"Chinese Laundry Blues" is a 1932

comic song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

written by Jack Cotterill (or Cottrell) and associated with the British comedian

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

. Formby recorded it for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

on 1 July 1932. The song takes place in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...

(a traditional

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

) where the owner of a

laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...

has fallen in love, and is no longer paying attention to his job. It subtly uses the

Oriental riff The Oriental riff, also known as the East Asian riff and the Chinaman lick, is a musical riff or phrase that has often been used in Western culture as a trope to represent the idea of China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, or a generic ...

. The song featured in the 1934 comedy ''

Boots! Boots! ''Boots! Boots!'' is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Bert Tracy and starring George Formby, Beryl Formby, and Arthur Kingsley. It was made by Blakeley's Productions, Ltd. (later Mancunian Films) at the Albany Studios in London.Richards ...

''.St. Pierre p.169 It became one of Formby's signature tunes, and introduced the character of "Mr. Wu". who appeared in a succession of songs, such as "The Wedding Of Mr. Wu," and most notably "Mr. Wu's a Window Cleaner Now" which shares its subject matter with " When I'm Cleaning Windows".

References

Bibliography

* St. Pierre, Paul Matthew. ''Music Hall Mimesis in British Film, 1895-1960: On the Halls on the Screen''. Associated University Presse, 2009. British songs 1932 songs George Formby songs {{1930s-song-stub