What An Afternoon 1875

by James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 14Feb2025
2025

I'll sing you a song of my uncle Pete
What an afternoon
He buttoned his eyebrows round his feet
What an afternoon
Put his feet in hot water to keep them dry
What an afternoon
He went to the play on a blue tailed fly
What an afternoon.

He polished his socks with pumpkin squash,
he always sent his teeth to the wash.
He dined as a rule off a camomile pill
in a three pair back in Haverstock Hill.

The roof of his mouth was striped with red
What an afternoon
and he put his boots over his head
What an afternoon
when he opened his mouth
it would make you stare
What an afternoon
you could almost see the roots of his hair
What an afternoon

His trousers sleeves were bright green
with a velvet collar of white black lead,
he always moved his legs when he walked
and he generally spoke then he usually talked.

He kept tame butterflies out in the yard
What an afternoon
and fed them tintacks, cinders and lard.
What an afternoon
One day we both went out on a spree
What an afternoon
and he got drunk on sealing wax tea.
What an afternoon

He had a gumboil on his chin
and he curled his lips with a rolling pin.
His best feather bed was a sandstone board
and he slept wide awake to see if he snored.

He combed his hair with a garden rake
What an afternoon
and blacked his gums with oatmeal cake
What an afternoon
the whites of his eyes were pink and brown
What an afternoon
and he wore his shirt on upside down.
What an afternoon

He wore a beetroot on his brow
and got his eggs from a ringtailed cow
he put off his gloves when he wanted to kick
he'd a tin umbrella with a treacle stick.

The roof of his mouth was striped with red
What an afternoon
and he put his boots over his head
What an afternoon
when he opened his mouth
it would make you stare
What an afternoon
you could almost see the roots of his hair
What an afternoon

He was very fond of sawdust pie
with a guinea pig's egg and a perriwinkle's eye
he picked his teeth with charcoal jam
and that's the sort of man he am.

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
*
What An Afternoon 1875
Comic Song by Charles Collette
as sung by him in the Successful farce
"Cryptoconchoidsyphonostomata"
© 1875
*
sequence & karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Friday 14 February 2025 at 11.59
in association with Torquil Syme
*
James Pitt-Payne