Frederick Johnson "F.J". Barnes (8 January 1873 – 30 December 1917) was an English

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, who co-wrote numerous songs with

R. P. Weston Robert Patrick Weston ( Harris; 7 March 1878 – 6 November 1936) was an English songwriter. He was responsible for many successful songs and comic monologues between the 1900s and 1930s, mostly written in collaboration with other writers, notab ...

and

Fred Godfrey Fred Godfrey (17 September 1880 – 22 February 1953) was the pen name of Llewellyn Williams, a World War I songwriter. He is best known for the songs " Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1916) and " Bless 'Em All" (1917), a 1940s hit reco ...

Biography

He was born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, Central London. Between about 1906 and 1915, he worked with co-writer R. P. Weston, mainly on songs for the popular

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

performer Billy Williams. Barnes and Weston co-wrote "Little Willie's Woodbines" (1908); "

I've Got Rings On My Fingers I've Got Rings On My Fingers is a popular song written in 1909, words by Weston and Barnes, and music by Maurice Scott. It concerns an Irishman named Jim O'Shea, a castaway who finds himself on an island somewhere in the East Indies, whereupon he i ...

" (1909); "

When Father Papered the Parlour When Father Papered the Parlour is a popular song, written and composed by R. P. Weston and Fred J. Barnes in 1910. It was performed by comedian Billy Williams (music hall performer), Billy Williams, and was one of his most successful hits. Refe ...

" (1910); and "Hush Here Comes the Dream Man", recorded in 1911 by

Florrie Forde Flora May Augusta Flannagan ( Flannagan; 16 August 187518 April 1940), known professionally as Florrie Forde, was an Australian popular singer and music hall entertainer. From 1897 she lived and worked in the United Kingdom. She was one of the ...

, parodied by

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

soldiers as "Hush Here Comes a Whizzbang", and sung in the

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West En ...

production of ''

Oh, What a Lovely War! ''Oh, What a Lovely War!'' is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the "somewhat satirical" ...

'' in 1963. Barnes also worked alongside Fred Godfrey on songs such as "Jim’s A Funny Fellow When He’s Had A Few" (1911) Barnes signed up for military service in the First World War, and joined the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

. He died on 30 December 1917, from drowning after the torpedo attack on the troop carrier

HMT Aragon HMT ''Aragon'', originally RMS ''Aragon'', was a transatlantic Royal Mail Ship that served as a troop ship in the First World War. She was built in Belfast, Ireland in 1905 and was the first of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's fleet of "A- ...

, off the coast of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He is buried at the Alexandria War Memorial Cemetery. F J Barnes, ''Wrecksite.eu''
Retrieved 16 January 2021

Namesake

He is not to be confused with singer Frederick Jester Barnes (1885-1938) who as Fred Barnes, sang "You Can't Fool Around With The Women", composed by Fred Godfrey and Bennett Scott. Fred J. Barnes, ''Fred Godfrey Songs''
Retrieved 16 January 2021

References

1873 births 1917 deaths Military personnel from London British male songwriters British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Essex Regiment soldiers Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Burials in Egypt {{England-songwriter-stub