In a tiny house
By a tiny stream
Where a lovely lass
Had a lovely dream
And the last I heard
They still lived happily
In Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea
In Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea
Quote RJ, “They sure don’t write songs like this anymore”
Nor this piece of lyrical genius.
“Well be-bop-a-Lula she’s my baby
Be-bop-a-Lula I don’t mean maybe
Be-bop-a-Lula she’s my baby
Be-bop-a-Lula I don’t mean maybe
Be-bop-a-Lula she’s my baby doll
My baby doll, my baby doll”
Grangegorman is only ten minutes walk from where I live, I remember as a boy the older members of my family speak of this evil character., his deeds seem to have passed down the generations of Dubliners.
Here is a very much condensed version of the villains antics. In the engraving below I couldn’t help noticing the muscles on his arms, all that shifting around in the bowl must have made his arms as strong as pillars.
The first thing me grandson said when he saw the picture was “Couldn’t they find a bigger bowl granda?”(he’s a fan of the M&M ads.)
“The handsome, deformed beggar Billy Davis or ‘Billy in The Bowl’ as he was known terrorised the streets of Grangegorman in the 18th century. Davis was born with no legs.
In and around 1786, Dublin’s first-ever police force was mobilised, and the first case they were confronted with was the 11 Grangegorman Lane Murder, where a sturdy servant girl had been robbed, beaten and strangled. In the months leading up to the murder, a number of young servant girls were lured into ditches and robbed, and the police were inundated with so many complaints that a nightly patrol was placed on the district. Pitied and unsuspected, a handsome, deformed beggar dragged himself across the streets. This was Billy in the Bowl. This was the man they were looking for, the Stoneybatter Strangler.
Although it was suspected it could not be proved that he murdered his victims but he was convicted of robbery with violence and confined in the jail in Green Street. Although he was severely disabled he was employed in hard labour for the remainder of his days. His notoriety caused him to be viewed as an object of curiosity and because of this certain members of high society visited the prison in order to titillate their senses. (seems we’ve always had weirdo’s
Although it was never proven that it was he who had committed the murders in the Grangegorman-Stoneybatter district the area once more settled back into some sort of normality. A quiet suburb where old ladies and young girls could walk the streets safely as they went about their business”
So beware old ladies and young girls, never trust a man in a bowl, he might be handsome but he ain’t no sunshine breakfast.
Gonna tell Aunt Mary ‘bout Uncle John
He claim he has the misery but he’s havin’ a lot of fun
Oh baby, yeah baby, woo
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well long, tall Sally
She’s built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin’ and he ducked back in the alley oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah, ow
Well, long, tall Sally
She’s built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin’ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well, I…
wot I’d like to now is who’s this nameless cretin having fun with ??
That’s a bowl as sure as eggs is eggs, no photos in them days only wood engravings, the lines in the engraving give the impression of a woven basket my good man.
About that Welch dresser you went out with Gummy, here’s a Limerick with legs featured specially made up for you.
The Welsh dresser.
There was a young woman God bless her
Who threw her leg over the dresser
The dresser was high, it caught in her thigh
Now she is one leg the lesser.
As our lyrics are in decline in content and taste I thought I’d slip one in, no pun intended.
KEEP YOUR HAND ON YOUR HA’PENNY
When Molly began to go courting
Her mother was anxious to tell
How certain young fellas would want her
to stray down the pathway to 'ell
So Molly’s old ma used to say:
cho: Keep your hand on your ha’penny
Cover it well with your palm
Keep your hand on your ha’penny
And Molly will come to no harm
They’ll hug you and kiss you so sweetly
They’ll make you feel ever so nice,
But handle the fellas discretely
And follow this simple advice:
When Molly and I went out courting
I told her she’d nothing to fear
But down in the meadow last Sunday
I whispered these words in her ear
Take your hand of your ha’penny
Look into my bonny blue eyes
Take your hand of your ha’penny
And I’ll give you — a lovely surprise!
My aunt Eileen worked in Williams&Woods all her employed life, there were about 50 women working in the Jam and Marmalade section, they were devils for singing songs like that in the pub on Saturday nights, I seem you have a vague memory of one called “I’ll show you me yo-yo tonight” all double meaning but very funny I thought, 'tis true that the women are worse than the men, as me granny used to say.
Keep your hand on your ha’penny
Cover it well with your palm
Keep your hand on your ha’penny
And Molly will come to no harm
Many years ago girls would sew a ha’penny piece into their knicker leg (think bloomers), in case of emergencies. I think it was the cost of a tram ride home so she would be safe from men who were addicted to the popular game of Shove ha’penny.
Some of the words of wisdom that get handed down should be put on the wall and framed so one doesn’t forget them.
