Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty
Encyclopedia
"Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" is a music hall
song written by Arthur J. Mills, Fred Godfrey
and Bennett Scott
in 1916. It was popular during the First World War and tells a story of three fictional soldiers on the Western Front
suffering from homesickness
and their longing to return to "Blighty
" - a slang term for Britain
.
in Oxford
where a show called Blighty was showing. He recounts: "One of us suddenly said “What an idea for a song!” Four hours later it was all finished, and the whole country was singing it soon afterwards. I got — not very much."
The chorus lyric "Take me back to dear old Blighty/Put me on a train to London
town" was included in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
.
and Ella Retford are the most commonly heard versions, though Dorothy Ward first sang it. British blues singer Kevin Coyne
also released a version on his 1978 LP Dynamite Daze.
, about British life in the first two decades of the twentieth century and in the 1944 film This Happy Breed
. It was also used in the Errol Fynn film Let’s Make Up in 1956. A recording of the song by Cicely Courtneidge
from the 1962 film The L-Shaped Room
was sampled at the beginning of the title track of The Queen Is Dead
by The Smiths
.
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song written by Arthur J. Mills, Fred Godfrey
Fred Godfrey
Fred Godfrey was the pen name of Llewellyn Williams, a World War II songwriter...
and Bennett Scott
Bennett Scott
Bennett Scott was a writer of music hall songs. He co-wrote many songs with A.J. Mills and Fred Godfrey including Tom Costello’s "I’ve Made Up My Mind To Sail Away", Whit Cunliffe’s "Fall In And Follow Me", "One Of The B’hoys" by Mark Sheridan, "When I Take My Morning Promenade" by Marie Lloyd,...
in 1916. It was popular during the First World War and tells a story of three fictional soldiers on the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
suffering from homesickness
Homesickness
Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects....
and their longing to return to "Blighty
Blighty
Blighty is a British English slang term for Britain, deriving from the Hindustani word vilāyatī , from Persian vilayet and ultimately from Arabic wilayah, originally meaning something like "province"...
" - a slang term for Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Composition
Fred Godfrey wrote the song with Bennett Scott and A.J. Mills after passing a music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
where a show called Blighty was showing. He recounts: "One of us suddenly said “What an idea for a song!” Four hours later it was all finished, and the whole country was singing it soon afterwards. I got — not very much."
The chorus lyric "Take me back to dear old Blighty/Put me on a train to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
town" was included in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first published by the Oxford University Press in 1941, is an 1100-page book listing short quotations that are common in English language and culture....
.
Recordings
Recordings by Florrie FordeFlorrie Forde
Florrie Forde , born Flora May Augusta Flannagan, was an Australian popular singer and entertainer. She was one of the greatest stars of the early 20th century music hall....
and Ella Retford are the most commonly heard versions, though Dorothy Ward first sang it. British blues singer Kevin Coyne
Kevin Coyne
Kevin Coyne was a musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The former "anti-star" was born on 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK, and died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004....
also released a version on his 1978 LP Dynamite Daze.
Use in other media
Noël Coward used the song for his 1931 stage production CavalcadeCavalcade (play)
Cavalcade is a play by Noël Coward. It focuses on three decades in the life of the Marryotts, a quintessential British family, and their servants, beginning at the start of the 20th century and ending on New Year's Eve in 1929....
, about British life in the first two decades of the twentieth century and in the 1944 film This Happy Breed
This Happy Breed
This Happy Breed is a play by Noël Coward. It was written in 1939 but, because of the outbreak of World War II, it was not staged until 1942, when it was performed on alternating nights with another Coward play, Present Laughter. The two plays later alternated with Coward's Blithe Spirit...
. It was also used in the Errol Fynn film Let’s Make Up in 1956. A recording of the song by Cicely Courtneidge
Cicely Courtneidge
Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge DBE was an English actress and comedienne. The daughter of the producer Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End, by the age of 16, and was quickly promoted from minor to major roles in his Edwardian musical comedies.After the...
from the 1962 film The L-Shaped Room
The L-Shaped Room
The L-Shaped Room is a 1962 British drama film, directed by Bryan Forbes, which tells the story of a young French woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a London boarding house, befriending a young man in the building...
was sampled at the beginning of the title track of The Queen Is Dead
The Queen Is Dead
The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records and released in the United States on 23 June 1986 through Sire Records. The album reached #2 on the UK Albums Chart, maintaining...
by The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
.