The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery

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"The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery"
Song by Nelly Power
Written1885
GenreMusic hall
Songwriter(s)George Ware
Song made famous by Marie Lloyd

"The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery" (correctly The Boy in the Gallery) is a music hall song written in 1885 by George Ware for music hall star Nelly Power, and made famous by Marie Lloyd. It was also sung by Jenny Hill.[1]

The song is unusual in that it places the singer in the actual location of the theatre, with the words traditionally directed to an imaginary beau in the cheapest seats.[2]

Lyrics[edit]

Little Dot Hetherington at the Old Bedford by Walter Sickert; c. 1888. Little Dot is singing "The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery".

These are the lyrics in the sheet music published by EMI Music Publishing, London, 1977:[1]

I'm a young girl, and have just come over,
Over from the country where they do things big,
And amongst the boys I've got a lover,
And since I've got a lover, why I don't care a fig.

The boy I love is up in the gallery,
The boy I love is looking now at me,
There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief,
As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.

The boy that I love, they call him a cobbler,
But he's not a cobbler, allow me to state.
For Johnny is a tradesman and he works in the Boro'
Where they sole and heel them, whilst you wait.

The boy I love is up in the gallery,
The boy I love is looking now at me,
There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief,
As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.

Now, If I were a Duchess and had a lot of money,
I'd give it to the boy who's going to marry me.
But I haven't got a penny, so we'll live on love and kisses,
And be just as happy as the birds on the tree.

The boy I love is up in the gallery,
The boy I love is looking now at me,
There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief,
As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.

In popular culture[edit]

1940 film Gaslight features the song in a music hall scene. The lyrics prompt Anton Walbrook's character Paul Mallen to abort his date and return home to see his wife.[3]

The 1960 film version of John Osborne's 1957 play The Entertainer features the song. It is sung by Brenda de Banzie as Phoebe Rice, wife of main character Archie Rice.[4]

1968 film A Little Of What You Fancy has Helen Shapiro singing the song.[5]

In 1969, Barbara Windsor sang the song in the original cast of Sing a Rude Song, a musical biography of Marie Lloyd written by Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin.[6] In 1978, she performed the song as part of a Marie Lloyd medley in an episode of BBC light entertainment programme The Good Old Days.[7]

1972 British mini-series The Edwardians features the song. Georgia Brown plays Marie Lloyd, singing the song in an episode titled "The Reluctant Juggler".[8]

1975 British drama-series Edward the Seventh features the song. Adrienne Posta plays Marie Lloyd, singing the song in an episode titled "The Years of Waiting".[9]

In 1977, Miss Piggy sings the song - accompanied by Rowlf on piano, and with the audience joining in - in the UK spot of the Rich Little episode of The Muppet Show.[10]

In 1980, the song was included in the television detective series Cribb, in an episode titled "Abracadaver".[11]

In 1990, the song was included in the television series "Oh, Mr. Toad", in an episode titled "Toad in Love".[12]

1996 British/French film Different for Girls has Rupert Graves singing a version of the song using the word "girl" and female pronouns.[citation needed]

A 1999 episode of British sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart featured the song. Emma Amos played Marie Lloyd, singing the song in an episode titled "The 'Ouses in Between."[13]

The BBC's 2007 biographical drama Miss Marie Lloyd has Jessie Wallace singing the song in the title role.[14]

2013 British drama-series Ripper Street has Charlene McKenna singing the song in the instalment titled "Our Betrayal: Part 2".[15]

The song was featured in Season 1, Episode 1 of the BBC Two series Peaky Blinders. Original air date was September, 12, 2013 but it was filmed in 2012. Annabelle Wallis's character Grace Burgess sang it; vocal credit was Dara MacMahon.[16]

2018 film The Happy Prince has Rupert Everett singing the song in the role of Oscar Wilde.[17]

The song featured in a 2018 episode of CBBC TV series Hetty Feather, based on the novel by Jacqueline Wilson. Polly Allen's character Sheila Ormsby briefly sings it in the eighth episode of Series 4 in order to win the title of Festival Queen.[18]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b "The Boy in the Gallery". monologues.co.uk. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  2. ^ Harrison, Martin (1998). The Language of Theatre. Carcanet Press. p. 112. ISBN 1857543742.
  3. ^ "Gaslight (1940)". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  4. ^ "The Entertainer (1960)". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  5. ^ "A Little of What You Fancy (1968)". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  6. ^ Frayn, Michael (1998). Stage Directions: Writing on Theatre, 1970-2008. Faber and Faber. p. 8. ISBN 0571240569.
  7. ^ "The Good Old Days (1953–1983); Episode dated 7 March 1978". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  8. ^ "The Reluctant Juggler". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  9. ^ "The Years of Waiting". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Rich Little". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Abracadaver". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Toad in Love". IMDb. 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  13. ^ "The 'Ouses in Between". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Miss Marie Lloyd (2007)". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Our Betrayal: Part 2". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  16. ^ "The Duel". IMDb. 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  17. ^ "The Happy Prince is a ravishingly sad film". The Spectator. 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Fate". BYUtv. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
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