At the Music Hall: Oh! Mr. Porter, 1893

Marie Lloyd

Lately I just spent a week with my old Aunt Brown,

Came up to see wond'rous sights of famous London Town.
Just a week I had of it, all round the place we'd roam
Wasn't I sorry on the day I had to go back home?
Worried about with packing, I arrived late at the station,
Dropped my hatbox in the mud, the things all fell about,
Got my ticket, said 'good - bye' "Right away." the guard did cry,
But I found the train was wrong and shouted out:

Oh! Mister Porter, what shall I do?
I want to go to Birmingham
And they're taking me on to Crewe,
Send me back to London as quickly as you can,
Oh! Mister Porter, what a silly girl I am!

The porter would not stop the train, But I laughed and said "You must
Keep your hair on, Mary Ann, and mind that you don't bust'."
Some old gentleman inside declared that it was hard,
Said "Look out of the window, Miss, and try and call the guard."
Didn't I, too, with all my might I nearly balanced over,
But my old friend grasp'd my leg, and pulled me back again,
Nearly fainting with the fright, I sank into his arms a sight,
Went into hysterics but I cried in vain:

Oh! Mister Porter, what shall I do?
I want to go to Birmingham
And they're taking me on to Crewe,
Send me back to London as quickly as you can,
Oh! Mister Porter, what a silly girl I am!

On his clean old shirt-front then I laid my trembling head,
"Do take it easy, rest awhile" the dear old chappie said.
If you make a fuss of me and on me do not frown,
You shall have my mansion, dear, away in London Town.
Wouldn't you think me silly if I said I could not like him?
Really he seemed a nice old boy, so I replied this way;
I will be your own for life, Your imay doodle um little wife,
If you'll never tease me any more I say.

Oh! Mister Porter, what shall I do?
I want to go to Birmingham
And they're taking me on to Crewe,
Send me back to London as quickly as you can,
Oh! Mister Porter, what a silly girl I am!


Oh! Mr Porter is an British music hall song, popularized by the great Marie Lloyd, about a girl "going too far.”  It was written in 1893  by George LeBrunn.

This song was so popular for so long that it, in part, inspired a film “Oh, Mr Porter.”  A portion of the song can be heard over this film’s opening credits.

At the Music Hall: The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery

Marie Lloyd

I'm a young girl, and have just come over,
Over from the country where they do things big,
And amongst the boys I've got a lover,
And since I've got a lover, why I don't care a fig.


The boy I love is up in the gallery,
The boy I love is looking now at me,
There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief,
As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.


The boy that I love, they call him a cobbler,
But he's not a cobbler, allow me to state.
For Johnny is a tradesman and he works in the Boro'1
Where they sole and heel them, whilst you wait.


The boy I love is up in the gallery,
The boy I love is looking now at me,
There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief,
As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.


Now, If I were a Duchess and had a lot of money,
I'd give it to the boy that's going to marry me.
But I haven't got a penny, so we'll live on love and kisses,
And be just as happy as the birds on the tree.


The boy I love is up in the gallery,
The boy I love is looking now at me,
There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief,
As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.

Written by George Ware for music hall star, Miss Nelly Power, in 1895, "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery" was made famous by the celrbated Marie Lloyd. What makes this song stand out from others of the period is that it places the singer in the actual setting of the theatre.

The singer appears to be delivering these words of love directly to a member of the audience. This technique proved to be wildly popular with the young men who would frequent Nineteenth Century Music Halls.

At the Music Hall: "When I Take My Morning Promenade," 1910

Marie Lloyd

When I take my morning promenade
Quite a fashion card, on the Promenade
Oh! I don't mind nice boys staring hard
If it satisfies their desire
Do you think my dress is a little bit
Just a little bit..... Well not too much of it,
Though it shows my shape just a little bit
That's the little bit the boys admire

Marie Lloyd (1870-1922) was a wildly popular (and wildly controversial) British musical hall singer of the Edwardian Era. She had the well-publicized ability to make even the most innocent of lyrics seem lewd by creating a conspiratorial relationship with her audience. Winks, gestures and intonations imparted a bawdiness to her songs that they might not have originally possessed. Some of her popular songs, however, did have a bit of a ribald side. Such is the case of When I take My Morning Promenade.

This song is still a beloved music hall favorite. Lloyd’s 1910 rendition of When I Take My Morning Promenade helped solidify her position as the Queen of Bawdiness. Of course, to our Twenty-First Century ears, the lyrics are quite tame. But, at the time, they were rather shocking.

In the following clip from the film, Trottie True, Jean Kent—in full Edwardian garb—sings the song with much the same spirit that Marie would have.