Lily the Pink

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Lily the Pink is a joke song by the English comedian group The Scaffold and was their biggest hit in 1968.

Lily the Pink

The song was released in England in November 1968 and was a number one hit . In Germany it reached number five.

It was written by the three members of The Scaffold , Mike McGear , John Gorman and Roger McGough . The trio had notable musical support: Jack Bruce from Cream , Graham Nash from the Hollies and Reginald Dwight, who later became known under the name Elton John .

The lyrics are about Lily the Pink , the savior of mankind, whose self-made healing mixture has an amazing effect on all kinds of ailments, from protruding ears to anorexia to stuttering. Not necessarily the expected one, however. So Jennifer Eccles has very terrible freckles (English freckles ), so that the boys tease. The mixture changes Jennifer so much that "he" (!) Is always allowed to play with the boys. And so on, until Lily finally dies despite the tincture and takes the recipe with her. Hear the angels sing ...

Translation of the refrain:

We toast Lily the Pink
the savior of mankind,
because she invented the healing mixture
which works great in all cases.

Lydia Pinkham

Even though the lyrics have been rewritten and the melody has been adapted, the song is actually based on a US American mock drinking song from the early 20th century, the ballad by Lydia Pinkham :

Lydia Estes Pinkham (born February 9, 1819 - May 17, 1883) invented a "Vegetable Compound" in 1875, a herbal mixture as a panacea for all types of women's complaints and diseases.

Extract from a typical advertisement:

"It will cure entirely the worst form of Female Complaints, all Ovarian troubles, Inflammation and Ulceration, Falling and Displacements, and the consequent Spinal Weakness, and is particularly adapted to the Change of Life.
It will dissolve and expel tumors from the uterus…
It removes faintness, flatulency, destroys all craving for stimulants, and relieves weakness of the stomach .. It cures Bloating, Headaches, Nervous Prostration, General debility, Sleeplessness, Depression and Indigestion. ...
For the cure of Kidney Complaints of either sex this Compound is unsurpassed. "

So it helps with inflammation, ulcers, epilepsy, lower back pain, problems with the ovaries, menopausal symptoms, uterine cancer, fatigue, flatulence, alcohol addiction, stomach problems, bloating, headaches, nerve weakness, insomnia, depression, indigestion and is unsurpassed in kidney problems both sexes.

Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound became one of the most famous patent medicines in the United States in the 19th century and was sold well into the 1920s. Then, however, due to new laws, the ingredients had to be specified and it turned out that it contained 18% alcohol. In addition, modern scientific research led to the finding that this type of herbal drink was essentially ineffective.

The ballad by Lydia Pinkham

Let us sing (let us sing) of Lydia Pinkham
The benefactress of the human race.
She invented a vegetable compound,
And now all papers print her face.
O, Mrs. Brown could do no housework,
O, Mrs. Brown could do no housework,
She took three bottles of Lydia's compound,
And now there's nothing she will shirk.
Mrs. Jones she had no children,
And she loved them very dear.
So she took three bottles of Pinkham's
Now she has twins every year.
Lottie Smyth ne'er had a lover,
Blotchy pimples caused her plight;
But she took nine bottles of Pinkham's--
Sweethearts swarm about her each night.
Oh Mrs. Murphy (Oh Mrs. Murphy)
What perturbed because she couldn't seem to pee
Till she took some of Lydia's compound
And now they run a pipeline to the sea!
And Peter Whelan (Peter Whelan)
He was sad because he only had one nut
Till he took some of Lydia's compound
And now they grow in clusters' round his butt.

Translation:

Refrain: Let's sing from Lydia Pinkham,
the benefactress of humanity.
She invented a mixture of herbs
and now all the newspapers are printing their faces.

...

Verse 4: Oh Mrs. Murphy was disturbed
because she couldn't seem to pee.
Until she took some of Lydia's mixture.
And now they have laid a line to the sea.

Other versions

In addition to the classic verses, new verses were always invented and sometimes also independently of the original to the melody ridiculous verses about other people or events.

By John Standley , for example, there is his own modification of the Pinkham ballad from 1952 with the title "Grandma's Lye Soup", which deals with the benefits of grandma's lye soap.

In the British version of Scaffold, Lydia Pinkham became Lily the Pink and the mocking song became even more of a nonsense and mood song . Again, there were always new verses and modifications, e.g. B. from the Irish Rovers .

In Germany, Lily the Pink was published in 1974 in a German-language version by the Hamburg pensioners band around Gottfried Böttger , Peter Petrel and Willem ; the text was written by Jörn Christoph “Django” Seelenmeyer and Herbert Lob. In this version, which appeared on the album “… alles klar”, Lily the Pink is a (fictional?) Hostess of a pub in the so-called “ Hamburg scene ”. In the text, their stars such as Otto Waalkes , Leinemann , Truck Stop or Udo Lindenberg are honored as regular guests in Lily's establishment (" She surrounds herself with amazing types ... ").

Otherwise, the song later became known as a carnival hit, in a version in Kölsch by De Höhner from 1981 with the title "Winke, winke".

Versions

  • The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham
    • Origin unknown, listed in The American Songbag (1927) by Carl Sandburg
  • Grandma's Lye Soap
    • by John Standley and Art Thorson, 1952
  • Lily the Pink
    • by Mike McGear, John Gorman and Roger McGough, 1968
    • The Scaffold (Original), The Irish Rovers
  • Lily the Pink (German)
    • Text: Jörn Christoph Seelenmeyer and Herbert Lob; Music: traditional; 1974
    • Pensioners band
  • Lily the Pink (German)
    • New Folk Singers (Label: Philips 384589)
  • Le sirop typhon (French)
    • Text: Richard Anthony; Music corresponds to the scaffold song; 1969
    • Richard Anthony
  • Wave, wave
    • Text by P. Horn, J. Fröhlich, P. Werner, FM Willizil, G. Steinig; Music corresponds to the scaffold song; 1981
    • De Höhner
  • The French orchestra Raymond Lefèvre played a well-known instrumental version under the title "Lily the Pink" ( Sirop Typhon ) for the LP This Is Raymond Levèvre (Riviera SMLP 045)

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