- My Old Dutch (song)
-
"My Old Dutch" 
Music by Charles Ingle Lyrics by Albert Chevalier Published 1892 Performed by Albert Chevalier "My Old Dutch" is an 1892 music hall[1] and vaudeville[2] song performed by Albert Chevalier. The lyrics were written by Chevalier, with music composed by his brother Auguste under the name Charles Ingle.[3] Described as one of Chevalier's most popular works,[4] the song was possibly written as a tribute to Chevalier's wife Florrie.[3][5]
Contents
Background
The song's title refers to a 1880s colloquialism for a partner or friend. The phrase has a number of etymologies; two Cockney rhyming slang explanations identify the phrase as coming from "dutch plate" ("mate") or "Duchess of Fife" ("wife").[6] Chevalier, however, claimed that his wife's face reminded him of the clock face of a Dutch clock.[6]
As with many music hall songs, the lyrics dealt with poverty and social or gender differences.[1] When introducing the song, Chevalier would enter dressed as an elderly Cockney man with his elderly partner. They would head towards a workhouse, whereupon the porter would separate them under the sexual segregation law. Chevalier's character would cry out in refusal, "you can't do this to us; we've been together for forty years!" The porter and woman then exited the stage, and Chevalier would begin the song.[1]
Reception
Henry Chance Newton described the song as a "famous domestic monologue". Laura Ormiston Chant commented that the song outlined "the finest sentiments of the human heart [...] in a language understood by the people". Lewis Carroll said that the song influenced public taste "towards refinement and purity".[7]
Lyrics
- I've got a pal,
- A reg'lar out an' outer,
- She's a dear good old gal,
- I'll tell yer all about 'er.
- It's many years since fust we met,
- 'Er 'air was then as black as jet,
- It's whiter now, but she don't fret,
- Not my old gall
- We've been together now for forty years,
- An' it don't seem a day too much,
- There ain't a lady livin' in the land
- As I'd "swop" for my dear old Dutch.
- I calls 'er Sal,
- 'Er proper name is Sairer,
- An' yer may find a gal
- As you'd consider fairer.
- She ain't a angel — she can start
- A-jawin' till it makes yer smart,
- She's just a woman, bless 'er eart,
- Is my old gal!
- We've been together now for forty years,
- An' it don't seem a day too much,
- There ain't a lady livin' in the land
- As I'd "swop" for my dear old Dutch.
- Sweet fine old gal,
- For worlds I wouldn't lose 'er,
- She's a dear good old gal,
- An' that's what made me choose 'er.
- She's stuck to me through thick and thin,
- When luck was out, when luck was in,
- Ah wot a wife to me she's been,
- An' wot a pal!
- We've been together now for forty years,
- An' it don't seem a day too much,
- There ain't a lady livin' in the land
- As I'd "swop" for my dear old Dutch.
- I sees yer Sal —
- Yer pretty ribbons sportin'
- Many years now, old gal,
- Since them young days of courtin'.
- I ain't a coward, still I trust
- When we've to part, as part we must,
- That Death may come and take me fust
- To wait... my pal!
- We've been together now for forty years,
- An' it don't seem a day too much,
- There ain't a lady livin' in the land
- As I'd "swop" for my dear old Dutch.[8]
Legacy
In his later career, Chevalier performed a dramatised version of the song.[3] In 1915, a film version was produced which starred Chevalier and Florence Turner.[3][9] In 1926, a remake of the film was directed by Universal's Laurence Trimble.[10] Turner attended a screen test, but the lead role was given to May McAvoy.[3] A third film based on the song was released in 1934, which was written by Arthur Shirley and directed by Sinclair Hill.[11]
References
- ^ a b c Dave Russell (1997). Popular Music in England, 1840-1914. Manchester University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0719052610.
- ^ Frank Cullen (2007). Vaudeville, Old and New. 1. Routledge. p. 220. ISBN 0415938538.
- ^ a b c d e Felbridge & District History Group (2009). "Albert Chevalier and ‘My Old Dutch’". http://www.jeremy-clarke.freeserve.co.uk/Chevalier.htm. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ Martha Vicinus (1974). The Industrial Muse. Taylor & Francis. p. 274. ISBN 0856641316.
- ^ Paul Morris (2009). "Albert Chevalier". The English Music Hall. http://www.amaranthdesign.ca/musichall/past/cheval.htm. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ a b Eric Partridge; Paul Beale (2002). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. p. 823. ISBN 0415291895.
- ^ Aruna Krishnamurthy (2009). The Working-Class Intellectual in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain. Ashgate. p. 251. ISBN 0754665046.
- ^ George P Landow; Derek B Scott (2008). "My Old Dutch: A Cockney Song". http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/musichall/olddutch1.html. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ British Film Institute (2010). "My Old Dutch". Film and TV Database. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/289089. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ British Film Institute (2010). "My Old Dutch". Film and TV Database. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/43565. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ British Film Institute (2010). "My Old Dutch". Film and TV Database. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/43566. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
Categories: 1892 songs | Music hall songs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
