Pretty Polly Perkins of Paddington Green
Encyclopedia
"Pretty Polly Perkins of Paddington Green" is the title of an English
song, composed by the London music hall
and broadside songwriter Harry Clifton (1832–1872), and first published in 1864.
in London
. The song gained a place in the canonical Oxford Book of Comic Verse, and the original manuscript of "Polly" is now held in the Bodleian Library
.
It was adapted for the USA by Clifton during the American Civil War
, re-titled "Polly Perkins of Abington Green". Presumably the new title referred to Abington Green, Georgia, in the USA.
Most of Clifton's songs adapted their tunes from old folk songs and it is possible that a folk tune is also the origin of the tune for Polly -- some see a resemblance to "Nightingales Sing", also known as "The Bold Grenadier". The famous Tyneside Music Hall song Cushie Butterfield (sung even today at Newcastle United matches) is sung to the same tune as "Polly" and is a parody of "Polly". Cushie Butterfield is attributed to the great Geordie comic singer George Ridley, who died in 1864; "Cushie" was first published in book form in the 1873 edition of "Allan's Tyneside Songs". Clifton's death date means that both the song and its tune are now firmly in the public domain
.
The tune, with new lyrics, found its way into the Australia
n bush culture, among outback farmers and sheep shearers, in the song "One of the Has-beens".
In the British Royal Navy
, sailors with a surname of Perkins are traditionally given the nickname of 'Polly'.
The chorus of the song is sung by the feverish Sergeant Maxfield in the 1964 film Zulu (film)
.
The name Polly Perkins is that of the heroine in the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
.
In John Mortimer
's A Voyage Round My Father
, it is the favourite song of the narrator's father, who sings snatches of it on the most inappropriate occasions.
Through keeping of the company of a young servant maid
Who lived on board and wages, the house to keep clean
In a gentleman's family near Paddington Green
She was as beautiful as a butterfly and proud as a Queen
Was pretty little Polly Perkins of Paddington Green
She'd an ankle like an antelope and a step like a deer
A voice like a blackbird, so mellow and clear
Her hair hung in ringlets so beautiful and long
I thought that she loved me but I found I was wrong
Refrain
When I'd rattle in the morning and cry "Milk below"
At the sound of my milk cans her face she did show
With a smile upon her countenance and a laugh in her eye
If I'd thought that she loved me I'd have laid down to die
Refrain
When I asked her to marry me, she said "Oh what stuff"
And told me to drop it, for she'd had quite enough
Of my nonsense... At the same time, I'd been very kind
But to marry a milkman she didn't feel inclined
Refrain
"The man that has me must have silver and gold
A chariot to ride in and be handsome and bold
His hair must be curly as any watch-spring,
And his whiskers as big as a brush for clothing"
Refrain
The words that she uttered went straight through my heart
I sobbed and I sighed, and I straight did depart
With a tear on my eyelid as big as a bean
I bid farewell to Polly and to Paddington Green
Refrain
In six months she married, this hard-hearted girl
But it was not a Wi-count, and it was not a Nearl
It was not a Baronite, but a shade or two wuss
It was a bow-legged conductor of a tuppenny bus
Refrain
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
song, composed by the London 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...
and broadside songwriter Harry Clifton (1832–1872), and first published in 1864.
History
It was almost universally known in England until around the mid 1980s, and was commonly taught to school children. The title refers to the district of PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The song gained a place in the canonical Oxford Book of Comic Verse, and the original manuscript of "Polly" is now held in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
.
It was adapted for the USA by Clifton during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, re-titled "Polly Perkins of Abington Green". Presumably the new title referred to Abington Green, Georgia, in the USA.
Most of Clifton's songs adapted their tunes from old folk songs and it is possible that a folk tune is also the origin of the tune for Polly -- some see a resemblance to "Nightingales Sing", also known as "The Bold Grenadier". The famous Tyneside Music Hall song Cushie Butterfield (sung even today at Newcastle United matches) is sung to the same tune as "Polly" and is a parody of "Polly". Cushie Butterfield is attributed to the great Geordie comic singer George Ridley, who died in 1864; "Cushie" was first published in book form in the 1873 edition of "Allan's Tyneside Songs". Clifton's death date means that both the song and its tune are now firmly in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
The tune, with new lyrics, found its way into the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n bush culture, among outback farmers and sheep shearers, in the song "One of the Has-beens".
In the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, sailors with a surname of Perkins are traditionally given the nickname of 'Polly'.
The chorus of the song is sung by the feverish Sergeant Maxfield in the 1964 film Zulu (film)
Zulu (film)
Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
.
The name Polly Perkins is that of the heroine in the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American pulp adventure science-fiction film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut. The film is set in an alternative 1939 and follows the adventures of Polly Perkins , a newspaper reporter, and Harry Joseph "Joe" Sullivan ,...
.
In John Mortimer
John Mortimer
Sir John Clifford Mortimer, CBE, QC was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
's A Voyage Round My Father
A Voyage Round My Father
A Voyage Round My Father is an autobiographical play by John Mortimer, later adapted for television.The first version of the play appeared as a series of three half-hour sketches for BBC radio in 1963. It then became a television play with Ian Richardson playing Mortimer, Tim Good as the young...
, it is the favourite song of the narrator's father, who sings snatches of it on the most inappropriate occasions.
Lyrics
I am a broken-hearted milkman, in grief I'm arrayedThrough keeping of the company of a young servant maid
Who lived on board and wages, the house to keep clean
In a gentleman's family near Paddington Green
She was as beautiful as a butterfly and proud as a Queen
Was pretty little Polly Perkins of Paddington Green
She'd an ankle like an antelope and a step like a deer
A voice like a blackbird, so mellow and clear
Her hair hung in ringlets so beautiful and long
I thought that she loved me but I found I was wrong
Refrain
When I'd rattle in the morning and cry "Milk below"
At the sound of my milk cans her face she did show
With a smile upon her countenance and a laugh in her eye
If I'd thought that she loved me I'd have laid down to die
Refrain
When I asked her to marry me, she said "Oh what stuff"
And told me to drop it, for she'd had quite enough
Of my nonsense... At the same time, I'd been very kind
But to marry a milkman she didn't feel inclined
Refrain
"The man that has me must have silver and gold
A chariot to ride in and be handsome and bold
His hair must be curly as any watch-spring,
And his whiskers as big as a brush for clothing"
Refrain
The words that she uttered went straight through my heart
I sobbed and I sighed, and I straight did depart
With a tear on my eyelid as big as a bean
I bid farewell to Polly and to Paddington Green
Refrain
In six months she married, this hard-hearted girl
But it was not a Wi-count, and it was not a Nearl
It was not a Baronite, but a shade or two wuss
It was a bow-legged conductor of a tuppenny bus
Refrain