Two Little Boys

"Two Little Boys" is a popular song written by Theodore Morse and Edward Madden. It was written in 1902 and it became a popular music hall song hit of the time made popular by Harry Lauder.

In 1969 it was revived in popularity when during a tour of Arnhem Land in Australia, Australian entertainer Rolf Harris briefly stayed with folk musician Ted Egan. Egan sung him the song, which Harris recorded on tape. When he got back to England he persuaded his television producer into using the song on his BBC variety show. Harris discovered he had lost the tape and rang Egan, twelve thousand miles away in Canberra, and got him to sing the song over the phone. Alan Braden arranged the song for the TV show, and the audience reaction was such that it was recorded by Harris and released as a single. The song reached #1 on the singles chart in December 1969 for six weeks and became the UK's best selling single of 1969. On popular BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, Margaret Thatcher picked it as her favourite song. Kenny Rogers also sang a version of the song while he was lead singer of the country-rock band The First Edition, released on their Transition album in 1971.

The song was revived in 1980 by Splodgenessabounds and reached #27 on the UK singles chart. The song is popular amongst Hartlepool United fans and is regularly sung at matches. In 2006, a group of Hartlepool United fans released the single "Poolie Pride", which contained the track "Two Little Boys" as a double A-side with "Never Say Die". The song reached #24 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song is also commonly played by Irish band The Frames during live performance of their song Star star**, as well as by the Canadian band The Irish Rovers on the album Children Of The Unicorn.

Another version, with the names changed, is also sung by the character Spud in the film "Trainspotting" after Tommy's funeral.

The song would appear to have its origins in the fiction of the Victorian children's writer Juliana Horatia Ewing, whose book "Jackanapes" was a story about the eponymous hero and his friend Tom, who having ridden wooden horses as two little boys end up together on a battlefield. There Jackanapes rides to the rescue of the wounded and dismounted Tom. Jackanapes nobly replies to Tom's entreaties to save himself, "Leave you"? "To save my skin"? "No, Tom, not to save my soul". And unfortunately takes a fatal bullet in the process. [Graham Stewart. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/graham_stewart/article2112752.ece Cautionary tale of author J. H. Ewing ] . "The Times". July 21 2007.]

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