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04 Sep 13 - 07:55 AM (#3556036) Subject: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Phil Edwards John Brophy and Eric Partridge's _The Long Trail: Soldiers' Songs and Slang, 1914 to 1918_ includes this song: The squire had a daughter, so fair and so tall, She lived in her satins and silks at the hall, But she married a man who had no balls at all. No balls at all, No balls at all, She married a man who had no balls at all. The editors say: "Almost certainly a pre-War folk-song turned to Army use and profit. The verse tune is faintly reminiscent of Bonnie Dundee. It may be related to, or derived from, an old civilian song about Sammy Hall who 'only had one ball' ... Originally it was a scoundrel's funeral oration, Sam Hall, or The Body Snatcher, but its military popularity caused it often to be known as Captain Hall. Each verse ended with Damn your eyes, blast your soul, Damn your eyes." Well now. I know "Sam Hall", and I know about the verses ending with "Damn your eyes" (never heard "Blast your soul"), but the rest of this is a complete mystery. Can anyone shed any more light on: - the alternative title "The Body Snatcher" - the alternative title "Captain Hall" and, most of all - "Sammy Hall who 'only had one ball'" Is it the same song as "Sam Hall"/"Lank Hall" etc? A totally different song? A wild mutation? (We know about Hitler's proverbial under-endowment. It can't be relevant to what they were singing at this period, though.) |
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04 Sep 13 - 11:50 AM (#3556076) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Bert Nobby Hall D G D His name was Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall A7 His name was Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall His name was Nobby Hall and he only had one – arm His name was Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall They say he killed his wife, killed his wife, killed his wife They say he killed his wife, killed his wife They say he killed his wife, but it wasn't with a knife They say he killed his wife, killed his wife They sent him to the quad, to the quad, to the quad They sent him to the quad, to the quad They sent him to the quad 'cos he was a wicked - man They sent him to the quad, to the quad The judge's name was Hunt, name was Hunt, name was Hunt The judge's name was Hunt, name was Hunt The judge's name was Hunt and he was a silly - fool The judge's name was Hunt, name was Hunt The jailer's name was Jock, name was Jock, name was Jock The jailer's name was Jock, name was Jock The jailer's name was Jock and his keys hung from his - belt The jailer's name was Jock, name was Jock The parson came at last, came at last, came at last The parson came at last, came at last The parson came at last, with his prayer book up his - sleeve The parson came at last, came at last, So they hung poor Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall they hung poor Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall they hung poor Nobby Hall, by his one remaining - arm they hung poor Nobby Hall, Nobby Hall |
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04 Sep 13 - 12:21 PM (#3556083) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Hootenanny The song to which you refer I believe is called No Balls At All. The chorus is as you state 'No Balls At all No Balls At All She Married A Man That Had No Balls At All' I don't have time at present but believe I have it down somewhere. Sam Hall, Samuel Hall, Nobby Hall all originate from My Name Is Samuel Hall Chimney Sweep a common song at smokers and early music hall. Ronny Drew recorded it Spike Milligan performed it on TV and I am sure many others know one or more versions. Ilerned Nobby Hall at school. Hoot |
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04 Sep 13 - 01:00 PM (#3556097) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Lighter Mudcat went offline in the middle of my post, so once again a page of valuable information must be reduced to a few lines. The version of "Sam Hall" you speak of is, in principle, the common "Damn your eyes!" version with colorful alterations. One way of beginning is: Oh, my name is Sammy Hall, Sammy Hall. Oh, my name is Sammy Hall And I've only got one ball, But it's better than fuck-all. God damn your eyes! Or you could sing "Captain Hall" or "none at all." Like anyone cares. Now my question. In his collection of sea shanties, Stan Hugill gave a censored two-stanza version in which, he said, stanza two concerned "amorous adventures" with "fancy women." His editors made him rewrite it because it was "unprintable" in 1961. So here's what they did print: Oh, me name is Bully Bose, Bully Bose, Oh, me name is Bully Bose, And me gal is Sarah Rose, She's got jiggers in her toes. Damn her eyes! I can't imagine what Hugill actually heard. Can anyone? (I suppose "Billy Bunt" or "Deadeye Dick" would have been more promising heroes.) ("No Balls at All," of course, is an entirely different song.) |
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04 Sep 13 - 03:19 PM (#3556123) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Lighter BTW, who is "Lank Hall"? Different lyrics yet again? |
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04 Sep 13 - 04:27 PM (#3556134) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Acorn4 Extra verse to Bert's posting that we used to sing on the back seat of the bus:- The jury were all crackers, were all crackers, The jury were all crackers, were all crackers, The jury were all crackers, they said 'hang 'im by his - neck" And the other one's hangin' on the wall. |
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04 Sep 13 - 05:27 PM (#3556148) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Vic Smith From just after the last General Election:- Oh, me name it is Nick Clegg, it is Nick Clegg |
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04 Sep 13 - 07:10 PM (#3556165) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Bert I learned it at school as well Hoot. Makes you wonder the kind of schools we went to. Thanks for that extra verse Acorn4. I'll use that. |
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04 Sep 13 - 07:25 PM (#3556166) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: dick greenhaus "No Balls at All" (in the DT, by the way) bears no relation to Sam Hall The two classic "one ball" songs are "Hitler (has only got one ball) and "One ball Reilly" (a bowdlerized version of which appears on the DT as Reilly's Daughter.) |
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05 Sep 13 - 05:46 AM (#3556236) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Hootenanny I too got interrupted in the middle of replying to the original post. The song No Balls At All is available in the book Bawdy Ballads compiled by Ed Cray and published by Anthony Blond 1970. It is not related to Samuel Hall. A young lady marries and discovers that her spouse has no balls at all. By co-incidence her mother had had the same problem with her marriage. Daughter seeks mother's advice which is that there are numerous young men willing and able to fill the gap so to speak. Problem solved. Hoot |
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06 Sep 13 - 04:44 AM (#3556512) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Will Fly Sam Hall was also performed memorably by Peter Sellers as one of the turns in "The Good Old Days". I can't recall Spike M doing it, but I might well be wrong. Hoot, was it the Sellers version you were thinking of perchance? |
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06 Sep 13 - 07:35 AM (#3556539) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Hootenanny Will, the Spike Milligan version I remember seeing was performed at Wilton's Music hall down in Wellclose Square, Stepney. One of, if not the oldest of music halls still in existence although I am not sure how often it gets used currently. Hoot |
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06 Sep 13 - 08:02 AM (#3556545) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: Will Fly Ah - so they both performed it. Lucky you to see a performance at Wilton's! I've only ever seen the inside shown on TV. |
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06 Sep 13 - 05:01 PM (#3556667) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Hootenanny Sorry Will, I should have made it clearer. It was on TV that I saw Milligan. I was fortunate enough to see him live on several occasions two of which were in the televison studios when he had a series which featured well know poets along with some good music. I was there with who was supplying some of themusic Steve Benbow. Hoot |
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06 Sep 13 - 05:02 PM (#3556668) Subject: RE: Sam Hall - 'one ball'? From: GUEST,Hootenanny Sorry for the balls up at the end. Steve was one of the acts on the show and I was there with him but not playing. Hoot |