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27 Jun 06 - 08:06 PM (#1770699) Subject: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: TenBears Any of you good mudcatters able to supply the lyrics of this song? Dates pre-War as far as I know and was sung to me as a child in the Fifties but I can't remember much! Thanks tenbears |
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27 Jun 06 - 11:35 PM (#1770796) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: Sorcha No joy. Just found references to it. |
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28 Jun 06 - 01:52 AM (#1770856) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: Artful Codger Google for "Olga Pulloffski". Or the authors, Len Bermon and Henry Hall. |
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28 Jun 06 - 02:02 AM (#1770862) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: Artful Codger BTW, can you favor us with the tune? |
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28 Jun 06 - 02:16 AM (#1770867) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: Artful Codger A footnote: Bermon (Hall's drummer) began singing novely songs in the latter part of 1932, so the song would date a bit after this time. |
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28 Jun 06 - 02:35 AM (#1770871) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: Artful Codger I got the attribution wrong: "Olga Pulloffski" was written in 1935 by R.P. Weston and Bert Lee. Hall & co. recorded it. It's on at least two compilations, "Somewhere at Sea" (of Hall recordings) and "You Must Remember This" (various artists.) |
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28 Jun 06 - 11:43 AM (#1771213) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Polovsky the beautiful spy From: Flash Company Only bit I remember Gran singing was:- Shame on you, shame on you, Oh Fie Fie, Olga Polovski, the beautiful spy. There was a women in our street who smoked cigarettes in a long holder who always brought it on. FC |
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30 Jun 06 - 12:09 AM (#1772451) Subject: Lyr Add: OLGA PULLOFFSKI, THE BEAUTIFUL SPY From: Jim Dixon Copied from Lyrics Playground: OLGA PULLOFFSKI, THE BEAUTIFUL SPY (Bert Lee / R. P. Weston) (Voice announcing arriving guests:) Colonel and Mrs Mango-Chutney Major Curry of the 19th Member Force Their Highnesses the Raja and Rani of Mesomethuselum Mademoiselle Olga Pulloffski (Voice in alarm:) By Gad, get onto the War Office at once; it's Olga Pulloffski! (Music begins:) The scene is a military ballroom. The gallant and fair are the dancers; But who's the brunette, Who with eyes black as jet, Fascinates all the guards and the lancers? She's Olga Pulloffski, the beautiful spy, The gay continental rapscallion. Some say that she's Russian And some say she's French, But her accent is gin and Italian. Shame on you, shame on you! Oh, fie, fie! Olga Pulloffski, you beautiful spy! She waltzes around with the general, And while on the floor they go whirling. She robs the old sport Of the plans of the fort And she'll sell them for ten-million sterling. Olga Pulloffski, the beautiful spy Will soon make him know what disgrace is. She'll leave him with only His top boots and spurs And his pair of red, white and blue braces. Shame on you, shame on you! Oh, fie, fie! Olga Pulloffski, you beautiful spy! (Bell chimes once) (Voice announcing the time in ringing tones:) Twelve o'clock and all's well. (Voice echoing the other voice:) Twelve o'clock and all's weeeeeellll!! The secrets of our Tower of London She sold to some great foreign power. It was not Anne Boleyn Who at midnight was seen Walking round in the Adjective Tower. 'Twas Olga Pulloffski, the beautiful spy. The Beefeater she bribed with kisses Would willingly've given her all the crown jewels, But he'd lent them that night to the missus. Shame on you, shame on you! Oh, fie, fie! Olga Pulloffski, you beautiful spy! At last she was caught and court-martialled. The Colonel said, "We hate to hurt you. Of course, it's all rot, But you've got to be shot." And she powdered her nose and said, "Good show!" She's Olga Pulloffski, the beautiful spy. The firing squad tenderly kissed her. Then the Captain said, "Fire!" When the smoke cleared away, They hollered, "Hooray! We've missed her!" She is too young and too fair to die, Olga Pulloffski, the beautiful spy. Shame on you, shame on you! Oh, fie, fie! Olga Pulloffski, you beautiful spy! {As sung by Len Bermon & Henry Hall.] |
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30 Jun 06 - 12:56 PM (#1772855) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: GUEST,tenbears You folk are wonderful - I've been after the song for thirty years! I know the tune but have no way to communicate it, I'm afraid! Thanks yet again! Tenbears |
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30 Jun 06 - 03:55 PM (#1772972) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: Artful Codger tenbears, check out the ABC format, a simple way to specify tunes in plain text. |
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01 Jul 06 - 09:41 AM (#1773466) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: Flash Company Nice to see the whole of the thing, puts a chidhood memory into focus, and that is going back a loooooong way! FC |
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26 Aug 09 - 06:42 PM (#2709413) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: Joe Offer I was searching for America, the Beautiful and ended up with this thread. I thought it deserved to be refreshed. Anybody know where I can find a recording of this song? -Joe- |
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26 Aug 10 - 04:25 PM (#2973492) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: GUEST,Karen Anderson I do have a recording of it, if only I can find it. It's a CD from a tape, possibly sung onto that tape or possibly recorded from a 78 disc -- the singer is a Dane, Jens Christian Hostrup, who was a cousin of my late mother-in-law. There are quite a few songs on the CD that I want to hear again. I'd better get started. Real Soon Now. --Karen |
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01 Jan 11 - 02:20 PM (#3065112) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: Charley Noble What a treasure! Anyone else curious about this line: "Walking round in the Adjective Tower." Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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01 Jan 11 - 03:17 PM (#3065138) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: GUEST,Grishka Charming song, I like it. It is not difficult to find an MP3 of it in the 'net. "Adjective" normally stands for some unsingable adjective of two syllables, but here it takes three notes. Also, what is so adjective about the Tower? There are lines in the lyrics that are much funnier. |
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01 Jan 11 - 03:55 PM (#3065166) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes It's a 'polite' version of The Bloody Tower, which is part of The Tower of London. Weston and Lee also wrote "With her head tucked underneath her arm" in which Anne Boleyn "walks the Bloody Tower". Reportedly, the BBC were happy to hear it sung with a northern accent, but got hot under the collar when it was sung in a Cockney accent because it sounded like the swearing they heard in the London streets. So 'Adjective' is an in-joke by the writers. Georgina |
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01 Jan 11 - 06:10 PM (#3065240) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: GUEST,Grishka I see, Georgina; thanks for putting me/us on the track! Perhaps one could speak of a "mock bowdlerization". |
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01 Jan 11 - 06:21 PM (#3065248) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes Thank you Grishka - "Mock bowdlerisation" sums it up perfectly. |
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02 Jan 11 - 10:42 AM (#3065548) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: Charley Noble Georgina and Grishka- Excellent "case" presentation! Thanks for the clarification of "Adjective." Weston and Lee were quite the team and probably deserve their own dedicated thread. I suspect they were also responsible for one of my other favorite songs "The Pearl Diver" which shares a chorus with "'While the Rich Man Drives By" which is definitely composed by them. I'm surprised that I've not been able to find a photo of the two of them in my searches of the internet. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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09 Jan 18 - 11:33 PM (#3898463) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy From: Joe Offer I found a recording of Olga Pulloffski, the Beautiful Spy" here:It's downright inspiring. There's a better recording, but it probably won't play in the UK: -Joe- |