for ladies and gents in their sixties and seventies

[crisgal]

my mum, who's 69 and brought up in lancashire, knows some great little songs that she sings to my daughter. They are songs she use to sing with her sisters when they were children.Like:

Mary Ellen at the church turned up

sammy, you're face is jammy

There was i waiting at the church

etc. I was wondering if this was just a northern thing, or did everyone sing them? They are not really playground songs, I think she sang them more as a teenager. It would be great to hear other people's versions. Do you know any?

[Alibobs]

My late father who would be 73 now used to sing these to me when I was little. He hailed from Yorkshire.

His favourites included The Quartermasters Stores(?), On Ilkley Moor bah tat( his fave being a Yorkshire man), Donald, wheres your troosers, and he was also partial to a Stanley Holloway monologue or two

[atoach]

Yes Alibobs! My father who would be 80 sang The Quartermaster's Stores to me too. No one else has ever heard of it.

Altogether:

There were rats, rats, big as (expletive) cats
In the stores, in the stores,
There were rats, rats, big as (expletive) cats
In the Quartermaster's Stores


My eyes are dim I cannot see,
I have not brought my specs with me
I have

not

brought

my-y

specs

with

me.

How about

-Shire (shy-er)

-Shire

Somersetshire

The skipper looked on her with pride

He'd have a blue fit if he saw all the (expletive)

on the side of the Somersetshire.

IYou see I was introduced to (expletives), at least in musical form, at an early age.

[atoach]

Sorry, it's just come back, there's a chorus to the Somersetshire one.

This is my story, this is my song

We've been in the Air Force too (expletive) long

So roll on the Rodney, the Nelson, Renown

But we can't say the Hood 'cause the (expletive)'s gone down.

I see the Hood 'went down' in 1941 so this dates it !

[surreyman]

You might enjoy www.monologues.co.uk lots of old favourites from the likes of Stanley Holloway, Billy Bennett and many more.