I Took My Harp to a Party

A popular song from 1933
Words by Desmond Carter
Music by Noel Gay


The sheet music:


Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:


Lyrics

Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming
Christmas is coming again
But that never thrills me
The thought of it chills me
I tell you it fills me with pain
It makes me remember a Christmas gone by
When I was extremely upset
A night in December, an evening that I
Would very much rather forget

Refrain:
For I took my harp to a party
But nobody asked me to play
The others were jolly and hearty
But I wasn’t feeling so gay
They might have said, “Play us a tune we can sing”
But somehow I don’t think they noticed the thing
I took my harp to a party
But nobody asked me to play
So I took the darned thing away

Chant:
They asked Missus Morgan
To play her mouth organ
And somebody else did a dance
They let Missus Carter perform a sonata
But I wasn’t given a chance
A north country person called Sandy Macpherson
Played bagpipes and took off his coat
While both the Miss Fawcetts
Burst out of their corsets
In trying to take a top note

  1. Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming
    Christmas is coming once more
    But I’m not delighted or even excited
    My hopes have been blighted before
    I felt so elated with joy in my heart
    To join in the revels I rushed
    But then I just waited a chance to depart
    Forgotten, neglected and crushed

Refrain:
For I took my harp to a party
But nobody asked me to play
The others were jolly and hearty
But I wasn’t feeling so gay
I felt so ashamed at not striking a note
That I tried to hide the thing under my coat
I took my harp to a party but nobody asked me to play,
So I took the darned thing away

Chant:
They sang “Home Sweet Home”
And “The Banks Of Loch Lomond”
Then “All The King’s Horses” then “Trees”
While nephews and nieces kept playing their pieces
And spreading their jam on the keys
A daughter called Lena played her concertina
We all played ridiculous games
Till old Mister Dyer set his whiskers on fire
And the fire engine played on the flames


Sung by Laurence Rubenstein: