Old Jepson Brown

Lyrics

1
Now Jepson Brown were a worn-out clown but a careful clown ’e’d been;
’E’d saved enough to open a pub somewhere on Bethnal Green;
And when ’e thowt o’ the tricks by which ’e’d earned ’is daily bread,
Now and then when the fit came on, ’e’d stand upon ’is head.

Chorus
Oh, the people shouted out, ‘Oh my!’
Oh, the people they did stare;
For there was Brown, upside down, with ’is legs kickin’ ’igh up in the air.

2
Now next door neighbour to old Brown lived widow Mrs Birch;
He proposed to ’er and she answered yes, and they toddled off to church.
o you promise to love and obey this man?’ the worthy parson said.
She blushed and smiled for there was Brown standing on ’is head.

3
Now twelve months later a child was born to the great delight of Brown.
It was the image of himself, a reg’lar little clown;
And when this child was six months old ’e scrambled out of bed,
And to the nurse’s great surprise, was standing on ’is head.

Chorus
Oh, the people shouted out, ‘Oh my!’
Oh, the people they did stare;
For there was young Brown, etc.

This is a traditional song

Provenance

Not originally a Yorkshire song with its mention of ‘Bethnal Green’, It appears to have survived uniquely in oral tradition  in the Holmfirth area. Its originall Music-Hall title was 'Brown -  Upside Down' written and composed by Walter Hastings in 1883, and sung by Will Bint. The cover of the sheet music in the Spellman Collection at Reading University Library can be viewed at www.reading.ac.uk/library/special-collections/collections/lib-special-spellman.asp

Will learnt it from hearing Arthur Howard singing it at hunt sings and in the local pubs around Holmfirth.