Lets-all-go-down-the-strand-sung-by-chas-r-whittle-for-piano

"Let's All Go Down the Strand" is a popular British music hall song of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, written by

Harry Castling Henry Castling (19 April 1865 – 26 December 1933) was an English lyricist of music hall songs. Biography Castling was born in Newington, London, the son of a street musician. He began writing songs in the 1890s, often collaborating on bo ...

and

C. W. Murphy Charles William Murphy (14 February 1870 – 18 June 1913) was a prolific British composer of music hall and musical theatre tunes. Biography He was born William Murphy in Manchester, England.Lamb, Andrew. "C. W. Murphy, Edwardian Song Compo ...

. It was first performed by Castling, and was published in 1909. It was inspired by the Strand, a street in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, Central London, that in the late 19th century became a centre for theatres, hotels and music halls. The song has three verses describing people trying to persuade others to abandon their current plans to "go down the Strand". The first verse is about a group of tourists planning a trip to Germany, the second about prisoners in jail and the third about sailors returning with

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

from a polar expedition. The song was popular with British soldiers in the

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 ...

. A refrain of "have a banana", not included in the published lyrics, was often interposed after the first line of the chorus. Sometimes "

Song

The song is inspired by the Strand, a street in

, Central London. During the late 19th century the Strand was transformed from a refuge for beggars, gamblers and frauds to a respectable leisure venue with theatres, hotels and music halls. It was written by music hall performer

and composer Charles William Murphy. The song was first sung by Castling in the 1890s. According to music hall historian

Richard Anthony Baker Richard Anthony Baker (9 February 1946 – 12 November 2016) was a British radio producer, presenter and author. He was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. His father was a London-born music hall performer who used the stage name Will Keogh; and ...

, the song developed after Castling and Murphy left the Lyceum Theatre together, and headed towards

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...

when Castling suggested "Let's go down the Strand". He later maintained that, as soon as he said the words, he realised it would make a good song title. Adding the word "all", they wrote the song, with Castling later saying that "both the words and the music came to us as though we had been singing them all our lives." The lyrics of the 1909 version describe a group of six tourists meeting in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

for a planned trip to continental Europe. One of them, Jones, advises the others to "stay away from Germany, what's the good of going down the Rhine?" and in the chorus tries to persuade them to stay in London: "let's all go down the Strand" as "that's the place for fun and noise, all among the girls and boys". The second verse describes a group of 25 prisoners confined in prison and ordered to exercise; one, Burglar Ben, proposes to their warden that they instead visit the Strand. The third and final verse describes the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

welcoming back an

expedition to "the Pole" (Shackleton had taken part in the 1901–04 ''Discovery'' Expedition and led the 1907–09 ''Nimrod'' Expedition, both in the Antarctic but never reached the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

). The Lord Mayor proposes that he throws a banquet at Mansion House but one of Shackleton's sailors asks the explorer if they can instead "go down the Strand".

Impact

The refrain "have a banana!", sung after the first line of the chorus, is a later addition to the song, though it is known to have been sung in the 1890s. The origins of the refrain are unknown, though it helped to drive sales of the fruit. Sometimes "

Gertie Gitana Gertie Gitana (born Gertrude Mary Astbury; 27 December 1887 – 5 January 1957) was an English music hall entertainer. Biography She was born in Shirley Street, Longport, Staffordshire, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent.Cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

for banana the usage of which continues to the modern day. The phrase "let's all go down the Strand", particularly to mean making a visit to the theatres there, became a popular phrase among the British working class. The song, and in particular its chorus, was popular with Londoners. "Let's All Go Down the Strand" was popular with British soldiers in the

, alongside other music hall favourites such as "

It's a Long Way to Tipperary "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (or "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary") is an English music hall song first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge, and written by Judge and Harry Williams, though authorship of the song has long been disputed. It ...

" and Charles Whittle's " We All Go The Same Way Home". The men of a London battalion are recorded as having sung it when up to their knees in mud near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

in 1917. The song was a music hall hit for Charles Whittle, and for Harry Fay in 1910. It gave Whittle his first major success and became one of his most popular songs, though in later life he grew to hate the song as it was requested so often. John Betjeman used the title of the song for a television documentary made for

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

in 1967. The same year, Margaret Williams used it for a stage comedy. The English rock band Blur recorded a cover of "Let's All Go Down the Strand" that was released as the B-side of one format of their 1993 EP "

Sunday Sunday "Sunday Sunday" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, included on their second album, ''Modern Life Is Rubbish''. It was released 4 October 1993 as the final single from that album, and charted at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. ...

References

{{reflist British songs Songs of World War I Songs about London Songs about streets Music hall songs Strand, London