Old childhood songs

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe

In the clip I posted of the Planxty version from 1973 the long haired musician on the left playing the bouzouki is Donal Lunny. He’s a multi award winning musician, writer and producer who’s since been at the forefront of traditional music for over 50 years.

I bumped into him about 5 years ago while on holiday in Ireland. He was staying in the same small hotel while working in a local recording studio. He was so friendly and chatted away about the project he was working on.

Oh these are lovely. Brings back happy times.

Nannee49

*MissAdventure and Grannynannywanny* as a child I too was a bit obsessed with the fine lady running off with the raggle taggle gypsy-o (and seem to have lived my life with a similar sort of recklessness tho' that's another story!)

There's a brilliant version of it by The Chieftans (sorry I can't post a link)

Oh me too. It appealed to my wild nature. I wanted to be her.

Magenta8

Oldnproud My favourite lines from "The Lion and Albert"
goes something like :

Well it only goes to show
That the future is never revealed
If I'd have known he was going to be took like this
I'd have not had his boots toed and heeled

Great stuff.

I think it started ( the monologue) with ‘There’s a famous seaside resort called Blackpool, famous for fresh air and fun’
There’s also a line where Albert is feeling bored as ‘there were no shipwrecks and nobody drowning’.
Grandfather had an old 78 record of this and we kids fell about laughing.
He also had an old record of The Laughing Policeman which terrified me.

He also had a funny record by Charlie Drake called Please Mr Custer which we pleaded to hear again and again.

MissAdventure, we all loved the Windmill of Old Amsterdam, especially:
I saw a mouse, where? There on the stair, where on the stair? Right there etc
Foxglove77, My Grandfather’s Clock was my favourite as a little girl. For anyone interested, there is a fantastic arrangement on YouTube of this with virtuosic euphonium solo played by Daniel Thomas and acccompanied by the Black Dyke Mills Band.
Michael Finnegan was always a great favourite. We were taught all sorts of folk songs at school, reinforced by Singing Together on the radio. I was also in children’s choirs and learnt others, such as John Peel, there. Listen with Mother, reinforced the nursery rhymes we sang at home. There is such a rich heritage of traditional songs but fewer and fewer children seem to know them, which is such a shame. This is a lovely thread and I think many of us are singing the songs in our heads with big smiles on our faces.

Nan used to sing ( she had a wonderful voice) Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree and a song about donkey riding?

Just thought of Morningtown Ride. Lovely song.

Grannynannywanny

My favourite as a small child was listening to Danny Kaye singing Ugly Duckling on the wireless in the 1950’s.
youtu.be/nDZOJVR8e6M?si=pNS3AywSNlgUllqG

Aw I so loved Danny Kaye. He was my hero. A comic genius.
The Court Jester and Walter Mitty were my absolute favourites.
Just proves you don’t need to be smutty to be funny.

OldnProud I too remember my father reciting Albert and the Lion. It was Stanley Holloway who used to perform them 'Brown Boots' is another I remember,
Our Aunt Hanna’s passed away,
We ‘ad her funeral today,
And it was a posh affair,
Had to have two p’licemen there! The ‘earse was luv’ly, all plate glass,
And wot a corfin!… oak and brass!
We’d fah-sands weepin’, flahers galore,
But Jim, our cousin… what d’yer fink ‘e wore? Why, brahn boots!
I ask yer… brahn boots!
Fancy coming to a funeral
In brahn boots!

Gran22boys

My mum and my granny used to sing ‘Mairzy doats’ (Mares eat oats) to us. We thought it was really funny. This rendition is by Tom Carradine.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vqnym8Mhx8

Musicgirl

Just thought of Morningtown Ride. Lovely song.

All aboard for morning town, many miles away.
Is that the one?
Rockin' rollin' ridin' all along the bay...

Diplomat

OldnProud I too remember my father reciting Albert and the Lion. It was Stanley Holloway who used to perform them 'Brown Boots' is another I remember,
Our Aunt Hanna’s passed away,
We ‘ad her funeral today,
And it was a posh affair,
Had to have two p’licemen there! The ‘earse was luv’ly, all plate glass,
And wot a corfin!… oak and brass!
We’d fah-sands weepin’, flahers galore,
But Jim, our cousin… what d’yer fink ‘e wore? Why, brahn boots!
I ask yer… brahn boots!
Fancy coming to a funeral
In brahn boots!

I've never heard 'Brown Boots' - or is it 'brahn' boots - , but having read the few lines you quoted, I shall look it up.

OldFrill

Puff the Magic Dragon
So sad

This made me so sad. For some reason my mum always turned it up on the radio while I was trying to escape it upstairs

Elegran

LindaPat

grumppa - yes I do! We used to bounce the children on our knees to this one!

"Bumpity, bumpity,bumpity, bump.
As if I was riding my charger.
Bumpity, bumpity,bumpity, bump.
As proud as an Indian Rajah.
All the girls declare
That I'm a gay old stager.
Hey, hey, clear the way,
Here comes the galloping Major"

And "This is the way the ladies ride . . . "

Oh gosh, I’d completely forgotten about that one!
This thread is bringing back so many memories

There was I, waiting at the church waiting af the churxh, waifing at the church.
When i found he'd left me in the lurch, lord how it did upsef me!!

Musicgirl

Just thought of Morningtown Ride. Lovely song.

Was it the Seekers?

When I was in high school late 60’s we used to sing a song called “lovely Moon.”
It went like this.
Lovely moon my heart goes wandering to a dreamland far away, and I wish that I could follow you, to a dreamland far away, and I wish that, and I wish that, and I wish that I could follow you, to a dreamland far away.
It was beautiful but none of my friends can remember it.
I thought I was going mad for a while until I found it on YouTube under the title Guter Monde. It was a German song and very beautiful and poignant tune. I wonder if any of you gransnetters have heard it before.

Autumncolours I can just about recall that from when I was a small child hearing it on the radio. It’s only making sense to me now when I saw the written version via your link 😄

There was a man called Michael Finiggan
he grew whiskers on his chin again.
The wind came past and blew then in again
Poor old Michael Finiggan

MissAdventure

Musicgirl

Just thought of Morningtown Ride. Lovely song.

All aboard for morning town, many miles away.
Is that the one?
Rockin' rollin' ridin' all along the bay...

Yes it is.

When the sun is shining bright
Dispelling all the gloom of night
With Sam Brown belt and buttons bright
Behold the sergeant major!

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead
and when she was good
She was very, very good
But when she was bad ,
She was horrid!