"Oh! Mr Porter" is an old British music hall song about a girl who has got on the wrong train. It was famously part of the repertoires of the artistes Norah Blaney and Marie Lloyd.[1][2][3] It was written in 1892 by George Le Brunn and his brother Thomas, and taken on an extended provincial tour that same year by Marie Lloyd.[4][5] The lyrics include this chorus:
- Oh! Mr Porter, what shall I do?
- I want to go to Birmingham
- And they're taking me on to Crewe,
- Take me back to London, as quickly as you can,
- Oh! Mr Porter, what a silly girl I am.
Birmingham is the second city of England. Crewe is a town better known as a railway junction than as a destination. The fastest route on the West Coast Main Line to Crewe and stations further north does not use the loop via Birmingham.
English comedian Alexei Sayle claimed that the young woman's failure to reach her intended destination was a reference to premature ejaculation and lack of sexual satisfaction[6]
- ^ "Norah Blaney". BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ "Marie Lloyd". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ "Oh! Mr. Porter". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ Baker, Richard Anthony (2005). British Music Hall: An Illustrated History. Sutton Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 9781473837409. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ St. Pierre, Paul Matthew (1 April 2009). Music Hall Mimesis in British Film, 1895-1960: On the Halls on the Screen. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-1611473995. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ BBC Radio 4 Strangers on a train series 2 episode 1