The hidden meanings in music hall lyrics
The hidden meanings in music hall lyrics
Caption: Marie Lloyd 1870-1922 Hello, dears. I'm Marie Lloyd, music hall star, the one and only, from old London Town. #My old man said follow the van# #and don't dilly dally on the way# That song's about a moonlight flit. We had to leave our lodgings in the middle of the night before the landlord caught us and made us pay the rent. Music Hall was working class musical theatre which began in pub saloons in the 1830s. Whilst people ate and drank, they'd listen to songs rude, funny, political, sentimental. In our prime, there were over 300 purpose-built music halls in London alone. We were famous, at home and abroad. People bought our song sheets by the thousand. We had all sorts on stage dancers, jugglers, comic turns, circus troupes, animal acts. But we singers and performers, we were at the heart of it. Stars like Dan Leno, George Robey, Vesta Tilley and Gus Elen. Life was tough for working class people. We sung about the hardships high rents, overcrowding, poverty, violence, hunger, drinking, marital strife but our songs were funny. Something to share and to remember. Love songs. #Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do# Food. #Boiled beef and carrots, boiled beef and carrots,# #that's the stuff for your 'Derby Kell'# #makes you fat, keeps you well.# City life. #"Wotcha!" all the neighbours cried# #Who're going to meet Bill? Have you bought the street Bill?# #Laugh I thought I should have died# #Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road Ah ah diddly ah# Holidays. #Oh I do like to be beside the seaside# #Oh I do like to be beside the sea# At the seaside you could show a bit of flesh. Take a few risks. #Where the brass bands play "Tiddly-om-pom-pom!"# Politics. #Two lovely black eyes Oh what a surprise# The song tells the story about a man who spoke up for one political party and got punched in the eye. Then he swapped sides and got punched in the other eye. Some performers weren't always what they seemed. George Robey appeared like a pantomime dame in frills and a skirt. Vesta Tilley always dressed like a smart young gentleman. #I'm Burlington Bertie, I rise at 10:30# #And saunter along like a toff# #I walk down the Strand with me gloves on me hand# #And I walk back again with them off# Horseman Pablo Fanque was one of the great black music hall stars. He led his own circus troupe. And then there was Jules Léotard, the daring French trapeze artist. #He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease# #A daring young man on the flying trapeze# But it wasn't always easy. The Social Purity Alliance said we were a bad influence. The authorities could fine us for being improper. We had to be clever. Use double meanings. If you know what I mean. If the audience didn't like you they'd throw anything at you even dead cats. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and it could get disgusting with so many people packed together in such heavy clothes. Phe-ew. Our catchy choruses survived right into the computer age. In the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the HAL computer sings... #Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do# ...as it gets deactivated, and I've heard tell it's really about the mistress of the Prince of Wales, that's before he became Edward VII. There's often a hidden meaning in music hall lyrics. In London our audiences were mostly male and the songs were written by men. But some women, like me, had the cheek to make a good living. #Now I always hold with having it if you fancy it# #If you fancy it, that's understood# #And suppose it makes you fat, I don't worry over that# #'Cause a little of what you fancy does you good# In hard times, singing those songs together was the best night of the week. I wonder what you lot are singing about these days# #Now I always hold with having it if you fancy it# #If you fancy it, that's understood# #And suppose it makes you fat, I don't worry over that# #'Cause a little of
