The Lambeth Walk
Encyclopedia
"The Lambeth Walk" is a song from the 1937 musical Me and My Girl
(with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber
and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay
). The song takes its name from a local street Lambeth Walk
once notable for its street market
and working class
culture in Lambeth
, an area of London
.
The tune gave its name to a Cockney dance first made popular in 1937 by Lupino Lane
. The story line of Me and My Girl concerns a Cockney
barrow boy who inherits an earldom but almost loses his Lambeth girlfriend. It was turned into a 1939 film The Lambeth Walk
which starred Lane.
-inspired extravaganza, inspired a
popular walking dance, done in a jaunty strutting style. The craze reached Buckingham Palace, with King George
and Queen Elizabeth
attending a performance and joining in the shouted "Oi" which ends the chorus.
The fad reached the United States
in 1938, popularized by Boston-based orchestra-leader Joseph (Joe) Rines, among others. Rines and his band frequently performed in New York, and the dance became especially popular at the "better" night clubs. As with most dance crazes, other well-known orchestras did versions of the song, including Duke Ellington
. It was also heard on radio.
A member of the Nazi Party achieved attention in 1939 by declaring the Lambeth Walk (which was becoming popular in Berlin) to be "Jewish mischief and animalistic hopping" as part of a speech on how the "revolution of private life" was one of the next big tasks of National Socialism
in Germany.
In 1942, Charles A. Ridley of the British Ministry of Information
made a short propaganda film, Lambeth Walk - Nazi Style, which edited existing footage of Hitler and German soldiers (taken from Leni Riefenstahl
's Triumph of the Will
) to make it appear they were marching and dancing to "The Lambeth Walk". The film so enraged Joseph Goebbels
that reportedly he ran out of the screening room kicking chairs and screaming profanities. The propaganda film was distributed uncredited to newsreel companies, who would supply their own narration.
One of photographer Bill Brandt
's most well-known pictures is "Dancing the Lambeth Walk", originally published in 1943 in the magazine Picture Post
.
Both Russ Morgan
and Duke Ellington had hit records of the song in the United States.
in October 1938: "While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances — to The Lambeth Walk."
In the movie The Longest Day
from 1962 about the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 this song is sung by the squadron of Major John Howard
in a glider on its way to capture Pegasus Bridge.
The composer
Franz Reizenstein
wrote a set of Variations
on the Lambeth Walk with each variation being a pastiche
of the style of a major classical
composer. Notable are the variations in the style of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt
.
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
(with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber
Douglas Furber
Douglas Furber was a British lyricist and playwright.Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song The Lambeth Walk and the libretto to the musical Me and My Girl, composed by Noel Gay, from which it came. This show made broadcasting history when in 1939 it became the first full length...
and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay
Noel Gay
Noel Gay was born Reginald Moxon Armitage. He also used the name Stanley Hill professionally. He was a successful British composer of popular music of the 1930s and 1940s whose output comprised 45 songs as well as the music for 28 films and 26 London shows...
). The song takes its name from a local street Lambeth Walk
Lambeth Walk
Lambeth Walk is a street in Lambeth, London, England, off Lambeth Road. It was an old street market and housing area.After some bomb damage during the Blitz in World War II on September 18, 1940, the area became rather run down and was subsequently rebuilt....
once notable for its street market
Street market
A street market is an outdoor market such as traditionally held in a market square or in a market town, and often held only on particular days of the week...
and working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
culture in Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, an area of 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...
.
The tune gave its name to a Cockney dance first made popular in 1937 by Lupino Lane
Lupino Lane
Lupino Lane was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family. Lane started out as a child performer, known as 'Little Nipper', and went on to appear in a wide range of theatrical, music hall and film performances...
. The story line of Me and My Girl concerns a Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
barrow boy who inherits an earldom but almost loses his Lambeth girlfriend. It was turned into a 1939 film The Lambeth Walk
The Lambeth Walk (film)
The Lambeth Walk is a 1939 British musical comedy film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Lupino Lane, Sally Gray and Seymour Hicks. It was an adaptation of the 1937 musical Me and My Girl. The film takes its title from the play's best known song The Lambeth Walk...
which starred Lane.
Dance craze
The choreography from the musical, in which the song was a show-stopping CockneyCockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
-inspired extravaganza, inspired a
popular walking dance, done in a jaunty strutting style. The craze reached Buckingham Palace, with King George
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
attending a performance and joining in the shouted "Oi" which ends the chorus.
The fad reached the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1938, popularized by Boston-based orchestra-leader Joseph (Joe) Rines, among others. Rines and his band frequently performed in New York, and the dance became especially popular at the "better" night clubs. As with most dance crazes, other well-known orchestras did versions of the song, including Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. It was also heard on radio.
A member of the Nazi Party achieved attention in 1939 by declaring the Lambeth Walk (which was becoming popular in Berlin) to be "Jewish mischief and animalistic hopping" as part of a speech on how the "revolution of private life" was one of the next big tasks of National Socialism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in Germany.
In 1942, Charles A. Ridley of the British Ministry of Information
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
made a short propaganda film, Lambeth Walk - Nazi Style, which edited existing footage of Hitler and German soldiers (taken from Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
's Triumph of the Will
Triumph of the Will
Triumph of the Will is a propaganda film made by Leni Riefenstahl. It chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, which was attended by more than 700,000 Nazi supporters. The film contains excerpts from speeches given by various Nazi leaders at the Congress, including portions of...
) to make it appear they were marching and dancing to "The Lambeth Walk". The film so enraged Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
that reportedly he ran out of the screening room kicking chairs and screaming profanities. The propaganda film was distributed uncredited to newsreel companies, who would supply their own narration.
One of photographer Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes.-Career and life:...
's most well-known pictures is "Dancing the Lambeth Walk", originally published in 1943 in the magazine Picture Post
Picture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
.
Both Russ Morgan
Russ Morgan
Russ Morgan was a big band orchestra leader and musical arranger in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
and Duke Ellington had hit records of the song in the United States.
The Words to the Song
The chorus lines are:- Any time you're Lambeth way,
- Any evening, any day,
- You'll find us all
- Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi!
- Every little Lambeth gal,
- With her little Lambeth pal,
- You'll find 'em all
- Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi!
Cultural impact
"The Lambeth Walk" had the distinction of being the subject of a headline in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in October 1938: "While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances — to The Lambeth Walk."
In the movie The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
from 1962 about the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 this song is sung by the squadron of Major John Howard
John Howard (soldier)
Major John Howard DSO was a British Army officer who led a glider-borne assault on two bridges between Bénouville and Ranville in Normandy, France on 6 June 1944 as part of the D-Day landings during the Second World War...
in a glider on its way to capture Pegasus Bridge.
The composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Franz Reizenstein
Franz Reizenstein
Franz Theodor Reizenstein was a German-born British composer and concert pianist. He left Germany for sanctuary in Britain in 1934 and went on to have his career there, including teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music and Boston University, as well as performing.-Life and work:Franz...
wrote a set of Variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
on the Lambeth Walk with each variation being a pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of the style of a major classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
composer. Notable are the variations in the style of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
.
External links
- "Hitler Assumes Command" - Movietone Newsreel using Charles A. Ridley's footage edited from "Triumph of the Will"