Everyday Life Victorian music hall song, written by Harry Boden, with music composed and sung by Charlie Chaplin's father, Charles Chaplin senior.
"In everyday life many marvels around fill us with a feeling of wonder profound. Often the heart aches and tears dim the eye as sad scenes in passing thro' life we espy. Poor wretches huddled on bridges at night, beggars who plaintively beg just a mite. These make us wonder! How can such things be in our Christian England so great and so free? Then see the swell in his carriage dash by; little he cares for the poverty nigh. He gives them nothing to save them from strife. These are the characters taken from everyday life."...
How ironic that Charlie Chaplin's father sang this song knowing his own young son was in such poverty, one of the countless hungry waifs wandering the streets of London. That's why nobody curls up to sleep on a doorstop with such easy familiarity as Charlie Chaplin's 'Little Tramp.' Charlie learned his art the hard way on the tough streets of Lambeth with a never-ending hunt for food, dodging policemen, outwitting bullies and falling in love with pretty girls; all features of Charlie's silent films.
So why did millions of people love the cheeky 'Little Tramp' in his threadbare suit and dusty old boots? We can thank Charlie's mother, Hannah, for she always taught her sons to be distinguished; which explains the famous hat, cane and gloves - hallmarks of a gentleman - soaked into Charlie's mind as he observed them on the streets of his childhood days...
Father of the famous Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin. After lying forgotten for more than a hundred years, we now bring to life six long lost songs originally performed on the Victorian Music Hall stage by Charles Chaplin Senior. In this new book, you can read about the songs, you can hear and download these songs again on our music page, re-created by maestro Martin Tilbrook Gardener. "CHARLIE Chaplin's father, we'll call him Chas for brevity, is well noted as a "Baddy Daddy" in neglecting the needs of his little son back in those "Naughty Nineties" of Victorian London, where he rose to fame as a popular Music Hall star. Imagine the whirlwind life of highs and lows in those old Halls, with many rising stars falling almost as they rose, their brief moment of fame plummeting to earth like a shooting star, all hopes and dreams vanishing into the darkness; Chas was one of them....
The Music Hall world of mirth, music and laughter essentially revolved around drink, and lucrative profits from it, so it comes as no surprise that Chas often portrayed in his songs and pattering jokes the wild life of a Masher About Town. This showily dressed young fellow, familiar in fashionable streets and bars, attracted gaudy girls in the perennial love struck quest for a sweetheart. A Masher always dodged his landlady, for paying the rent was a bore, and when married, Mother-in-Law or a swipe of the poker from Wifey Dear, were occupational hazards when coming home drunk - a performance Chas excelled in, both on and off stage. Undeterred though, Chas gaily sings his way through all these dramas, adding his dog's outrageous birthday party to the chaos, along with some heavy melodrama, which I strongly suspect he "hammed-up" with a twinkle in his eye. Sadly, this hectic life caught up with Chas all too soon, and he faded away with alcoholic poisoning, to die tragically young in 1901 at only 38 years of age."
Henry Stanley Newman, son of the famous hymn writer, Cardinal Newman, undoubtedly wrote the text for this book which he called, 'The Story of Orphan Homes, Leominster.' In his humble Christian way, Henry did not claim authorship. Amazingly, I came across his little book whilst researching my 'Master Charlie Chaplin' book. I was very touched by Henry's honest story; he says, 'All the children at the Orphan Homes, Leominster, have lost both father and mother and have come to us from all parts of the country - north, south, east and west.' Thanks to Henry's dedication in rescuing the homeless, suffering children; his vision to give them a secure, happy family home and his unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, there are many people living today whose forefathers and mothers were the orphans you can read of in this book....
Henry's story remains as he wrote it, but the original woodcut pictures don’t show much of the orphans in action, so I have unashamedly re-illustrated the book, to try and reveal some of their abundant childish energy and life. Also, from an old photograph of Henry, I have captured his young face in a pastel portrait - and I must say, he does look a gentle, kind and dependable man - just the sort of person lost little children would look up to and say, 'May we call you father?'
David Boland