wear a kilt to prove that he was Scotch. Called on the cook, had a nice quiet talk Sitting on the table chewing at a leg of pork, Sergeant McGinty walking on his beat Looked and saw the heilander demolishing his meat. Down came the blind. The Scotsman's getting merrier Started to dance, the gov'nor's little terrier Went for his kilt started swinging on behind. The cook she went to pull him off but down came the blind. cheerz joolz |
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28 May 18 - 01:07 AM (#3927502) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST tiny corrections knocked her bonnet off and broke 'er nut. Don't wish to be in the dark" and down came the blind. "Hit me sister Polly as she was 'olding up the sheet." ("as she' is squashed.) |
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28 May 18 - 06:26 AM (#3927553) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST,Mick Pearce (MCP) I've just had another listen to the youtube version (the archive version has been removed). It's not helped by the quality; it sounds like it's been noise-reduced with a method that's left lots of 'musical noise'. It's possible to do better. Anyway, sound notwithstanding, I agree almost totally with joolz' last reading, except for the following: Guest, in v2 I don't hear as she at all, I still hear that as written, just She. In ch2, Guest has got the broke 'er nut right, though I think the line is: Knocked her bonnet off 'er, broke 'er nut In ch3, I think it's just You're in the dark.. In the v4 a minor correction, it's: Called on the cook 'e had a nice quiet talk Mick |
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28 May 18 - 07:04 AM (#3927564) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: Long Firm Freddie The lyrics are now at https://monologues.co.uk/musichall/Songs-D/Down-Came-The-Blind.htm DOWN CAME THE BLIND Not so long ago in the big wash tub Mother made a pudden', was a lovely bit o' grub. While Mother stirred it with our yard broom, Neighbours full o' jealousy come lookin' in the room. They yelled out and pointed with their thumbs 'Arf a ton o' dough and not a pennyworth o' plums. Down came the blind. Father took 'is slippers off, Danced on the dough. Mother sent the nippers off. Glancin' about, a rollin' pin to find. We 'adn't got a pudden cloth so down come the blind. Down came the blind. Father took 'is slippers off, Danced on the dough. Mother sent the nippers off. Glancin' about, a rollin' pin to find. We 'adn't got a pudden cloth so down come the blind. Father 'ad a pitch down at Mitcham Fair, Got a lot o' cannon balls, covered 'em with hair. 'Roll, bowl a pitch!' you could 'ear 'im cry. Thinkin' they were coconuts the people 'ad a try. One big bloke bowled up at them a treat, 'It me sister's bonnet, she was 'oldin' up the sheet. Down came the blind. 'E thought 'e'd 'it a cocomut. 'It Polly Jane, knocked 'er bonnet off an' broke 'er nut. Out came 'er brains an' a feller just be'ind Said: 'Lumme, what a milky one!' and down came the blind. Down came the blind. 'E thought 'e'd 'it a cocomut 'It Polly Jane, knocked 'er bonnet off an' broke 'er nut. Out came 'er brains an' a feller just be'ind Said: 'Lumme, what a milky one!' and down came the blind. Sally Brown, a pickle-maker, so they say, Came to work on Monday in a wedding gown o' grey. 'You're married now,' all the work gals said. 'Sally, tell us all about the day that you were wed.' 'Well,' Sal said, 'I 'ad supper along o' John. Then 'e blew the candle out so they go one to one. Down came the blind. 'Sally, tell us all the rest of it. You're in the dark, Sal. Tell us all the best of it.' 'Well,' Sally said, 'till a hubby you can find So must you be in the dark and down came the blind. Down came the blind. 'Tell us all the rest of it. You're in the dark, Sal. Tell us all the best of it.' 'Well,' Sally said, 'till a hubby you can find So must you be in the dark and down came the blind.' Now Private Macmurdo of the old Black Watch Used to 'ave to wear a kilt to prove that 'e was Scotch. Called on the cook, 'ad a nice quiet talk, Sitting on the table chewing at a leg o' pork. Sergeant McGinn see 'im walkin' on 'is beat Looked an' saw the hielander demolishing 'is meat, Down came the blind. The Scotsman getting merrier Started to dance. The guv'nor's little terrier Went for 'is kilt, started swingin' on be'ind. The cook she went to put him off but down came the blind. Down came the blind. The Scotsman getting merrier Started to dance. The guv'nor's little terrier Went for 'is kilt, started swingin' on be'ind. The cook she went to pull him off but down come the blind LFF |
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28 May 18 - 09:03 AM (#3927585) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down Came the Blind (from Harry Champion From: GUEST,Mick Pearce (MCP) LFF - I saw that this morning when I was looking for the audio. That version still has some minor errors which are corrected in the transcription above (from Harry Champion's recording). I did find a better recording on youtube than the one linked above at Harry Champion - Down Came The Blind / Never Let your Braces Dangle (1910). It's still got the hiss and crackles but doesn't have the musical noise of the other copy. It did let me hear that in v2 where the m/c transcription has Y'all, it it just plain You're (as in the monologues transcription)>. Otherwise I'd stand by the m/c version. (There are some minor alterations in the chorus repeats not listed above, dropping/changing the odd word at the start of lines). Mick |