Another funny thing ...

A day or two back Malcolm found himself (mis)quoting Paddy Roberts' The Ballad of Bethnal Green. That he knew it was a misquotation irritated him. He was, therefore, delighted to locate the original:



For Malcolm, at least, it works as well as it did in days of yore (1959, in point of fact). What's missing here is Roberts' original introduction:

This is a very old English folksong. I know it is a very old English folksong, because I wrote it myself when I was very young.

That needs Roberts's exquisite-enunciation, as is appropriate for a South-African-born immigrant and former BOAC Captain.

Large bits of the Roberts' oeuvre were ignored, though not specifically banned. Many of his lyrics are still the wrong side of risqué, though perhaps the notion of buying Lady Jane:

The most expensive beat
On the sunny side
Of Jermyn Street

Would need substantial elucidation in any critical apparatus.

The most complete Roberts biography can be found here.

But that has to qualify as one of the more unfortunate LP covers of all time. Sphere: Related Content