A popular song from 1901.
Words and music by Charles D. Bingham.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- Once an oyster lived in the bottom of the sea
And of goodly size was he
He was mum as mum and this oyster he was dumb
As an oyster in his shell could be
But one day this oyster ‘woke, and he found his voice and spoke
To the oyster fry around him he did roar
From these waters cold and dark I am going for a lark
And to see the sights they say are seen ashore
Refrain
For a gay old oyster full of fun am I
And a jolly sport the girls will love you’ll see
And when once I step ashore, girls will seek me by the score
And my Oyster Patty each will want to be
For I am no lobster, as you all may guess
Nor a rubber neck clam, no, no
In a fossilated shell, I will now no longer dwell
Say ta-ta to me my boys before I go
2. And this oyster came from the bottom of the sea
In an oyster net came he
But ’tis sad to state his was not the happy fate
That he dreamed an oyster’s fate should be
For he found himself next day, in a swell New York Cafe
In a half a ton of ice they’d packed him tight
Where a girl from Boston town said she’d love him if fried brown
Or upon the half-shell he’d be out of sight
Refrain
For a gay old oyster full of meat was he
He was just the sport the girls would choose you bet
Ere he’d been ashore a day, this remark he made, they say:
“I was in the sea, but in the soup I’ll get”
For he was no lobster, as you all may guess
Nor a rubber neck clam, nay, nay
And the girl who loved him most, ate him served up hot on toast
By a waiter in a swell New York Cafe
Sung here by Fred Feild: