"I Belong To Glasgow" is a song written and recorded by the music hall entertainer Will Fyffe, in 1920. It has also been performed by Danny Kaye, Eartha Kitt, Gracie Fields and Kirk Douglas. According to Albert Mackie's ''The Scotch Comedians'' (1973), Fyffe got the inspiration for the song from a drunk he met at

Glasgow Central Station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Main Concourse at Glasgow Central Station.JPG , caption = The main concourse , borough = Glasgow, City of Glasgow , country ...

. The drunk was "genial and demonstrative" and "laying off about

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

John Barleycorn "John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. ...

with equal enthusiasm". Fyffe asked him: "Do you belong to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

?" and the man replied: "At the moment, at the moment, Glasgow belongs to me."Mackie, Albert David. ''The Scotch Comedians: from the music hall to television''. (Edinburgh: Ramsay Head, 1973) :''If your money, you spend, :''You’ve nothing to lend,'' :''Isn’t that all the better for you.'' The song speaks of drink, in a period where

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

campaigns were very common, and shows a typical music hall attitude to the supposedly tyrannical wife. The monologue accompanying the song is the origin of several popular humorous catch phrases, including "under the affluence of incohol". The entertainer

Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...

was offered the song, but turned it down since it praised strong drink. As a result of this song, Will Fyffe became forever associated with Glasgow, even though he was born away, in the east coast city of Dundee. The song was used in the 1955 film ''

The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...

'', but the lyric was modified to "I Belong To Colditz".

References

External links

Song Lyrics

I Belong To Glasgow - Animated Footage on Vimeo
{{authority control Glasgow Scottish songs Music hall songs 1927 songs