22:
57:, that in the late 19th century became a centre for theatres, hotels and music halls. The song has three verses describing people trying to persuade others to abandon their current plans to "go down the Strand". The first verse is about a group of tourists planning a trip to Germany, the second about prisoners in jail and the third about sailors returning with
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when
Castling suggested "Let's go down the Strand". He later maintained that, as soon as he said the words, he realised it would make a good song title. Adding the word "all", they wrote the song, with Castling later saying that "both the words and the music came to us as though we had been singing
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The phrase "let's all go down the Strand", particularly to mean making a visit to the theatres there, became a popular phrase among the
British working class. The song, and in particular its chorus, was popular with Londoners. "Let's All Go Down the Strand" was popular with British soldiers in the
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for a planned trip to continental Europe. One of them, Jones, advises the others to "stay away from
Germany, what's the good of going down the Rhine?" and in the chorus tries to persuade them to stay in London: "let's all go down the Strand" as "that's the place for fun and noise, all among the
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The refrain "have a banana!", sung after the first line of the chorus, is a later addition to the song, though it is known to have been sung in the 1890s. The origins of the refrain are unknown, though it helped to drive sales of the fruit. Sometimes
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girls and boys". The second verse describes a group of 25 prisoners confined in prison and ordered to exercise; one, Burglar Ben, proposes to their warden that they instead visit the Strand. The third and final verse describes the
89:, Central London. During the late 19th century the Strand was transformed from a refuge for beggars, gamblers and fraudsters to a respectable leisure venue with theatres, hotels and music halls.
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in 1910. It gave
Whittle his first major success and became one of his most popular songs, though in later life he grew to hate the song as it was requested so often.
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65:. A refrain of "have a banana", not included in the published lyrics, was often interposed after the first line of the chorus. Sometimes "
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69:" was sung instead, leading to the use of "Gertie" as rhyming slang for the fruit. A version was released by rock band
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recorded a cover of "Let's All Go Down the Strand" that was released as the B-side of one format of their 1993
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but one of
Shackleton's sailors asks the explorer if they can instead "go down the Strand".
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164:" (a music hall entertainer) was substituted for the refrain, leading to "Gertie" becoming
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100:. The song was first sung by Castling in the 1890s. According to music hall historian
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45:. It was first performed by Castling, and was published in 1909. It was inspired by
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from a polar expedition. The song was popular with
British soldiers in the
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The
Working-Class Intellectual in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain
242:"Review of Murder, Mayhem and Music Hall: The Dark Side of Victorian London"
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The lyrics of the 1909 version describe a group of six tourists meeting in
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The New
Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: A-I
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Victorian
England: Aspects of English and Imperial History 1837-1901
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expedition to "the Pole" (Shackleton had taken part in the 1901–04
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used the title of the song for a television documentary made for
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The song was a music hall hit for
Charles Whittle, and for
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for banana the usage of which continues to the modern day.
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song of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, written by
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Underground, Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube
147:). The Lord Mayor proposes that he throws a banquet at
104:, the song developed after Castling and Murphy left the
211:used it for a stage comedy. The English rock band
434:Moran, Joe (12 June 2006). "A significant fruit".
627:"Betjeman's London: Let's All Go Down the Strand"
176:, alongside other music hall favourites such as "
25:1909 sheet music, published in the United States
688:Damon Albarn - Blur, Gorillaz and Other Fables
143:, both in the Antarctic but never reached the
8:
506:John Masefield's Great War: Collected Works
548:The Age of Decadence: Britain 1880 to 1914
361:. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 152.
359:British Music Hall: An Illustrated History
333:Soldiers' Songs and Slang of the Great War
572:Krishnamurthy, Aruna (14 December 2016).
530:Mander, Raymond; Mitchenson, Joe (1965).
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532:British Music Hall: A story in pictures
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92:It was written by music hall performer
503:Errington, Philip W. (26 March 2008).
455:. Taylor & Francis. p. 856.
336:. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 92.
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534:. London: Studio Vista. p. 129.
509:. Casemate Publishers. p. 203.
545:Heffer, Simon (21 September 2017).
476:Seaman, L. C. B. (November 2002).
413:. Maximilian Thurlow. p. 26.
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599:Jolson, Harry (11 January 2013).
330:Pegler, Martin (20 August 2014).
410:The Amazingly Simple Banana Diet
290:Martin, Andrew (26 April 2012).
274:10.2979/victorianstudies.59.2.25
258:10.2979/victorianstudies.59.2.25
685:Roach, Martin (6 August 2015).
605:. Read Books Ltd. p. 107.
357:Baker, Richard Anthony (2014).
691:. Bonnier Zaffre. p. 83.
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551:. Random House. p. 243.
296:. Profile Books. p. 82.
108:together, and headed towards
661:Let's All Go Down the Strand
178:It's a Long Way to Tipperary
31:Let's All Go Down the Strand
658:Williams, Margaret (1967).
186:We All Go The Same Way Home
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578:. Routledge. p. 289.
482:. Routledge. p. 417.
407:Thurlow, Clifford (1995).
449:Partridge, Eric (2006).
207:in 1967. The same year,
81:The song is inspired by
664:. London: Evans Plays.
436:New Statesman (page 22)
33:" is a popular British
240:Bailey, Peter (2017).
205:Associated-Rediffusion
98:Charles William Murphy
26:
166:Cockney rhyming slang
113:them all our lives."
102:Richard Anthony Baker
24:
724:Songs of World War I
136:and led the 1907–09
123:Lord Mayor of London
734:Songs about streets
383:"Ernest Shackleton"
729:Songs about London
639:on 16 January 2009
125:welcoming back an
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698:978-1-78418-791-0
612:978-1-4474-8555-1
585:978-1-351-88033-6
558:978-1-4735-0758-6
516:978-1-78340-905-1
489:978-1-134-94791-1
462:978-0-415-25937-8
420:978-1-899830-00-8
368:978-1-78383-118-0
343:978-1-4728-0929-2
303:978-1-84765-807-4
246:Victorian Studies
209:Margaret Williams
127:Ernest Shackleton
59:Ernest Shackleton
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16:British song
643:18 December
392:20 December
87:Westminster
51:Westminster
713:Categories
387:Britannica
252:(2): 361.
227:References
145:South Pole
141:Expedition
134:Expedition
83:the Strand
47:the Strand
35:music hall
266:0042-5222
197:Harry Fay
192:in 1917.
132:Discovery
73:in 1993.
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180:" and
155:Impact
139:Nimrod
270:JSTOR
190:Ypres
693:ISBN
666:ISBN
645:2008
607:ISBN
580:ISBN
553:ISBN
511:ISBN
484:ISBN
457:ISBN
415:ISBN
394:2021
363:ISBN
338:ISBN
298:ISBN
262:ISSN
213:Blur
184:'s "
77:Song
71:Blur
41:and
632:BFI
254:doi
223:".
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