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Origins: King of the Cannibal Islands

24 Jul 98 - 01:31 PM (#33286)
Subject: Lyrics and music for......
From: Paul

I am looking for the songs which I think have the following titles (or something like this) "Once on a cannibal Island" and "When my mother knit the woolen sweater for me".

Thanks.


24 Jul 98 - 11:39 PM (#33306)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Benjamin Bodhra/nai/

It's a long shot but is the cannibal one have the part "I won't eat people"?


25 Jul 98 - 09:40 AM (#33326)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Musicman

I have no idea....


25 Jul 98 - 02:13 PM (#33331)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Animaterra

My fourth grade music book had a very non-p.c. song about the King of the cannibal island. Refrain went something like: Hokey pokey winky wong....etc. I may even still have the book, so let me know if you want it.


27 Jul 98 - 01:00 PM (#33454)
Subject: Lyr Add: UNDER THE BAMBOO TREE and A CANNIBAL MAID
From: mafreeh

It would be nice if you had a little more to go on but what I could mentioning cannibals were these:

We actually sing the first one every now and then. I think it was popular on College Campuses in the 40's, 50's.


UNDER THE BAMBOO TREE
aka THE CANNIBAL KING

Oh, the cannibal king
With the big nose ring
Fell in love with a dusky maid
And every night in the pale moon light
Across the bay he sail
He hugged and kiss his pretty little miss
Under the bamboo tree
And every night
Under the pale moonlight
Sounded like this to me...
Bah ump, bah ump boom du di oddy eh
Bah ump, bah ump boom du di oddy eh

Oh, the cannibal king
With the big nose ring
Bought a ring for his dusky maid
And then that night
By the pale moonlight
Across the bay he sailed
He placed the band upon her hand
And promised he'd be true
And then that night
In the pale moonlight
They sat and pitched the woo

Oh, the cannibal king
Went out on a fling
Without his dusky maid
And then that night
By the pale moonlight
Across the bay she sailed
In her hand she carried a gun
The bullets made of lead
And then that night
By the pale moonlight
She went and shot him dead

Bah ump bang, bang bah ump bang bang
Bomm du di oddy eh
Bah ump, bang, bang bah ump bang, bang
Boom du di oddy eh

We'll build a bungalow
Big enough for two
Big enough for two my darling
Big enough for two
And when we marry
Happy we'll be
Under the bamboo tree.

If you be M-I-N-E mine
I'll be T-H-I-N-E thine
And I'll L-O-V-E love you
All the T-I-M-E time

You are the B-E-S-T best
Of all the R-E-S-T rest
And I'll L-O-V-E love you
All the T-I-M-E time

Just like a L-A-R-K lark
Out in the P-A-R-K park
I will K-I-S-S kiss you
In the D-A-R-K dark

You are the B-E-S-T best
Of all the R-E-S-T rest
And I'll L-O-V-E love you
All the T-I-M-E time.


A CANNIBAL MAID AND HER HOTTENTOT BLADE

A cannibal maid and her Hottentot blade
They met in a rocky defile
And a gay eagle plume was his only costume
While she was dressed in a smile

Together they strolled as his passions he told
In thrilling and tremulous mein
She had murmured the word, when a war whoop was heard
And a rival burst out on the scene

"Twas a savage Zulu to the trysting place drew
Demanding his cannibal bride
But the Hottentot said, with a toss of his head
"I'll have your degenerate hide"

So the Hottentot flew at the savage Zulu
And the Zulu he flew at the blade
Together they vied with their strength and their pride
As they fought for the cannibal maid

She perched on a stone with her shapely shinbone
Clasped in her long twining arms
And watched the blood fly with a love laden eye
As the warriors fought for her charms

Oh,the purple blood flows from the Hottentot's nose
And the Zulu is struck by the blade
As together they vied with their strength and their pride
And they died for the cannibal maid

She made a fine stew of the savage Zulu
And she scrambled the Hottentot's brains
Twas a dainty menu when the cooking was through
And she dined from her lover's remains

Oh, the savage Zulu and the Hottentot, too,
Are asleep in a cannibal tomb
The three were made one--my story is done
And the maiden walked off in the gloom.


28 Jul 98 - 09:13 PM (#33594)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Joe Offer

Hey, those are some kinda songs, Mafreeh. I recall fragments of both of 'em, but it's amazing to see them complete. Did you type them from memory?
-Joe Offer-


30 Jul 98 - 03:32 PM (#33738)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: musicman

thanks for the lyrics........but how does the song go????? can anybody send the music to me? I guess nobody's heard about the song about the woollen sweater. Just shows you where our minds are, eh?? Let me know at pevenden@lightspeed.bc.ca if you have the music available.

Thanks.


30 Jul 98 - 08:36 PM (#33751)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Bob Bolton

G'day all,

Mafreeh's songs look most interesting but, from the words quoted by suggest a possibity that the song chased is (as Aminaterra guesse s) "The King of the Cannibal Islands".

"The King of the Cannibal Islands" was popular in the mid-to-late 19th century/early 20th century and is found in most comprehensive songsters from the period. I would have it in perhaps half a dozen different books in my collection.

The tune is used for a number of Australian songs from the colonial era - including one detailing all the terrible things that happen to an English settler coming to buy a property in the new country ... apparently made up for a shipboard concert by a bunch of immigrants who had not yet reached Australia! A.L. Lloyd said that the tune was very popular for union songs in the early part of this century.

The tune also survives as a dance tune and I would have it in MusicTime notation somewhere on the computer. If "The King of the Cannibal Islands" is one of the songs requested, I can scan in the words and download the tune in MIDI / ABC but i would be surprised if it is not in DT.

Regards,

Bob Bolton


06 Aug 98 - 02:35 AM (#34224)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Bob Bolton

G'Day All,

we seem to have lost track of our cannibal, and his island. I went looking for "King of the Cannibal Islands" and found that I had the tune (from the Scottish Students' Songbook, ~ 1890) but no words - the songbook merely had it as the tune for a newer song.

This suggests that it was already quite old but well-known in 1890. I think I will have to start looking at books from the mid to early 19th century. I mentioned another song using the tune (early Pommy whingeing, written on the way out to Australia) and I will post the words of that to a new thread: Lyr, Add: Pommies' Lament.

This song must be from the convict era (~ before the 1850s) since it talks about having convicts working the farm ... as well as the depradations of bushrangers and hostile natives ... and rapacious land-agents.

Enjoy - it may be at least related to the song you were after.

Regards,

Bob Bolton


06 Aug 98 - 10:39 AM (#34250)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From:

Sorry, it took so long to get back to answer the question but we just had our 2 week spasm of Family Reunion, lots of singing, square dancing and exhaustion. The first song I can do from memory. We sang it this weekend. The second song I came across in my quest to find sheet music or cheat book sources for the songs we sing. You can find it in a book called "Songs for swingin' housemothers" by Frank Lynn. the book also has one verse and a bit of the chorus for the Cannibal King. Real close to the melody we sing but then after my research I've decided my bunch is the Cuisinart of the Folk Process!


07 Aug 98 - 04:24 PM (#34398)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS
From: Jerry Friedman

I too learned "THE KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS" as a child--I'll bet it went out of favor not long after. Here's all I remember:

Now have you heard the story of late
About a certain potentate?
Well, if you haven't, it's in my pate--
The king of the cannibal islands!

Chorus:
Hokey pokey winky wong
Parley magoo gagoo gagong
Handaree rangaree chingaree chong
The king of the cannibal islands!


08 Aug 98 - 08:01 AM (#34431)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Animaterra

I'll get the full tune and words in a few weeks when school starts again, but here's another verse from the version a la Jerry F.

One day while waiting for his tea A coconut fell from a neighboring tree And bonked his cannabalic majesty, The king of the cannibal island! Hokey pokey etc.

I'll do the compleat "king" in late Aug. If you really want it!


08 Aug 98 - 09:00 AM (#34432)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Musicman

This is all really great guys....Thanks. I work as a music therapist with seniors and some have requested these songs. If you have music to go with these words, it would be really helpful. YOu can email me at: pevenden@lightspeed.bc.ca or fax to 604-824-1037. Thanks for all your help.


08 Aug 98 - 07:01 PM (#34457)
Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: A CANNIBAL KING
From: Joe Offer

Well, here's the tune and lyrics according to Songs for Swinging Housemothers
-Joe Offer-

Cannibal King Medley - A Cannibal King

Oh, the can-ni-bal king
With a brass nose ring
Fell in love with a fair young maid
And ev-'ry night by the pale moon-light
A-cross the bay he came.
Oh, a hug and a kiss for a Zu-lu miss
In the shade of the old palm tree
Each time they met they sang a du-et
And it sound-ed like this to me.
Kiss, kiss (kiss, kiss), Kiss, kiss (kiss, kiss)
Kiss, kiss da de a dee oh-oh
Kiss, kiss (kiss, kiss), Kiss, kiss (kiss, kiss)
Kiss, kiss, I love you so

Click to play

ABC format:

X:1
T:Cannibal King Medley - A Cannibal King
M:4/4
Q:1/4=120
K:F
CCFFA2F2|CCF2A2F2|CCF2FFG2|F2E2G2E2|C2E2G2E2|
CCE2G2E2|C2C2C2D2|E2F6|CCF2AAF2|CCF2A2F2|
CCF2FFG2|F2E2G2E2|C2E2G2E2|C2EEG2E2|CCCCC2D2|
E2F6|C2F2c2c2|C2F2c2c2|C2F2F2G2|F2E2G2E2|
C2E2c2c2|C2E2c2c2|C2C2C2D2|E2F11/2||



Cannibal King Medley - We'll Build a Bungalow

We'll build a bun-ga-low
Big e-nough for two
Big e-nough for two my hon-ey
Big e-nough for two
And when we're mar__ -ried
Hap-py we'll be
Un-der-neath the bam-boo
Un-der-neath the bam-boo tree.

Click to play

ABC format:

X:1
T:Cannibal King Medley - We'll Build a Bungalow
M:2/2
Q:1/4=120
K:F
C2C4D2|F2G2A4|GGG4F2|D8|GGG4F2|D2C2D2E2|FFF4D2|
C8|C2C4D2|F2G2A4|G2G4F2|D8|GGG4E2|D4E4|FFFFF2F2|
F3/2||



Cannibal King Medley - M-I-N-E
If you'll be M-I-N-E mine
I'll be T-H-I-N-E thine
And I'll L-O-V-E love you
All the T-I-M-E time
You are the B-E-S-T best
Of all the R-E-S-T rest
And I'll L-O-V-E love you
All the T-I-M-E time
Wrap 'em up, stack 'em up
An-y old time.

Click to play

ABC format:

X:1
T:Cannibal King Medley - M-I-N-E
M:4/4
Q:1/4=120
K:F
C2D2E2F2|F2C2C2F2|E2F2_G2G2|G2D2D2G2|-G2G2F2E2|
E2E2E2E2|C2D2E2F2|F2D2D2C2|C2D2E2F2|F2C2C2F2|
E2F2_G2G2|G2D2D2G2|-G2G2F2E2|E2E2E2E2|C2D2E2F2|
-F2F4F2|F2F2A2FF|F2FFF2FF|F2F2A7/4||


Gee, this is some piece of work.
Maybe we should give it a highfalutin title like Suite: The Emperor of the Cannibals
....how 'bout Suite: Cannibal Blue Eyes???


19 Mar 99 - 12:28 PM (#64282)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: Jerry Friedman

A refresh so Ter can made sure this isn't the song he or she is looking for. As a medley title, how about just "Sweet Judy Blue-Eyes"?


15 Mar 00 - 10:46 PM (#195839)
Subject: Lyr Add: KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS
From: Alice

my grandmother taught this to my mother who taught it to me. These are the only verses I know.

KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS

chorus
Hokey Pokey Winky Wung,
Polly Makoo Kamoling Kung,
Hangery Wangery Chingery Ching,
The King of the Cannibal Islands.

Have you heard my story of late,
For if you've not 'tis on my pate,
About a mighty potentate,
The King of the Cannibal Islands.

chorus
Hokey Pokey Winky Wung,
Polly Makoo Kamoling Kung,
Hangery Wangery Chingery Ching,
The King of the Cannibal Islands.

Woman pudding and baby sauce,
Little boy pie for second course,
He'd swallow them all without any remorse,
The King of the Cannibal Islands.

chorus
Hokey Pokey Winky Wung,
Polly Makoo Kamoling Kung,
Hangery Wangery Chingery Ching,
The King of the Cannibal Islands.

.........
The long list of words in the chorus were, as we thought of it, the king's name.

Alice in Montana


05 Jul 02 - 05:35 PM (#743092)
Subject: Lyr Add: KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)

KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS

1. Oh! have you heard the news of late,
About a mighty king so great?
If you have not, 'tis in my pate,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.
He was so tall, near six feet six.
He had a head like Mister Nick's.
His palace was like Dirty Dick's.
'Twas built of mud for want of bricks,
And his name was Poonoowingkeewang
Flibeedee flobeedee buskeebang,
And a lot of Indians swore they would hang
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.

CHORUS: Hokee pokee wongkee fum,
Puttee po pee kaibula cum,
Tongaree wongaree ching ring wum,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.

2. The mighty king had in one hut
Seventy wives as black as soot,
And thirty of a double smut,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.
So just one hundred wives he had,
And every week he was a dad.
Upon my word, it was too bad,
For his smutty dears soon drove him mad.
There was Hungkee Mungkee, short and tall,
With Tuzzee Muzzee and Keeko Pall,
And some of them swore they would have all
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.

3. One day the king invited most
All of his subjects to a roast,
For half his wives gave up the ghost,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.
Of fifty wives he was bereft
And so he had but fifty left.
He said with them he would make shift,
So for a gorge all set off swift.
The fifty dead ones were roasted soon
And all demolish'd before the noon,
And a lot of chiefs vow'd to have soon,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.

4. When they had done, and bones picked clean,
They all began to dance, I ween.
The fifty wives slipp'd out unseen
  From King of the Cannibal Islands.
He turning round soon miss'd them all,
So for his wives began to bawl,
But not one answered his call.
He sprung out through the muddy wall,
Then into the woods he went with grief,
And found each queen 'long with a chief.
He swore he'd Macadamize every thief,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.

5. He sent for all his guards with knives.
He put an end to all their lives,
The fifty chiefs and fifty wives,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.
These cannibal slaveys then begun
Carving their heads off one by one,
And the king he laughed to see the fun,
Then jump'd into bed when all was done,
And every night when he's asleep,
His headless wives and chiefs all creep,
And roll upon him in a heap,
  The King of the Cannibal Islands.

From http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ballads/ballads.htm: Bodleian.
This song has been a favorite of all lovers of the long pig for many years. These lyrics are from two broadside ballad printings, Harding B36(10) and Harding B 11(322), both printed in London, UK between 1813 and 1838 and 1813-1844, resp. The chorus is similar to that of "Ching a Ring Chaw," an anonymous minstrel song of 1833 date, and also in "In Chinaland There Lived a Great Man," from the 1850s. Chinaman
Also see thread 19284: Cannibal
@humor @cannibals @minstrel?


05 Jul 02 - 10:10 PM (#743181)
Subject: RE: LYR REQ & ADD: king of the cannibals
From: Malcolm Douglas

For a slightly longer and more detailed set, with attribution and some additional information, see

King of the Cannibal Islands

at The South Riding Folk Network.


05 Jul 02 - 10:51 PM (#743202)
Subject: RE: LYR REQ & ADD: king of the cannibals
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)

Thanks, Malcolm. From the link to the South Riding Tune Book provided by Malcolm Douglas, here is the last verse which is missing in the broadsides I quoted:

They all rush in at every door,
And drop upon him on the floor,
Revenge is sweet they loudly roar,
To King of the Cannibal Islands.
The headless tribe the palace fill,
Old Poonoowingkeewang to kill,
From every one he gets a pill,
And tells him he must make his will.
They all retire- at daylight,
And visit him again at night,
Oh what a benefit- and fright
For King of the Cannibal Islands.

Chorus:

According to this link, the lyrics were writtwn by A. W. Humphreys, a concert performer. The text is from sheet music published in 1830. Tune by John Charles White, originally published as a Quadrille in "The Two Rivals (Le Deux Rivales)," then later as a country dance, "Vulcan's Cave," published in London. The South Riding website provides midis of the arrangements for "Vulcan's Cave" and "The Quadrille." The tune, under the name, "King of The Cannibal Islands," is given for several later sets of lyrics; and is used and often named for "The Cumberland Reel (South Riding link)."
This song seems to be the inspiration for the chorus of "Ching a Ring Chaw," 1833, a minstrel song.
There are several sanitized and childrens versions, some of which can be found on Google.


05 Jul 02 - 11:27 PM (#743214)
Subject: RE: LYR REQ & ADD: king of the cannibals
From: Malcolm Douglas

In order properly to attribute the information quoted immediately above, I should mention that it came from Anthony Bennett's article, Rivals Unravelled: A Broadside Song and Dance, which appeared in The Folk Music Journal volume 6, number 4, 1993 (English Folk Dance and Song Society, London).


06 Jul 02 - 01:39 PM (#743371)
Subject: RE: LYR REQ & ADD: king of the cannibals
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)

The islands constituting Fiji were once commonly known as the Cannibal Islands. In 1874, King Cakobau and island leaders signed a treaty with Great Britain, putting the islands under British protection; the islands became a crown colony. The ceremonial eating of the "long pig" (common pidgin English term at the time for human flesh) did not survive for long after the treaty.

Soon after the treaty, more than one-third of the Fijians were dead from imported diseases, including measles, innocently brought back by King Cakobau and his party following a visit to Australia, where the disease was prevalent in Sidney. In medical history, Fiji was the prime example of a "virgin soil epidemic."

(The same catastrophic loss of life destroyed many American cultures as diseases brought by the Spaniards and other early explorers and settlers spread across the continent.)

The Fijian epidemic is briefly chronicled in a story in the U. S. National Institute of Health website: Cannibal Islands


06 Jul 02 - 01:48 PM (#743375)
Subject: RE: LYR REQ & ADD: king of the cannibals
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)

The King of the Cannibal Islands, 1858, Cakobau (with prominent beard), portrait made during the Officers Survey of the Fiji Islands in the H. M. S. Herald, and artifacts: Engravings Fiji


03 Apr 03 - 11:38 PM (#925803)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE ZULU KING
From: GUEST,Kumquat

This is what I learned in Jr. High -

The Zulu King

The Zulu King, with the big nose ring,
Fell in love with a sweet young thing.
And every night by the pail moonlight
The forest they would swing.

A hug and a kiss for the Zulu miss,
Underneath the bamboo tree
And every night they sang a duet
And it sounded like this to me

Burumpf…(kiss kiss),
Burumpf…(kiss kiss),
Burumpf, til-a-di-I-ay-ay-ay.
Burumpf…(kiss kiss),
Burumpf…(kiss kiss),
Burumpf, til-a-di-I-ay.

***
Oh…we'll build a bungalow,
Big enough for two, walla walla walla
Big enough for two, my honey
Big enough for two, walla walla walla

And when we're married,
How happy we'll be.
Underneath the bamboo,
Underneath the bamboo tree.

If you'll be M-I-N-E - mine
I'll be T-H-I-N-E - thine
And I'll L-O-V-E - love you
All the T-I-M-E - time

You are the B-E-S-T - best
Of all the R-E-S-T - rest
And I'll L-O-V-E - love you
All the T-I-M-E - time.

Repeat ***


04 Apr 03 - 12:16 AM (#925815)
Subject: RE: Lyrics and music for......
From: masato sakurai

See the following broadsides at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads:
king of the cannibal islands [title] (8 editions)

king of the cannibal islands [tune] (28 editions)
Several American song sheets (to the tune of "king of the cannibal islands") are at American Memory.

~Masato


16 Jun 03 - 03:50 PM (#967161)
Subject: ADD: The Man That Couldn't Get Cool
From: Joe Offer

Here's one of those songs at the American Memory Collection that Masato referred to. I was actually looking for the "Whiz fish Song," but this is what came up. It's damn hot today, so it seemded appropriate.
-Joe Offer, in the Golden (brown) Sierra Foothills of California-


THE MAN THAT COULDN'T GET COOL.
Air: King of the Cannibal Islands.

All you who love your liquor strong,
Come list (I'll not detain you long)
Unto the burden of my song,
The man that couldn't get cool!
Who brandy drank, till he became
So hot, he seem'd a walking flame,
And such a Bacchus face he got,
'Twas like a ruby, red red hot.
In midst of wintry rain or snow,
If standing still, or walking slow,
Look'd ever in a glorious glow,
The man that couldn't get cool!

Smokery, fumery, flamery, phiz,
Flashery sparkery, firework, whiz
Jeminy cracks, how hot it is!
The man that couldn't get cool!

Great coat or cloak he never bore,
His breast was always bare before,
And collar, a la Byron, wore,
The man that couldn't get cool!
A sort of glory you might trace,
E'er shining round his sunny face,
He glow'd as if he'd run a race,
And like a stove he warm'd the place;
In midst of ice he did perspire,
And whenever splash'd by rain or mire.
He spat and sputted like a fire,
The man that couldn't get cool!

Smokery, fumery, &c.

As in the fields he sometimes lay
To chill himself, his nose, they say,
Set fire to several ricks of hay,
The man that couldn't get cool.
Of course, this country soon for him
Became too hot, so he, by steam
Resolv'd to visit the icy pole,
And while on board, for want of coal
The ship would have been forc'd to stop
But in the boiler he did pop,
And thus the proper steam kept up
The man that couldn't get cool!

Smokery, fumery, &c.

By brandy drinking he a sight
At last became, for all a light,
He walk'd about the polar night,
The man that couldn't get cool?
Like fam'd snap dragon, burning blue
He then appear'd, and all the crew,
Who found they could not douse his glim,
Oft lit their 'baccy pipes by him.
And when the northern lights arose,
The sailors swore the real cause
Of 'Rora Borealis was
The man that couldn't get cool!

Smokery, fumery, &c.

Of brandy he had shipp'd a store,
And hot! hot! hot! the vessel bore
Much further north than aught before,
The man that couldn't get cool.
He melted all the ice away,
And bathing in the sea each day
He like a red hot poker hiss'd
And fill'd the north with steamy mist,
He made the whales with heat perspire;
He boil'd the fish, and, in his ire,
He nearly set the pole on fire,
The man that couldn't get cool!

Smokery, fumery, &c.

To quench the flames in vain he tried,
It gradually consumed his hide,
At last, of self-combustion, died
The man that couldn't get cool.
Some part of him that was unburn'd
Immediately to glow-worms turn'd,
"And some part." says old Bo'son Buss,
"The doctor took for phosphorus,"
The dust and ash the ship cook choosed.
And arterward he was accused,
That he, for cayenne pepper, used
The man that couldn't get cool!

Smokery, fumery, flamery, phiz,
Flashery, sparkery, firework, whiz!
Jeminy cracks, how hot it is!
The man that couldn't get cool!

H. DE MARSAN, Publisher,
60 Chatham str. New-York.


16 Jun 03 - 04:02 PM (#967173)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Les B.

Since I don't have the where-with-all (ie,brains) to do ABC, can anyone identify what more recognizable songs use this same tune ?

I've seen various songs to be done to the air of The Cannibal King and have always wondered what it sounded like.


16 Jun 03 - 07:51 PM (#967294)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Amos

(two verses about eating babies and missionaries and choking on cold clergyman, eaten raw....)

The last words of this monarch bold
Were not bequeathing hi lands or gold
But warning them all against clergyman cold!
The King of the Cannibal Islands!

Oh, Hokey Pokey, Winky Wung
Calamaroo, Calamarung,
Wangery-Changery-Chingery Chung!
The King of the Cannibal Islands!


17 Jun 03 - 07:31 AM (#967504)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: greg stephens

The tune (The King of the cannibal Islands, that is, there are other songs being discussed on this thread)is also variously known as the Cumberland Reel and the Nottingham Swing(from dances performed to it). Also Hillygo Fillygo All the Way, (from words for the chorus).


17 Jun 03 - 10:46 AM (#967615)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Dave Bryant

Could your other song be related to "The Little Shirt my Mother Made for Me" which is the subject of another thread here ?


17 Jun 03 - 11:14 AM (#967636)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Les B.

Thanks Greg, while I don't know the Cumberland Reel, et al, I'll keep an eye out - they sound vaguely familiar - may be on some records.


17 Jun 03 - 11:26 AM (#967656)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Alice

Jerry Friedman posted the first verse and chorus of King of the Cannibal Islands as I learned it when I was a kid. The next verse is:

Woman pudding and baby sauce,
Little boy pie for second course,
Swallow them all without any remorse,
The King of the Cannibal Islands.

Alice Flynn


17 Jun 03 - 11:29 AM (#967659)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Les B.

Alice - next time I see you I'll have to get your melody !   Maybe Wayne Skertich's on the fourth ?


17 Jun 03 - 11:42 AM (#967682)
Subject: Lyr Add: KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS
From: Amos

Here's a different set of lyrics, from a child's collection (http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/k004.html). Obviously this song has been thoroughly exposed to the Folk process: from the slaughter of unwanted wives, to choking to death on clergymen, to being bonked by falling coconuts. Cf the Bodleian broadsides referenced by Masato above.

A MIDI of the tune can be found at this spot..

An essay on the history of the song, creiditng it to A.W. Humphreys, can be found here.

A



King of the Cannibal Islands
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown

Oh, have you heard the story of late
About the royal potentate
For if you haven't it's in my pate,
'Bout the King of the Cannibal Islands

Hokey pokey winkey wong
Parley magoo gagoo gagong
Handaree rangaree chingaree chong
The King of the Cannibal Islands

His kingdom stretched for miles and miles
Around about the neighboring isles,
His subjects sharpened their teeth with files
Like the King of the Cannibal Islands

Hokey pokey winkey wong
Parley magoo gagoo gagong
Handaree rangaree chingaree chong
The King of the Cannibal Islands

His subjects hunted on the coast
For crocodiles to catch and roast
And serve to him for tea on toast
To the King of the Cannibal Islands

Hokey pokey winkey wong
Parley magoo gagoo gagong
Handaree rangaree chingaree chong
The King of the Cannibal Islands

One day while waiting for his tea
A coconut fell from a neighb'ring tree
And bonked his Cannab'lic majesty
The King of the Cannibal Islands

Hokey pokey winkey wong
Parley magoo gagoo gagong
Handaree rangaree chingaree chong
The King of the Cannibal Islands


17 Jun 03 - 11:47 AM (#967685)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Amos

And apparently it also spun off a lullaby and child's play verse.

"Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes" by Iona and Peter Opie:

Hokey, pokey, whisky, thum,
How d'you like potatoes done?
Boiled in whisky, boiled in rum,
Says the King of the Cannibal Islands.

Heard sung as a lullaby in 1947, and also known as a school song and counting-out rhyme, the lines are evidently a somewhat rationalised memory of the chorus of a popular comic song "The King of the Cannibal Islands" written about 1830 by A. W. Humphreys and 'Sung by him with great applause at the London Concerts':

Oh, have you heard the news of late,
About a mighty King so great?
If you have not, 'tis in my pate––
The King of the cannibal islands.

He was so tall––near six feet six,
He had a head like Mister Nick's,
His palace was like Dirty Dick's,
'Twas built of mud for want of bricks,
And his name was poonoo winkewang,
Flibeedee-flobeedee-buskeebang;
And a lot of the Indians swore they'd hang,
The King of the cannibal islands.

(Chorus)

Hokee pokee wonkee fum,
Puttee po pee kaihula cum,
Tongaree, wongaree, ching ring wum,
The King of the Cannibal Islands

And again another version (just for fun):

Hoky poky, winky wum,
How do you like your 'taters done?
Snip snap snorum, High popolorum.
Kate go scratch it, You are out!.

(from http://fracman.home.mchsi.com/works/lion/LION.89_28-36.90_01-33.part1.doc.)

A


17 Jun 03 - 12:39 PM (#967738)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST

Much of this is repetition of thread 9724 (the first related thread linked above). The South Riding site, with credit to Humphries, was posted by Malcolm Douglas, 05 Jul-02, with the words in two posts by Dicho (Bodleian Collection with added verse from South Riding text).

Amos, thanks for the kiddies versions. There must have been a lot of these since the song's appearance well over 150 years ago, and its use on the minstrel circuits as well.
I wonder if there are any more short playground rhymes. The potatoes verses posted by Amos surely must be one.


11 Sep 04 - 09:19 PM (#1269652)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,JS

Lyrics for "once on a cannibal island" or "I wouldn't leave my little wooden hut for you" as I can remember then from my mother's lullaby renditions


Once on a cannibal isle there dwelt a dark eyed maid
She lived all alone in a little wooden hut in the palm tree shade
And on that island she reigned as queen
One day a stranger appeared on the scene
He said "Don't waste your time out in this dreadful clime, but come with me my little island maid to my home across the sea."
He turned very red, when she turned up her nose and said

Chorus
I wouldn't leave my little wooden hut for you
I've got one lover and I don't want two
When he comes back there is no knowing
And when he comes back you'd better be a-going
'Cause I wouldn't leave my little wooden hut for you.

Just then some cannibals came is sight with swords and spears
Looking for something for supper that night, giving dreadful lears
And she said "Stranger, you'd better go. That chief in war paint, you see is my bow."

?????? missing verse from my mother's memory

But jumped into his little sailing boat that was waiting there
He never came back again, just to hear that maid exclaim

Chorus


29 Nov 04 - 08:05 AM (#1341907)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,remecraft

Very similar to what AMOS had to relate , I well remember my Grandfather singing King of the Cannibals like that , but the words were "Baked in vinegar , boiled in rum...". I recognised the tune again when I heard it in the old Errol Flynn film "They died with their Boots on". In the film it was supposed to be a cavalry march that was used by the British Army regiment that one of the characters had belonged to earlier. It certainly is and old tune.


29 Nov 04 - 12:24 PM (#1342206)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Barrie Roberts

The early 19th Century song clubs out of which Victorian music-hall grew were pretty low places. Cheap books of bawdy songs were printed for their audiences, books with titles like 'Fanny Hill's Bang-Up Reciter'. An item found in some of these books is a song called 'The Queen of the Cannibal Islands'. The chrus is as much as I will quote here, but is sufficient to show a) that the song is related to the 'King of..' version, and b) the nature of the 'Queen of...'. The chorus runs:

Hokey pokey, wankee fum,
Clap your fingers under my bum,
That's the way to make me come,
Says the Queen of the Cannibal Islands.

The songbooks are about 1820s/'30s, but whether they might contain any evidence as to which came first I don't know.


29 Nov 04 - 02:48 PM (#1342322)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

One of the versions of the "KIng ...." (unfortunately not the one about the queen) from a ca. 1813-1838 broadside was posted in the other thread, 9724: King of the Cannibal Islands
Neither Cray nor Randolph-Legman printed versions of the song.

Barrie Roberts, posting of the song would be appreciated.


30 Nov 04 - 05:07 AM (#1342984)
Subject: RE: Info: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Barrie Roberts

Q --- All I recall of the song is the chorus I quoted and I haven't seen my copy of the songbook for years. Since there was nothing in it worth singing I paid it no great attention. If it comes to hand I will gladly post the lyric if you really want a boring, childish piece of sexual sniggery!


18 Aug 06 - 12:01 PM (#1813028)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Amyri

My mother always tuaght me:

oh,The cannibal King with the big brass ring,
Fell in love with the zulu maid,
And every night, 'neath the pale moonlight,
It sounded like this to me:
Barumph,kiss kiss,
Barumph,kiss kiss,
Barumph-adee, adee,a-a-ay x2
oh,the days went by ,a,d one,two, three,
Soon they had a family,
And every night 'neath the pale moonlight,
It sounded like this to me:
Barumph,kiss kiss,wah,wah!
Barumph,kiss kiss,wah,wah!
Barumph-adee, adee,a-a-ay!!


19 Aug 06 - 01:16 AM (#1813575)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Rev

I have the Lyrics for King of the Cannibal Islands as published in the Popular National Songster (1845, pp. 95-96). I'll also post the lyrics of a similar song called Tongo Island (same songster, pp.89-90). I've just used these songs in my dissertation, so I have them handy.

KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS
Oh! Have you heard the news of late,
About a mighty king so great,
If you have not, 'tis in my pate
The king of the Cannibal Islands,
He was so tall, near six feet six;
He had a head like Mr. Nick's,
His palace was like dirty Dick's;
'Twas built of mud for want of brick;
And his name was Poonoowinkewang,
Flibeedee flobeedee buskeebang,
and a lot of Indians swore they would hang,
Hokee, pokee, wongee, fum,
Putte, po, pee, kabula, cum,
Tongeree, wongree, ching, ring, wum,
The king of the Cannibal Islands.

This mighty king had in one hut,
Seventy wives as black as soot,
And thirty of a doble smut,
The king of the Cannibal Islands
Just one hundred wives he had,
and every week he was a dad,
upon my word it was too bad,
For his smutty dears soon drove him mad;
There was Hunkee, Munkee, short and tall,
with Tuzzee, Muzzee, and Keeko Pall,
and some of them swore they would have all,
The king of the Cannibal Islands.

One day the king invited most
All his subjects to a roast,
For half his wives gave up the ghost,
the king of the Cannibal Islands.
Of fifty wives he was bereft,
and so he had but fifty left;
He said with them he would make a shift,
So for a gorge they set off swift.
The fifty wives were roasted soon,
and all demolished before the noon,
and a lot of chief's vowed to have soon,
The king of the Cannibal Islands.

When they had done and bones picked clean,
They all began to dance I ween;
The fifty wives slipped out unseen,
from the King of the Cannibal Islands.
He turning round misses them all,
So for his wives began to bawl,
But not one answered to his call,
He sprung out through the muddy wall;
Then into the woods he went with grief,
And found each queen 'long with a chief,
He swore he'd Macadamize each thief,
The king of the Cannibal Islands.

He sent for all his guards with knives,
To put an end to all their lives,
The fifty chiefs and fifty wives,
The king of the Cannibal Islands.
These Cannibal slaves then begun,
Carving their heads off one by one,
And the king he laughed to see the fun,
Then jumpt into bed when all was done;
And every night when he's asleep,
The headless wives and chiefs all creep
And roll upon him in a heap,
The king of the Cannibal Islands.
Hokee Pokee, &c.




THE TONGO ISLANDS
I sailed from port one summer's day,
And to the South Seas made my way,
I got wreck'd in No Bottom Bay,
All in the Tongo Islands.
The king he made a chief of me,
They called me Koora Kira Kee,
We got as thick as thick could be,
And every night drank strong Bashee, --
Says he, will you be my son-in-law,
and marry the princess Wowski Faw?
Says I, your majesty, hold your jaw,
I do accept the princess' paw,
Swango, Tongo, Hokey, Pokey; Hingeree, Chingeree,
Soaki, Woaki, all in the Tongo Islands!

We'd at our wedding scores of guests,
We'd nuns and lords and chiefs and priests,
Who guzzled like so many beasts,
All in the Tongo Islands.
There was the mighty Guyalore and Flyalore,
and Sannetlore and Gannetlores,
With forty more such –––––– !
The king he drank three quarts of rum.
Which sowed him down so he was dumb;
We thought he'd gone to kingdom come,
Which made the queen look precious glum.
Swango, Tongo, &c.

My bride was kind as kind could be,
And we lived in great harmony,
Till the chiefs they jealous grew of me,
All in the Tongo Islands.
They swore they'd eat me up like pork,
And eat me without knife or fork,
Says I to myself, this is precious work,
So off my body I better walk,
So one fair day, to show my wit,
Not being ready for the spit,
To cut and run I did think fit,
So instead of biting they were bit.
Swango, Tongo, &c.

So now thank heaven I'm safe and sound,
Once more upon my native ground,
And never more I will be found,
All in the Tongo Islands
For what's the use of being chief,
When you can't mutton get nor beef,
Nor a glass of grog to give relief,
To raise your spirits or drown your grief?
For though the lawyers here we need,
Who eat us up alive 'tis said,
But there they knock you on the head,
And swollow you up after you're dead.
Oh! Swango, Tongo, &c.


15 Nov 07 - 03:57 PM (#2194696)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,mei

It goes
"Oh have you heard the story of late, about the royal potentate?
Well if you haven't it's in my pate...
The King of the Cannibal Islands
His kingdom stretched for miles and miles
Around about the neighboring isles
His subjects fed on crocodiles..
The King of the Cannibal Islands
Hokey Pokey Winky Wong
Kalamazoo kazoo kazong
If you haven't it's in my pate
Chorus.
Thats all I remember


16 Nov 07 - 08:48 AM (#2195237)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Jim Dixon

The oldest version of THE KING OF THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS that I could find with Google Book Search is in Marsh's Selection, Or Singing for the Million, New York: Richard Marsh, 1854. "Containing the choicest and best collection of admired patriotic, comic, Irish, Negro, temperance and sentimental songs ever embodied in one work."

The words seem pretty close to the ones posted by GUEST,Rev above, so I won't repeat them, but those of you who collect old songs might want to browse in that volume.


14 Oct 08 - 05:57 PM (#2465694)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Tim Jaques

Apparently The King of the Cannibals is the same tune as used for The Man Who Couldn't Get Warm, the one Dickens quotes as the song of Shivery Shakey.


14 Oct 08 - 07:23 PM (#2465773)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

"Cannibalee" is another one of these songs. It seems to me that it was posted some time ago- if no one can find it, I will post it (Scottish Students Handbook).


31 Oct 08 - 01:06 AM (#2480539)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,irv101

(Refrain) Hoky poky winky wong pollycome pinky muly come down in the Cannibal Islands.
Oh I set my sails to sail away to the 7 seas down to the cannibal islands.
(Refrain)
I struck a rock in the bottomless bay down in the cannibal Islands.
(Refrain)
I met the Cannibal King and he said "how are you and how in the dickens do you do? Down in the Cannibal Islands.
(Refrain)
We ate a monkey stew all stirred up in an old dead horse, down in the Cannibal Islands.

That's the best I can remember. My dad (1909-2004)used to sing that often. Does anyone know the correct words and where to find it????


01 Nov 08 - 01:33 PM (#2481748)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Jim Dixon

Q: Here it is: Lyr Add: Cannibalee


01 Nov 08 - 02:18 PM (#2481773)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Thanks, Jim


07 Feb 09 - 11:48 PM (#2560574)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST

winky wonky chingy chong pollymagoo gagoo ga gong chimaree chamaree michicatu the king of the cannibal island. I rememer that from 4th grade too


17 Feb 09 - 07:43 AM (#2569040)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST

Thanks for the Cannibal Maid. My Grandfather and Mother used to sing it to us when I was young. It was a sort of sea shanty type of song which makes it very haunting....Both have since passed and this is one of my fond memories of them....

Thanks soo much for the lyrics


11 Jul 09 - 11:33 PM (#2677975)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST

Here is the version I learned as a child. My 3 1/2 year old asks me to sing it every night. I think this is a good version:

The cannabal king with the big nose ring,
Fell in love with the Zulu maiden,
And every night in the pale moonlight,
Across the bay he stray (make paddling movements)

He'd hug and kiss his pretty little miss,
Underneath the shade of a bamboo tree,
And every night in the pale moonlight,
It sounded like this to me.

A rump, (kissing sound) (slap your cheek like the kiss was slightly improper)
A rump (kissing sound) (slap your cheek like the kiss was slightly improper)
A rump, diddly oddy daaay
(repeat)

Oh the years went by a 1,2,3
And soon they had a family
And every night in the pale moon light,
It sounded like this to me.

A rump Ma-Ma (turn head to one side)
A rump Pa-Pa (turn head to other side)
A rump diddly oddy daay
(repeat)

I found this link looking for more choruses to add, but alas, it seems no one else sings the version I learned!


12 Jul 09 - 02:43 AM (#2677996)
Subject: Going Out a-Shooting
From: Artful Codger

The tune used for "King of the Cannibal Islands" (et al.) is also used, with slight change, for the song "Going Out a-Shooting" (ca. 1832)--the Lester S. Levy site has a scan. John Charles White (Esq.) is properly credited with the music. If you search for White's name there and elsewhere, you may encounter more songs which use this tune but do not refer to it by name.

See thread 9724 for some additional information. (Relinked here for convenience.)


18 Sep 09 - 10:57 PM (#2726450)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Branchman

Thanks to whoever put the .mid at this site. It puts music to a version I found. Anyone interested in another version? I found one called 'The New Departure' while doing genealogy research in an 1871 newspaper. The song has a reference to Dayton, Ohio. I have yet to find out what the song was in reference to, but I am still looking.


04 Mar 10 - 11:19 AM (#2855916)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST

The version I know from camp has these lyrics, too:

Years go by, 1-2-3
Now they have a family
And every night by the pale moonlight
Sounds like this to me:
Baroomp MAA MAA baroomp MAA MAA baroomp badyadyayyy...

Years go by 4-5-6
Now they have a house of sticks
And every night by the pale moonlight
Sounds like this to me:
Baroomp CRASH BANG baroomp CRASH BANG baroom badadyadyyy...

Years go by 7-8-9
Now they have a party line
And every night by the pale moonlight
Sounds like this to me:
Baroomp YAKYAK baroomp YAKYAK baroomp badyadyayyy...

Years go by 10-11-12
Now they live all by themselves
And every night by the pale moonlight
Sounds like this to me:
Baroomp BOO HOO baroomp BOO HOO baroomp badyadyayy....

Rather a child-centric version! I think my parents were more along the lines of "baroomp YIPPEE!"


04 Mar 10 - 09:39 PM (#2856423)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Artful Codger

The Levy site also has a companion song to "Going Out a-Shooting" titled "When We Were Out a Fishing"--same tune ("King of..."), but an inferior text.


01 Dec 10 - 10:20 PM (#3044598)
Subject: Lyr Add: I WOULDN'T LEAVE MY LITTLE WOODEN HUT...
From: Ron Davies

Ran across "I Wouldn't Leave..." on a tape of music hall songs I found in my collection--must have been done by a friend.

Anyway, here's the version of "I Wouldn't Leave My Little Wooden Hut For You" on the tape. Probably done in the 1910's.   Have no idea who is doing it--but it's in far better shape than the 1908 version on YouTube (but you can get the tune from YouTube).

Once on a cannibal isle there dwelt a dark-eyed maid
Lived all alone in a little log hut 'neath the palm trees' shade
And on that island she reigned as queen
One day a stranger appeared on the scene
Said he; "Don't waste your time
Out in this awful clime
But come with me, my pretty southern maid, to my home across the sea
But he went fairly red
When she turned up her nose and said

CH
"I wouldn't leave my little wooden hut for you
I've got one lover, and I don't want two.
What might happen there is no knowing
If he came around;   so you'd better be going
For I wouldn't leave my little wooden hut for you."


Just then some cannibals came in sight with swords and spears
Looking for something for their supper that night, making ugly leers.
That queen said; "Stranger, you'd better go
That chief in warpaint is my beau."
"Oh, is that true?" he said
As towards the stream he fled
And just into a boat a-floating there. He was soon clean out of sight
He won't return again
Just to hear that girl exclaim
CH


02 Dec 10 - 01:39 AM (#3044653)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Jim Dixon

The National Library of Australia has the sheet music, but it isn't viewable online:

I WOULDN'T LEAVE MY LITTLE WOODEN HUT FOR YOU
Words, Tom Mellor. Music, Chas. Collins.
London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1905.


30 Dec 10 - 08:47 PM (#3064188)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Francis X Murphy

My mother (now 87) has sung the song "We'll build a bungalow" to the babies in our very large extended family going back to the 1930's. I think she learned it from my grand-father.
I was whistling the part about "the dusty maid" tonight and was struck by the question, "Is this a patronizing epithet?"


31 Dec 10 - 03:25 AM (#3064289)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,Susie

I sang "Once On A Cannibal Isle" to my two sons; it was sung to me when tiny as a lullaby by my late father [b 1925], whose mother [b 1897] sang it to HIM, whose mother had sing it to HER.
I'd never seen any reference to it anywhere and then, out of theblue, MANY years ago, saw it in print in an EFDSS magazine- possibly in the 1980s. I think it was dow as a music hall song.
It certainly made an impression on several generations of babies in my family!


29 Sep 15 - 01:56 PM (#3740702)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST

King of the Cannibal Islands

Chorus:
Hokey Pokey Winkie Wom Paulicka Pinkie Mulie Com Pansy Wansie Wirie Rum, King of the Cannibal Islands

Versus:
While sailing over the seas one day

To the South Sea Islands I made my way

I struck a reef in the bottomless bay, down in the Cannibal Islands

Chorus:
Hokey Pokey Winkie Wom Paulicka Pinkie Mulie Com Pansy Wansie Wirie Rum, King of the Cannibal Islands

This is all I can remember from 4th grade. 68 now!!! How time flies down here in the Cannibal Islands!!! Hope this help a bit. :)


29 Sep 15 - 03:10 PM (#3740716)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Steve Gardham

The great Tyneside poet Tommy Armstrong wrote songs to this tune, among them one called 'Stanley Market'. I think another Geordie song 'The Fyamous Fiery Clockfyace' is the same tune.


29 Sep 15 - 06:40 PM (#3740762)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Stewie

Mention of the 'King of the Cannibal Islands' always reminds me of beaut little poem by John Manifold about the death of one of our Oz prime ministers who disappeared without a trace.

On the Death of Mr Holt
(John Manifold)

Only a week before Christmas
   The happiest day of the year
They held a wake for Harold Holt
   And the bigwig guests came here

Bonnie Prince Charlie came owre the sea
   With Wilson who never smiles
And LBJ from the USA
   And the king of the Cannibal Isles

Chaps from Siam and from South Vietnam
   And the Philippines too, I think
Some for the sake of the free, free world
   And some for the free, free drink

They made long speeches and shed loud tears
   To propitiate Harold's ghost
And the king of the Cannibal Isles got up
   To propose a final toast

He said: "We have had such a splendid time
   Such generous Christmas cheer
We hope you'll be able to drown a Prime
   Minister every year!"

--Stewie.


06 Dec 18 - 06:37 PM (#3965169)
Subject: ADD: On The Death of Harold Holt (John Manifold)
From: Stewie

A bit of thread creep, but mention of the King of the Cannibal Islands always makes me recall a beaut little poem by John Manifold. In December 1967, Australia lost its then Prime Minister, Harold Holt, who disappeared whilst swimming off the coast of Victoria. His body was never found.

On The Death of Harold Holt
(John Manifold)

Only a week before Christmas,
   The happiest day of the year,
They held a wake for Harold Holt,
   And the bigwig guests came here.

Bonnie Prince Charlie came owre the sea
   With Wilson, who never smiles,
And L.B.J. from the U.S.A
   And the king of the Cannibal Isles;

Chaps from Siam and from South Vietnam
   And the Philippines too, I think;
Some for the sake of the free, free world,
   And some for the free, free drink.

They made long speeches and shed loud tears
   To propitiate Harold's ghost,
And the king of the Cannibal Isles got up
   To propose a final toast.

He said: "We have had such a splendid time,
   Such generous Christmas cheer,
We hope you'll be able to drown a Prime
   Minister every year!"

--Stewie.


30 Dec 20 - 01:22 AM (#4085620)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: rich-joy

Came across this version (with tune!) the other day :
"King of the Cannibal Islands" · Flying Fish Sailors, 1999 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNnl63U4bTA


09 Jun 21 - 03:48 AM (#4109434)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: Jack Campin

We have another thread about this song with very similar content. Combine?

The tune dates back to the 18th century.


09 Jun 21 - 05:00 AM (#4109438)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: King of the Cannibal Islands
From: GUEST,jim bainbridhe

If you want the tune from otther than printed sources, the Irish ceili band- the McCusker Brothers (there were nine of them) made LPs about 1960- one of which featured a set of jigs- 'Biddy the Bold Wife/I lost my love/King of the Cannibal Islands'.

   Steve G is quite right about 'Stanley Market' being to the same tune, and 'Stumblin' Jack Elliott of Birtley recorded it in the 60s- he used the nickname to distinguish himself from another 60s singer- 'Ramblin' Jack Elliott.