At the Music Hall: “Two Little Boys”

Harry Lauder

Two little boys had two little toys
Each had a wooden horse
Gaily they played each summer's day
Warriors both of course
One little chap then had a mishap
Broke off his horse's head
Wept for his toy then cried with joy
As his young playmate said

Did you think I would leave you crying
When there's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Jack and don't be crying
I can go just as fast with two
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers
And our horses will not be toys
And I wonder if we'll remember
When we were two little boys


Long years had passed, war came so fast
Bravely they marched away
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out
Out from the ranks so blue
Gallops away to where Joe lay
Then came a voice he knew


Did you think I would leave you dying
When there's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon be flying
I can go just as fast with two
Did you say Joe I'm all a-tremble
Perhaps it's the battle's noise
But I think it's that I remember
When we were two little boys


Do you think I would leave you dying
There's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon by flying
Back to the ranks so blue
Can you feel Joe I'm all a tremble
Perhaps it's the battle's noise
But I think it's that I remember
When we were two little boys


“Two Little Boys" was written in 1902 by American composer Theodore Morse with lyricist Edward Madden. The song became a popular music hall song both in the U.S., but especially in the U.K, after being performed by the celebrated Harry Lauder. The lyrics tell the story of two boys who grow up to fight in the American Civil War.

In 1969, it became a surprise hit single for U.K. entertainer Rolf Harris who came across the song during a tour of Arnhem Land with his wife and daughter. Mr. Harris, during the trip, visited with one Ted Egan who sang him this song, which Rolf recorded on tape.

Upon his return to England, Mr. Harris realized that he lost the tape and called Mr. Egan who, from twelve thousand miles away in Canberra, sang the song over the phone. Rolf Harris then performed the song on a live television program and the response was so great that he decided to record it.

See note below for iPad users.*



*As I discover new things about the compatabilty of YouTube movies and the iPad, I did notice that clicking on the play arrow in the middle of this video image will get you an error. You can bypass this by, instead, clicking on the YouTube logo at the bottom right of the graphic window. This will open the movie in your YouTube player if you're on an iPad or other such device. I don't know why this is, and I'm not quite sure what else to do about it. So, try that. It worked for me.