Mad Dogs and Englishmen (song)
Encyclopedia
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
and first performed in The Third Little Show at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, on 1 June 1931, by Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys "Bea" Lillie was an actress and comedic performer. Following her 1920 marriage to Sir Robert Peel in England, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.-Early career:...
. The following year it was used in the revue Words and Music
Words and Music (musical)
Words and Music is a musical revue with sketches, music, lyrics and direction by Noël Coward. The revue introduced the song "Mad About the Boy", which, according to The Noël Coward Society's website, is Coward's most popular song...
and also released in a "studio version". It then became a signature feature in Coward's cabaret act.
The song is especially known for the line "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun" with which most verses begin and end.
According to Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley was an English author, biographer, critic, director, actor and broadcaster. He was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, and wrote biographies of both...
, Coward wrote the song while driving from Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
to Saigon "without pen, paper, or piano". Coward himself elucidated: "I wrestled in my mind with the complicated rhythms and rhymes of the song until finally it was complete, without even the aid of pencil and paper. I sang it triumphantly and unaccompanied to my travelling companion on the verandah of a small jungle guest house. Not only Jeffrey [Amherst], but the gecko
Gecko
Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....
lizards and the tree frogs gave every vocal indication of enthusiasm".
Lyrics
Sample lyrics to Mad Dogs & Englishmen :It seems such a shame
When the English claim
The Earth,
That they give rise
To such hilarity
And mirth.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo,
He, he, he, he, he, he, he, he,
Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm.
The Noonday Gun
The lyric- In Hong Kong, they strike a gong, and fire off a noonday gun
- To reprimand each inmate who's in late
refers to the Noonday Gun opposite the Excelsior Hotel in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, which is still fired every day at noon by a member of Jardines. In 1968, Coward visited Hong Kong and himself fired the gun.
Churchill and Roosevelt
Coward wrote, "In Words and Music Romney BrentRomney Brent
Romney Brent was a Mexican-born actor, director and dramatist. Most of his career was on stage in North America, but in the 1930s he was frequently seen on the London stage, on television and in films.-Biography:...
sang it as a missionary in one of Britain's tropical colonies. Since then I have sung it myself ad nauseam. On one occasion it achieved international significance. This was a dinner party given by Mr Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
on board HMS Prince of Wales in honour of President Roosevelt on the evening following the signing of the Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement first issued in August 1941 that early in World War II defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was drafted by Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies...
. From an eye-witness description of the scene it appears that the two world leaders became involved in a heated argument as to whether 'In Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
at twelve o'clock they foam at the mouth and run' came at the end of the first refrain or at the end of the second. President Roosevelt held firmly to the latter view and refused to budge even under the impact of Churchillian rhetoric. In this he was right and when, a little later, I asked Mr Churchill about the incident, he admitted defeat like a man."
Cultural references
The song is quoted and referenced in Mad Dogs and EnglishmenMad Dogs and Englishmen (album)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen is Joe Cocker's 1970 live album, featuring a fusion of rock and soul. The album title is drawn from the 1931 Noël Coward song of the same name. Mostly Cocker's album is made up of covers, drawing equally from rock and soul...
, a 1970 live album by Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
and others (and in the 1971 film from the same tour as the album), and in a 2002 Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novel of the same name
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (Doctor Who)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen is a BBC Books original novel written by Paul Magrs and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. It is also quoted in a 1995 Canadian/British film of the same name.
Mad Gods and Englishmen is a 2006 comic strip by Simon Spurrier
Simon Spurrier
Simon Spurrier is a British comics writer, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller and an art director for the BBC.Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write his own series for 2000 AD, like Lobster Random, Bec & Kawl, The Simping Detective and Harry...
and Boo Cook
Boo Cook
Boo Cook is a British comic artist, whose work mainly features in the comic 2000 AD.-Career:Cook's art has appeared in the ABC Warriors and Judge Dredd, as Asylum and Dead Men Walking .In 2005, Cook graduated to regular work on the flagship story on 2000 AD, Judge Dredd, mostly to scripts by...
, for the character Harry Kipling
Harry Kipling
Harry Kipling is a character in 2000 AD created by Simon Spurrier and Boo Cook. He is a True Brit, trying to survive in a world of rampant Pantheistic solipsism aided only by strong tea and a big gun.-Plot:...
.
External links
- Lyrics (www.traditionalmusic.co.uk)
- "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(track #7, with the Ray Noble Orchestra, 1932) - "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, Noel Coward