"Turn Alberts face to the wall mother" is the first line of a popular
Victorian song.  Can anyone find the rest of the words for me?

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 07 May 2003 11:36 PDT

I have found a recording of this song, that can be played on RealOne
Player.  I would transcribe the lyrics for you, except that my ears
are somewhat British-accent-impaired, and the recording is from a
scratchy 78 RPM.  Would you be happy with a link to the recording
and/or to other recordings available on CD?

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Clarification of Question by kemlo-ga on 07 May 2003 11:56 PDT

To Justaskscott
Thanks for the qick responce but I also have a recording of this song
and I was hoping for the words so I can sing it properly .
In Hope Kemlo

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 07 May 2003 12:10 PDT

Do you live in or near London?  The score is available at the British
Library.  I could point you to the listings for the score in the
Public Catalogue, if you'd like.

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Clarification of Question by kemlo-ga on 07 May 2003 12:23 PDT

To justaskscott
No I cant get to london Would the British Library photo copy for me
Kemlo

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 07 May 2003 12:29 PDT

It appears that the British Library would photocopy it, since the
score seems to be under copyright.  (The song is not quite as old as
you believed, though it does sound Victorian.)

If you tell me approximately where you are located, perhaps I can find
a nearby library that has this score.

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 07 May 2003 13:03 PDT

I meant "would not photocopy it".  Sorry about that.

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Clarification of Question by kemlo-ga on 07 May 2003 16:15 PDT

To  justaskscott
I live near Boston, Lincolnshire
Kemlo

Hello kemlo,

This was one of the comic songs sung by Gracie Fields.  It is
featured, for example, on this CD at http://www.asv.co.uk/aja5062.htm
which contains recordings from 1931-1939.

However, the chappie in question is not Albert, but ‘Erbert (Herbert)

There is a sound file of the song at http://wolfpup1.tripod.com/78rpm/
, from which I have obtained the words

We once were a most happy household
With smiles on our lips all the time,
Till some cruel and blackhearted villain
Showed us the pathway to crime.

Young ‘Erbert, he patronized racing
But none of his horses would win,
So he robbed a harmless old bookie
And went off to jail for his sin. 

{oh, oh)

Turn ‘Erbert’s face to the wall, Mother,
Nevermore mention his name,
For he’s brought disgrace on the family
And bowed down our heads with shame. 

Father took lessons in forging,
Pound notes were his favourite line,
Till he offered one in the courthouse
When he had to pay a small fine. 

{oh, oh)

Turn Father’s face to the wall, Mother,
His photograph turn on its nail.
He won’t see the last rose this summer, 
They’ve taken him back to jail. 

Rosie, she went to the pictures,
An innocent girl she was then
She was awkward, her mother had told her
About taking gifts from strange men.

{oh, oh)

Turn Rosie’s face to the wall, Mother,
Her picture shall hang on black string.
She may have her furs and her jewels,
But she’s got no wedding ring. 

(ohhhhh, but I don’t know what the family’s coming to

Our household is shattered and broken
Our future will ne’er be the same.
Young Alfred has now departed
And Fanny has lost her good name. 

{oh, oh)

Turn us all round to wall, Mother,
We’re all just as bad as can be.
And it’s all through you meeting poor Father,
You’ve ruined the family!

(oh dear, it’s terrible, it’s terrible, I think we all ought to die
out, perhaps we could get somebody come in and shoot us, oh, oh)

Search strategy: When searching on “Alfred’s face to the wall” did not
bring any result, I searched on “face to the wall, Mother” and found
the web page with the sound file.

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Clarification of Answer by tehuti-ga on 07 May 2003 16:31 PDT

kemlo, I've found some information about copyright

http://www.emimusicpub.co.uk/Toptitle.nsf/unids/6FB7F24A201829B380256AE600462795?opendocument

Title   Turn 'Erberts Face to the Wall 
Recorded By   Gracie Fields 
Written By   Ellis, William; Kester, Max; Hill, Ronald 
EMI Recording    
Yr of Copyright   1935 
EMI Share   100% 

And under "rights and restrictions" at
http://www.emimusicpub.co.uk/Toptitle.nsf/unids/6fb7f24a201829b380256ae600462795?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=1#_Section1
it seems the song can be freely used:

"Note: A "Yes" indicates that the song can be used for the purpose
listed without prior approval. A "No" means that approval is required.
TV Synch. - Yes 
Promotional Video. - Yes 
Live Performance. - Yes 
Artist / Writer Interview. - Yes 
Innocuous Usage. - Yes 
Pre-Recorded. - Yes 
Live Performance By Amateur Artist. - Yes 
Performance in or out of vision by a professional television band. -
Yes
Use of title to identify specific time period. - Yes 
Identification & walk on music. - Yes 
Acutality recordings of Real / Live events. - Yes 
Music played from. tannoys, shops, restaurants, lifts, shopping malls,
radios, televisions and audio systems in an actuality situation or as
recreated for a drama. - Yes
Where titles are performed or recordings of titles broadcast as part
of a musical gameshow or an item in a gameshow. - Yes
Video -Yes"

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Clarification of Answer by tehuti-ga on 07 May 2003 16:53 PDT

Ooops, a "the" managed to escape from that last verse, which should be
"Turn us all round to the wall, Mother" !