Burlington Bertie

Burlington Bertie

"Burlington Bertie" was a music hall song composed by Harry B. Norris in 1900 and sung by Vesta Tilley. It concerned an aristocratic young idler who pursues a life of leisure in the West End of London.

This song was parodied in the now much better known "Burlington Bertie from Bow" (1915) credited to William Hargreaves and sung by his wife, Ella Shields, who performed the song whilst dressed in male attire. Julie Andrews, also dressed in male attire, gave another rendition of the song in the film "Star!" (1968). Unlike the original song, Bertie's pretensions to gentility are belied by his residence in Bow, in the poverty stricken East End of London, though his status as an idler ironically links him the aristocratic leisure class, who reside in the West End.

At the Royal Variety Performance in 1981, it was performed in the customary male evening dress by Anita Harris, who brought the house down with the line "I've just had a banana with Lady Diana" from the Buckingham Palace verse of the song. Prince Charles had married Lady Diana Spencer earlier in the year.

The two songs about Burlington Bertie are both predecessors of Irving Berlin's song "A Couple of Swells". In all three songs, a woman dressed in a ragged form of male finery brags about how well-connected in society "he" is, while clearly demonstrating an actual state of poverty.

A version with somewhat more lewd lyrics is used as the College anthem by the sports teams of University College London.

The lyrics of Burlington Bertie from Bow

:I'm Bert:P'raps you've heard of me:Bert:You've had word of me,:Plodding along :Happy and strong:Living on plates of fresh air

:I dress up in fashion :And when I am feeling depressed :I shave from my cuff all the whiskers and fluff:Stick my hat on and toddle up West

:I'm Burlington Bertie I rise at ten thirty :Then saunter along like a toff:I walk down the Strand with my gloves on my hand :Then I walk down again with them off:I'm all airs and graces, correct easy paces :So long without food, I've forgot where my face is:I'm Bert, Bert, I haven't a shirt :But my people are well off you know. :Nearly everyone knows me from Smith to Lord Rosebr'y, :I'm Burlington Bertie from Bow.

:I stroll:With Lord Hurlington,:Roll :In The Burlington:Call for Champagne:Walk out again:Come back and borrow the ink:I live most expensive :Like Tom Lipton I'm in the swim:He's got so much 'oof' he sleeps on the roof:And I live in the room over him.

:I'm Burlington Bertie I rise at ten thirty :And saunter along Temple Bar:As round there I skip :I keep shouting 'Pip Pip!':And the darn'd fools think I'm in my car:At Rothchilds I swank it:My body I plank it :On his front door step with 'The Mail' for a blanket:I'm Bert, Bert, and Rothchild was hurt:He said ' You can't sleep there' I said 'Oh':He said 'I'm Rothchild sonny!' I said 'That's damn'd funny:I'm Burlington Bertie from Bow'

:I smile:Condescendingly :While they're extending me :Cheer upon cheer:When I appear :Captain with my polo team:So strict are my people:They're William the Conqueror's strain:If they ever knew I'd been talking to you:Why they'd never look at me again

:I'm Burlington Bertie I rise at ten thirty :And reach Kempton park around three:I stand by the rail, when a horse is for sale:And you ought to see Wooton watch me:I lean on some awning while Lord Derby's yawning:Then he bids two thousand and I bid Good Morning:I'm Bert, Bert, I'd buy one, a Cert:But where would I keep it you know:I can't let my man see me in bed with a gee-gee:I'm Burlington Bertie from Bow!

:My pose,:Tho' ironical :Shows :That my monocle:Holds up my face, keeps it in place,:Stops it from slipping away.:Cigars, cigars,:I smoke thousands, :I usually deal in The Strand :But you've got to take care when you're getting them there :Or some idiot might step on your hand.

:I'm Burlington Bertie I rise at ten thirty :And Buckingham Palace I view.:I stand in the yard while they're changing the guard :And the queen shouts across "Toodle oo"!:The Prince of Wales' brother along with some other:Slaps me on the back and says "Come and see Mother":But I'm Bert, Bert, and royalty's hurt, :When they ask me to dine I say no.:I've just had a banana with Lady Diana :I'm Burlington Bertie from Bow.

The lyrics of the University College London version

:I'm Burlington Bertie,:I'm short, fat and dirty,:My college portrays my high class - high class.:I walk down the Strand,:With my cock in my hand,:And wave it at King's as I pass.:I'm Bert, Bert,:I come in my shirt,:At least I go to UC - UC.:There's one thing i'm sure of,:Strand Poly are wankers,:Burlington Bert from UC.

Gambling terminology

'Burlington bertie' is rhyming slang for the fractional odds of 10/3, which is normally referred to as "one hundred to thirty".

External links

[http://www.burlingtonberties.co.uk/lyrics.html Lyrics]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Burlington, North Carolina — City of Burlington   City   Seal Nickname(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Burlington (Caroline du Nord) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Burlington. 36° 05′ 00″ N 79° 26′ 00″ W …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ella Shields — Infobox musical artist Name = Ella Shields Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = solo singer Birth name = Ella Catherine Buscher Alias = Burlington Bertie Born = September 27 1879 Baltimore, Maryland Died = death date and… …   Wikipedia

  • Lady Diana Cooper — by E.O. Hoppé (1916) Born 29 August 1892(1892 08 29) Died 16 June 1986( …   Wikipedia

  • List of songs about London — This is a list of songs about London. Instrumental pieces are tagged with an uppercase [I] , or a lowercase [i] for quasi instrumental including non lyrics voice samples.Included are::* Songs titled after London, or a location or feature of the… …   Wikipedia

  • 1914 in music — Events*October 15 In Rovigo, Beniamino Gigli makes his operatic debut in Amilcare Ponchielli s La Gioconda . *The first recorded calypso music is made in Trinidad and Tobago. *First publication of Orchestration , the classic book by Cecil Forsyth …   Wikipedia

  • Music hall — This article is about the British form of theatre and the venues associated with it. For other uses of the term Music Hall, see Music Hall (disambiguation). The Oxford Music Hall, ca. 1875 Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment… …   Wikipedia

  • Dream Harder — Studio album by The Waterboys Released May 1993 Recorded …   Wikipedia

  • Tic-tac — (also tick tack and non hyphenated variants) is a traditional method of signs used by bookmakers to communicate the odds of certain horses. It is still used in on course betting in the UK. A tic tac man will usually wear bright white gloves to… …   Wikipedia

  • Vesta Tilley — Cards of Vesta Tilley, out of drag and in a male role Born Matilda Alice Powles 13 May 1864(1864 05 13) Commandery Street, Worcest …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”