That's when I was courtin' and me mind was well at ease
I used to feel so loving with me 'Enery by me side
Looking forward to the day when I should be his Bride
But now he's thrown me over and I'm full of misery
Someone else has done me out of William 'Enery
He used to come and court his little Mary Anne
I used to think that he was my young man
But Mother caught his eye and they got married on the sly
Now I 'ave to call him Father
He used to call me 'Dreamy Eyes' and take me on his knee
Kiss me little ruby lips and make a fuss of me
He bought a second-handed home to comfort me through life
Now he's thrown me over for a second-handed wife
And on the Weddin' Day when he was married to Mama
He said, "Go and wash your face, and kiss your new Papa"
When I got home this afternoon, it broke my 'art to see
William cuddlin' Mother as he used to cuddle me
At ten o'clock last night I felt I'd like to punch his head
When he said to me, "Pop off, it's time to go to bed"
The next young man I get, I'll let him see me to the door
But I'll never introduce one to me Mother anymore
He used to come and court his little Mary Anne
I used to think that he was my young man
But Mother caught his eye and they got married on the sly
Now I 'ave to call him Father
This rather tragic, yet comic, song by Charles Collins and Fred Godfrey was popularized by Vesta Victoria and, later, Ada Jones in 1908. It recounts the sad tale of a young Cockney woman whose lover was stolen by her own mother. It was the Edwardian precursor to the late, lamented Pine Valley, I suppose.
Enjoy this version by Vesta Victoria. As the story goes Fred Godfrey wagered with a rival to see who would first sell a song to Music Hall star Vesta Victoria. They tossed a coin. Fred won, and this was the song he offered to her. Thankfully for Godfrey, it became one of her greatest, most enduring, hits, although she did not record it until 1911.
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