Naughty

My mother was a great one for singing snatches of songs when she was in a light and happy mood. It is a trait that I confess I have inherited.

The songs that Mum tended to reference were from her pre-war youth here in South Yorkshire and also from World War II itself. How many times did I hear her launch into "The White Cliffs of Dover" in the kitchen? It's a song that we had played over the crematorium sound system at her funeral in 2007. She would have approved of that.

In her prime, she had a strong and tuneful voice. When you have a voice like hers, it is as if you are in possession of a special musical instrument that might crack or wither if you forgot to practise playing it every few days.

This week I found myself singing one of Mum's favourite songs. I had not thought about it in years. It was a music hall song and a little mischievous. It first saw the light of day in 1913, eight years before Mum was even born. I believe it speaks of more innocent times. It is unlikely that Kendrick Lamar or Stormzy would or could ever record a similar song in this current decade.

It's "Hold Your Hand Out You Naughty Boy!"by the Manchester songwriter Charles William Murphy. This is the first verse with the chorus, followed by a rendition I found on YouTube...

At the club one evening Jones was telling all his pals

How much he hated girls, despised their golden curls

"You wouldn't catch me with a girl, you bet your life!" said he

"Girls possess no charm for me!"

Then one chap there at Jones began to leer

Picked up his cane and said to him "Come here..."

[Chorus]

"...hold your hand out naughty boy

Hold your hand out naughty boy

Last night in the pale moonlight

I saw you

With a nice girl in the park you were strolling full of joy

And you told her you'd never kissed a girl before

Hold your hand out naughty boy!"

So yes, for the past few days this song has become my latest earworm. Charles William Murphy wrote several other popular songs before dying at the tender age of forty three. His repertoire included, "My Girl's A Yorkshire Girl" and "She's a Lassie from Lancashire". A lot of his songs formed the soundtrack to World War One - sung in the trenches in the mud and blood and raining missiles.