Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
And she wore a belt whenever she felt
A pain in her did-n-dy push
A comical vest to save her chest
From common cold or the cush
She drank quinine and spirits and wine
To cure the pip-i-dy pop
Till she became a what's her name
A travelling doctor's shop

Oh I want to tell you of a friend of mine she's always ill
Always thought she had a sort of serious complaint
Whatever the remedy was she always took a dose
For to cure her ills she bought some pills and bought them by the gross

She thought she had the measles and the stankers and the aches
And varicose veins and arteries' lanes and sure there's no mistake
Shivers and shakes and pains and aches from her head down to her toes
And a multitude of handkerchiefs to stop her runny nose

Well she had a face which was a disgrace to humanity that's for sure
And a big long nose which I suppose just seemed to grow and grow
Little beady eyes I tell no lies the ugliest woman I've seen
You think that's bad or maybe sad a nightmare not a dream

And she used to wear a nose machine whenever she went to bed
Tied herself to the window frame in case they'd find her dead
A foreign influenz-ia would scare her heart to death
She greased her hair and tinned some air for what we don't know yet

(as sung by The Wolfe Tones)

[1974:] [From Cork.] Collected incomplete, re-written and sung by Brian. This is a comical song and recalls the days when medicines, pills etc. were first introduced to this country and how the people were reluctant to accept them. (Notes Wolfe Tones, 'Till Ireland A Nation')

[2000] The recording I have is by The Wolfe Tones on 'Live-Alive-Oh', but they must also have recorded it on 'Till Ireland A Nation'. On my album Brian says it is 'from Cork'. Rather mysogynist, I feel, but then it's from a bygone age! (Susanne's e-mail to Henry and Cheril-NYC)