At the Musical Hall: "Let's All Go Down the Strand"

The Strand, 1824
Museum of London

Let's all go down the Strand -- Have a banana!

Let's all go down the Strand!

The Strand is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar and thus marks the boundary of the London. The name comes from the Old English word for “bank” or “shore” owing to the situation of the land on what was once a much wider Thames River. The South side of the street historically boasts the grand homes of notable and influential people. Later, when the mansions were destroyed or pulled down, The Strand acquired a reputation for being a “lively,” but rather dissolute section of town. In the late Nineteenth Century, The Strand was rehabilitated and became a fashionable address for creative people such as artists and writers—notably Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackery.

This famous street inspired a popular song of the early Twentieth Century. Let’s All Go Down the Strand, with words and music by Harry Castling and C. W. Murphy, tells the tale of a group of tourists staying in Trafalgar Square. The cheerful cry of, “Have a banana!” helped to make the song an instant hit in musical halls and in pubs.

Let’s All Go Down the Strand opens this clip from a 2009 production of Magnificence of Musical Hall. It also includes, Down at the Old Bull and Bush and Hello, Who’s Your Lady Friend. It has a nice authentic music hall feel to it.

Have a banana!