I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside
Encyclopedia
"I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" is a popular British
music hall
song. It was written in 1907 by John A. Glover-Kind and made famous by music hall singer Mark Sheridan
who first recorded it in 1909. It speaks of the singer's love for the seaside, and their wish to return there for their summer holidays each year. It was composed at a time when the yearly visits of the British working-class to the seaside were booming. It can be heard at the end of the famed Queen
song, "Seven Seas of Rhye
" as it fades out.
It was, for a long time, used as a signature tune by Reginald Dixon
MBE, who was the resident organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool between 1930-1970.
Down beside the side of the silvery sea
I'm no exception to the rule
In fact, if I'd my way
I'd reside by the side of the silvery sea.
But when you're just the common or garden Smith or Jones or Brown
At bus'ness up in town
You've got to settle down.
You save your money all the year till summer comes around
Then away you go
To a place you know
Where the cockle shells are found.
Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play:
"Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"
So just let me be beside the seaside
I'll be beside myself with glee
And there's lots of girls beside,
I should like to be beside
Beside the seaside!
Beside the sea!
(8 bar interlude)
William Sykes the burglar,
He'd been out to work one night
Filled his bag with jewels, cash, and plate.
Constable Brown felt quite surprised when William hove in sight
Said he: "The hours you're keeping are far too late."
So he grabbed him by the collar and lodged him safe and sound in jail
Next morning looking pale
Bill told a tearful tale.
The judge said, "For a couple of months I'm sending you away!"
Said Bill: "How kind!
Well! If you don't mind
Where I spend my holiday!"
Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play:
"Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"
So just let me be beside the seaside
I'll be beside myself with glee
And there's lots of girls beside,
I should like to be beside
Beside the seaside!
Beside the sea!
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song. It was written in 1907 by John A. Glover-Kind and made famous by music hall singer Mark Sheridan
Mark Sheridan
Mark Sheridan born Frederick Shaw was an English music hall comedian and singer. He became a popular singer of lusty seaside songs and was the original performer of the 1909 J.Glover-Kind classic, "I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside"...
who first recorded it in 1909. It speaks of the singer's love for the seaside, and their wish to return there for their summer holidays each year. It was composed at a time when the yearly visits of the British working-class to the seaside were booming. It can be heard at the end of the famed Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
song, "Seven Seas of Rhye
Seven Seas of Rhye
"Seven Seas of Rhye" is a song by British rock group Queen. Written by Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, it is the final track on both the group's debut album Queen and its follow-up Queen II . However, only a less-developed instrumental version was featured on the former...
" as it fades out.
It was, for a long time, used as a signature tune by Reginald Dixon
Reginald Dixon
Reginald Dixon MBE, ARCM, was an English theatre organist. He was best known as resident organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, where he played the Wurlitzer organ from 1930 until his retirement in 1970.-Biography:...
MBE, who was the resident organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool between 1930-1970.
Lyrics
Everyone delights to spend their summer's holidayDown beside the side of the silvery sea
I'm no exception to the rule
In fact, if I'd my way
I'd reside by the side of the silvery sea.
But when you're just the common or garden Smith or Jones or Brown
At bus'ness up in town
You've got to settle down.
You save your money all the year till summer comes around
Then away you go
To a place you know
Where the cockle shells are found.
Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play:
"Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"
So just let me be beside the seaside
I'll be beside myself with glee
And there's lots of girls beside,
I should like to be beside
Beside the seaside!
Beside the sea!
(8 bar interlude)
William Sykes the burglar,
He'd been out to work one night
Filled his bag with jewels, cash, and plate.
Constable Brown felt quite surprised when William hove in sight
Said he: "The hours you're keeping are far too late."
So he grabbed him by the collar and lodged him safe and sound in jail
Next morning looking pale
Bill told a tearful tale.
The judge said, "For a couple of months I'm sending you away!"
Said Bill: "How kind!
Well! If you don't mind
Where I spend my holiday!"
Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play:
"Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"
So just let me be beside the seaside
I'll be beside myself with glee
And there's lots of girls beside,
I should like to be beside
Beside the seaside!
Beside the sea!
Use in music and film
- The song was briefly chanted at the end of QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's song "Seven Seas of RhyeSeven Seas of Rhye"Seven Seas of Rhye" is a song by British rock group Queen. Written by Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, it is the final track on both the group's debut album Queen and its follow-up Queen II . However, only a less-developed instrumental version was featured on the former...
", and whistled at the beginning of "Brighton Rock". - Sylvia ScarlettSylvia ScarlettSylvia Scarlett is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett, a novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930s...
(1935), starring Katharine HepburnKatharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
. - Bank HolidayBank Holiday (film)Bank Holiday is a 1938 British drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring John Lodge, Margaret Lockwood, Hugh Williams and Kathleen Harrison...
(1938), starring Margaret Lockwood and Hugh WilliamsHugh WilliamsHugh Williams was an English actor and dramatist of Welsh descent.-Personal life:...
. The tune is used as a theme several times during the film. - The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget....
(1939), starring Basil RathboneBasil RathboneSir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
, involves a heavily disguised Holmes singing the song. An anachronism, as the film was set in 1892 fifteen years before the song was written. - Mr Moto's Last Warning (1939), starring Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
and George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
. The antagonist's (Ricardo Cortez) ventriloquism act features a dummy singing the song while he drinks a glass of water and smokes a cigarette. - Carry on follow that camel (1967): when the foreign legionnaires become lost in the North African desert they sing the song.
- Oh What a Lovely WarOh What a Lovely WarOh What a Lovely War may refer to one of a number of fictional works:* Oh, What a Lovely War! - a stage musical created in 1963 by Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop...
(1969) features a pierside scene where Sir Douglas HaigDouglas HaigDouglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I.Douglas Haig may also refer to:* Club Atlético Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina* Douglas Haig , American actor...
is trying to recruit for the First World War, with the words of the song changed to “I do to like to see a lot of soldiers”. - An Awfully Big AdventureAn Awfully Big AdventureAn Awfully Big Adventure is a 1995 British coming-of-age film directed by Mike Newell. The story focuses on a teenage girl who joins a seedy theatre troupe in Liverpool...
(1994), starring Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, includes a scene where two theatre troupes sing the chorus of the song while riding a bus to a football game.