"With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm" is a darkly humorous song, written in 1934 with lyrics by

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

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

and music by Harris Weston. It was originally performed by Stanley Holloway. It tells of how the

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

haunts the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

, seeking revenge on

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

for having her beheaded. It has been covered by many performers, including: *British actor

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

in 1934. *Roy Barbour in 1934 on Rex Records 8342 A, a 78 rpm release, with ''The Lion and Albert'' on the B side *

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

in the late 1930s with "The Old Sow Song" on the reverse. *

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

on their 1960 album ''

Sold Out "Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal g ...

'',. They gave an American twist to the soccer-related lines "And when they've had a few they shout 'Is Ars'nal going to win?'/They think it's Alec James, instead of poor old Ann Boleyn", changing them to "And when they've had a few they shout 'Is Army going to win?'/They think that it's

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

, instead of poor old Ann Boleyn" *The Barron Knights in 1966. *Caryl P. Weiss, whose 1981 recording has been a mainstay on Dr. Demento's Halloween show. * Bobby Clancy, who recorded it twice under the title "Anne Boleyn," once with

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumper sweaters and are widely credited with popu ...

on their 1982 ''Live'' album, and again on his 2000 solo album, ''

Make Me a Cup Make or MAKE may refer to: * Make (magazine), a tech DIY periodical *Make (software), a software build tool *Make, Botswana, in the Kalahari Desert *Make Architects Make Architects is an international architecture practice headquartered in Londo ...

''.

In media

It has appeared in many shows, including: *The song was used in the serial ''

Spin and Marty ''Spin and Marty'' is a series of television shorts that aired as part of ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' show of the mid-1950s, produced by Walt Disney and broadcast on the ABC network in the United States. There were three serials in all, set at the ...

'' on the ''Mickey Mouse Club'' TV show in the late 1950s. *During the episode "Whine Club" of the TV series ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'', Daphne Moon sings the song due to the fact that she was drunk on a

Bloody Mary Bloody Mary originally referred to: * Mary I of England (1516–1558), Queen of England and Ireland, so called because of her persecution of Protestants Bloody Mary may also refer to: Film * '' Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'', a 2005 horror fi ...

cocktail. *During the episode "They do it with Mirrors" of the TV series ''Marple''. The convicts sing together an excerpt of the song before the theater play. It was referenced in the novel, ''Murder, She Wrote: A Question of Murder,'' and in the children's novel, ''

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great ''Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great'' is a children's novel by Judy Blume, first published in 1972. It is a spin-off novel to the Fudge series, being set shortly after '' Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing'', and centers on Peter Hatcher's neme ...

'' by

Judy Blume Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 25 novels. Among her best-known works are ''Are You There God? It's Me ...

References

External links

Lyrics of "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm"
{{Authority control Songs about ghosts Songs about queens 1934 songs The Kingston Trio songs Songs written by R. P. Weston Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn Cultural depictions of Henry VIII Songs written by Bert Lee Novelty songs