A popular song from 1915.
Words and music by R. P. Weston & Bert Lee.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Corrected accompaniment by Vancha March:
Lyrics
- Brother Bertie went away
To do his bit the other day
With a smile on his lips
And his lieutenant ‘pips’
Upon his shoulder, bright and gay
As the train moved out he said
“Remember me to all the birds”
Then he wagged his paw
And went away to war
Shouting out these pathetic words
Chorus
“Goodbye-ee! goodbye-ee!
Wipe the tear, baby dear, from your eye-ee
Though it’s hard to part, I know
I’ll be tickled to death to go
Don’t cry-ee, don’t sigh-ee
There’s a silver lining in the sky-ee!
Bonsoir, old thing, cheerio, chin-chin
Nah-poo, toodle-oo, goodbye-ee!”
- Marmaduke Horatio Flynn
Although he’d whiskers round his chin
In a play took a part
And he touch’d ev’ry heart
As little Willie in “East Lynne”
As the little dying child
Upon his snow-white bed he lay
And amid their tears
The people gave three cheers
When he said as he passed away - At the concert down at Kew
Some convalescents dressed in blue
Had to hear Lady Lee
Who had turned eighty-three
Sing all the old, old songs she knew
Then she made a speech and said
“I look upon you boys with pride
And for what you’ve done
I’m going to kiss each one!”
Then they all grabbed their sticks and cried - Little Private Patrick Shaw
He was a prisoner of war
Till a Hun with a gun
Called him “pig-dog” for fun
Then Paddy punched him on the jaw
Right across the barbed wire fence
The German dropped, then, dear, oh dear
All the wire gave way
And Paddy yelled, “Hooray!”
As he ran for the Dutch frontier
Sung here by Vancha March: