Origins:I'm Henery the Eighth I Am / Henry the 8th

20 Jun 06 - 07:26 PM (#1765083)
Subject: verses for Henery the eighth
From: GUEST,cmcw

Can anyone tell me if there are verses for the Herman' s Hermits song, Henery the eighth? Failing that, can anyone tell me definitively that there are NOT verses?

Thanks.

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20 Jun 06 - 07:50 PM (#1765102)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: Ron Davies

Thanks Liz--those are great verses (even if the song is already in DT)--and a lot of other great music hall songs. Can you tell us the significance of Charley Peace?

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20 Jun 06 - 07:51 PM (#1765107)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: GUEST,cmcw

brilliant, Liz. I'm gonna win the bet!

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21 Jun 06 - 02:28 AM (#1765293)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: Folkiedave

Charly Peace was a murderer/burglar fronm Sheffield.

His story is here:


http://www.met.police.uk/history/history_cases/charlie_peace.htm

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21 Jun 06 - 04:04 AM (#1765329)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: Paul Burke

If you run across him, get Gordon Geekie of Manchester to sing his "chanson" version, which (pardon my bad French) runs something like:

Henri huit, c'est moi, c'est moi,
Henri huit, c'est moi, c'est moi,
Je m'ai mariee a ma voisine,
Elle a mariee sept fois deja,
Et tous s'appellent des "Henris",
Elle ne voudrait ni un "Ouilly" ni un "Sam".
Je suis le huitieme des "Henris",
Henri huit, c'est moi!

With a ridiculous French vibrato and gurgle, and a Brel style piano to go with it.

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21 Jun 06 - 04:09 AM (#1765330)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: Liz the Squeak

Do'you know... it didn't even occur to me to check the DT... D'oh!!!

I just went for Harry Champion, the singer, because I remembered it was one of his pieces!

Ah well.. if the winnings include chocolate, I'll take my share in weekly installments!

LTS

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21 Jun 06 - 05:27 AM (#1765359)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: GUEST

Harry Champion is recorded on "Cockney Bill" singing the last verse as

The undertaker called and to the missus I heard him say:
“ ’Ave you any business, ma'am? We’re very slack today.
I packed up number seven for you for the Pearly Gates.
For half a crown, I'll put a gown on 'Enery the Eighth.”
Oh, when he measured me with 'alf a yard of string,
I dropped upon me marrowbones and sang Gawd Save the King.

G

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21 Jun 06 - 10:02 PM (#1766140)
Subject: RE: verses for Henery the eighth
From: Ron Davies

Thanks, FolkieDave, for that information on Charlie Peace. What a character--and a musician (of sorts) to boot!

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13 Jul 06 - 07:37 AM (#1782520)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray,Weston
From: Jim Dixon

Here's a link to the song in the DT: I'M HENERY THE EIGHTH, I AM

There's a playable mp3 file of Harry Champion singing I'M HENERY THE EIGHTH in a 1911 recording at The Internet Archive.

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13 Jul 06 - 09:56 AM (#1782621)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray,Weston
From: GUEST,Ruston Hornsby

Actually have my great grandmother's copy of the Harry Champion 78rpm recoding of it at home somewhere - one of the old thick and heavy 78's. I'll dig it out and give it a play sometime (we still have her wind-up record player) - it'll be interesting to see if it's the same as the internet archive recording.

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13 Jul 06 - 02:15 PM (#1782792)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray,Weston
From: GUEST,Pelrad

I always thought the word in that last verse was "metabones," like metatarsals. ??

David Jones recorded this on his cassette "Songs of Exquisite Taste," but I'm not sure where anyone could find it these days. I believe he only released it on cassette.

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13 Jul 06 - 03:52 PM (#1782851)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray,Weston
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)

Pelrad - marrowbones is fine, meaning down on your knees. There's a C19th North Eastern song called Success Unto The Coal Trade which includes the line: "Down on your marrowbones and pray, Success unto the coal trade".

According to my slang dictionary marrowbones for knees is jocular standard English and my OED says that usage has been OK since 1532!

Mick

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29 Jan 11 - 07:42 PM (#3084957)
Subject: Lyr Add: I'M HENERY THE EIGHTH I AM (Murray,Weston
From: Jim Dixon

You can hear this recording at YouTube or at the Internet Archive. I have listened, compared it to the version in the DT, and boldfaced the differences:


I'M HENERY THE EIGHTH I AM
Written by Fred Murray & Robert P Weston, 1910.
As recorded by Harry Champion, 1911

1. You don't know who you're looking at. Now just you look at me!
I'm a bit of a nob, I am, belong to royalty.
I'll tell you how it got about: I married Widow Burch.
I was King of England when we trotted out of church.
Outside the people started shouting, "Hip, hooray!"
Said I, "Go down upon your knees. It's Coronation Day!"

CHORUS: I'm Henery the Eighth, I am!
Henery the Eighth, I am, I am!
I got married to the widow next door.
She's been married seven times before.
Every one was a Henery.
She wouldn't have a Willie* or a Sam.
I'm her eighth old man named Henery.
Henery the Eighth I am.

2. I left the Duke of Cumberland, a pub up in the town.
Soon with one or two monarchs I was holding up me Crown.
Seated on the bucket what the carmen call their own,
Surrounded by me subjects, I was sitting on the throne.
Out came the potman. He said, "Now get off to bed."
Said I, "Now say another word, and off'll go your head!"

3. The undertaker called and to the wife I heard him say:
"Have you got any orders, mum? We're very slack today.
I packed up number seven for you, for the Golden Gates.
Let's have a pound upon accounts of Henery the Eighth.
Oh, when he measured me with half a yard of string,
I dropped upon me marrowbones and sang "God Save the King."

* On some repetitions of the chorus, substitute "William."

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30 Jan 11 - 12:39 PM (#3085297)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray/Weston
From: GUEST,SteveG

Original sheet music in a charity shop on the High St in Barnett, 50p.

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25 Feb 11 - 03:33 PM (#3102772)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray/Weston
From: Jim Dixon

I found an image of the sheet music here. (Note there is a "Go to next page" link at the bottom of that page.) It shows that the lyrics in the DT are accurate, except that the DT is missing verse 4, the "undertaker" verse. The wording of that verse in the sheet music is somewhat different from what Harry Champion sang, so I repeat it here with the differences boldfaced:


4. The undertaker called and to the wife I heard him say:
"Have you got any orders, mum? We're rather slack today.
I packed up all your other seven for the Golden Gates.
Let's have a pound upon account for Henery the Eighth."
But when he measured me with half a yard of string,
I dropped upon my marrowbones and sang "God Save the King!"

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25 Feb 11 - 05:40 PM (#3102832)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: I'm Henery the Eighth I Am (Murray/Weston
From: Dead Horse

I always think of Joe Brown when I think of this tune. :-)

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