"Ask a P'liceman" (sometimes given as "If You Want to Know the Time Ask a Policeman") is a
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
song. It was first performed in 1888 by English comedian
James Fawn and was written by
Edward William Rogers (1864–1913) and Augustus Edward Durandeau (1848–1893).
[
Fawn was known as one of the best comedic impersonators of a drunken person. The song was "filled with references that reflected the Victorian working-class mistrust of the officers of the law",][ Richard Jones, "If You Want to Know the Time Ask A Policeman", ''Jack the Ripper Tour'', 22 March 2018]
Retrieved 2 September 2020 and made fun of the frequent claim that, if arrested for drunkenness, one's pocket watch
A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist.
They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popula ...
was likely to go missing at the police station,["James Fawn (1850-1923)", ''Monologues.co.uk'']
Retrieved 2 September 2020 with the line "Every member of the force / Has a watch and chain, of course." The sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...
of the song reportedly sold some half a million copies within three years of its publication.[Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , p.41]
The song's title was used for Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...
's 1939 comedy film ''Ask a Policeman
''Ask a Policeman'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt.
The plot sees Will Hay playing a policeman at the Turnbotham Round police force. The force hasn't arrested any ...
''.
References
External links
Lyrics
at Monologues.co.uk
Songs about police officers
1888 songs
Music hall songs
Comedy songs
{{song-stub