Origins: The Fatal Glass of Beer

Subject: Lyr Req: Evils of Drink
From: Ragman
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 12:57 PM

In the late 60s, I heard a humorous song in a university folk song club telling the tale of a young man from a staunch god fearing family who is persuaded by his wicked student friends to try a glass of ale... The song ends with him realising the error of his ways, dashing down the half finished drink, and running outside only to be met by a young Salvation Army Lass.

The words continue along the lines of...

... and cruelly, he burst her tambourine,

All she said was "Heaven Bless You", and made a mark upon his brow
With a kick that she had learned before she was sav-ed.

So all you young men now, avoid the demon drink,
And don't go about bursting ladies' tambourines!

Maybe drink over the years has dulled my memory. Can anyone help me remember the words?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Evils of Drink
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 01:04 PM

Look in the DT lyrics for The Fatal Glass of Beer (it's fairly quick just browsing the DT for songs starting with F

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Evils of Drink
From: GUEST,Bill D
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 01:23 PM

there are several versions of this....it is the kind of thing that folks remember the basic premise of, then re-write the words in order to sing it....(Tunes also vary a bit)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Evils of Drink
From: Ragman
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 01:29 PM

Wonderful Mick, Many thanks! Took me longer to find the song in the DT than it did for you to respond to my request.

Interestingly, I have no recollection of New York being mentioned in the version I heard sung in Glasgow circa 1968, which may have been modified somewhat to poke fun at the Scottish Presbyterians. (no harm in that, ha ha..) However I suspect that the DT version is probably closer to the original than the one I heard.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Evils of Drink
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 05:42 PM

This fine song was first collected I believe in READ 'EM AND WEEP edited by Sigmund Speath back in the 1920's; he dates it back to the latter 19th century.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Evils of Drink
From: Peace
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 05:50 PM

Drunken Nun

John was sitting outside his local pub one day, enjoying a quiet pint and generally feeling good about himself, when a nun suddenly appears at his table and starts decrying the evils of drink.

"You should be ashamed of yourself young man! Drinking is a Sin! Alcohol is the blood of the devil!"

Now John gets pretty annoyed about this, and goes on the offensive.

"How do *you* know, Sister?"

"My Mother Superior told me so"

"But have you ever had a drink yourself? How can you be sure that what you are saying is right?"

"Don`t be ridiculous - of course I have never taken alcohol myself"

"Then let me buy you a drink - if you still believe afterwards that it is evil I will give up drink for life"

"How could I, a Nun, sit outside this public house drinking?!"

"I`ll get the barman to put it in a teacup for you, them no-one will know"

The Nun reluctantly agrees, so John goes inside to the bar.

"Another pint for me, and a triple vodka on the rocks", then he lowers his voice and says to the barman "... and could you put the vodka in a teacup?"

"Oh no! It`s not that drunken Nun again, is it?"

Subject: Lyr Add: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Uncle Phil
Date: 07 Dec 11 - 12:41 AM

A classic song with a good moral and the basis of a short W.C.Fields film of the same name.

There are two different versions of the lyrics here -- as it was originally written and the the version Fields sang in the film. There is a third version of The Fatal Glass of Beer already in the DT.

THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER
(Charlie Case (1860-1916))

There was once a poor young man who left his country home,
And came to the city to seek employment;
He promised his dear mother that he'd lead the simple life,
And always shun the fatal curse of drink.

He came to the city and accepted employment in a quarry,
And while there he made the acquaintance of some college men;
He little guessed that they were demons, for they wore the best of clothes,
But clothes do not always make the gentleman.

One night he went out with his new-found friends to dine,
And they tried to persuade him to take a drink;
They tempted him and tempted him, but he refused and he refused,
Till finally he took a glass of beer.

When he seen what he had done he dashed the liquor to the floor,
And he staggered through the door with delirium tremens;
While in the grip of liquor he met a Salvation Army lassie,
And cruelly he broke her tambourine.

All she said was 'Heaven bless you!' and placed a mark upon his brow,
With a kick that she had learned before she was saved;
So kind friends, take my advice and shun the fatal curse of drink,
And don't go around breaking people's tambourines.

Note from Joe Offer: this is an accurate transcription of the version of the song found on pp 242-243 of Signumd Spaeth's Read 'Em and Weep

---

And as performed by W.C. Fields in the 1933 film The Fatal Glass of Beer:

               THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER
               (Charlie Case (1860-1916))

There was once a poor boy and he left his happy home,
And he came to the city to look for work;
He promised his ma and pa he would lead a sinless life,
And always shun the fatal curse of drink.

Once in the city he got a situation in a quarry,
And there he made the acquaintance of some college students;
He little thought they were demons, for they wore the best of clothes,
But the clothes do not always make the gentleman.

So they tempted him to drink and they said he was a coward,
Until at last he took The Fatal Glass of Beer;
When he found what he'd done he dashed the glass upon the floor,
And he staggered through the door with delirium tremens.

Once upon the sidewalk he met a Salvation Army girl,
And wickedly he broke her tambourine;
All she said was 'Heaven bless you!' and placed a mark upon his brow,
With a kick she'd learned before she had been saved.

Now as moral to young men who come down to the city,
Don't go 'round breaking people's tambourines.

Subject: RE: req/ADD: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Dec 11 - 01:40 AM

Charley Noble posted three versions in the thread titled songs about fallen women in the city. I thought it might be nice to have all the versions in the same place for comparison:

Thread #58798   Message #935909
Posted By: Charley Noble
18-Apr-03 - 09:07 AM
Thread Name: songs about fallen women in the city
Subject: RE: fallen women in the city


Another set of songs which gives equal time to "young men" as well as "young women" is by Charlie Case, a black-face comedian of the late 19th century. For the young men there was the ever popular "Fatal Glass of Beer" and for the young women, to the same tune, this one from Sigmund Spaeth's READ 'EM AND WEEP, pp. 242-243:

There was once a poor young girl who left her country home,
And came to the city to seek employment;
She had to leave her home because the wolf was at her door
And her father had fallen down and hurt his knee.

Just before she went away her sweatheart, whose name was Jack,
Said to her, "I fear you will not be true."
And so she had to promise him before she got on the train
That every night at eight o'clock she would burst into tears.

She came to the city, and was riding on a street car
When a man got up and offered her his seat;
She refused the offer with scorn, for she saw he wore a ring,
And she didn't know but he might be a married man.

Then up came the conductor and said, "I knew you would be true!"
And tore off his false whiskers, and it was Jack!
And that day she got a telegram saying that her father's knee was better,
And an aunt had died and left her $58,000.00.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble



Note from Joe Offer: this is an accurate transcription of the version of the song found on pp 242-243 of Signumd Spaeth's Read 'Em and Weep

---

Here are the DT lyrics:

---

POOR YOUNG GIRL (DT Lyrics)

1. There was once a poor young girl who lived in the country,
And she went to the city to seek employment.
She went to the city because the wolf was at her door,
And her father had fallen down and hurt his knee.

2. Just before she went to the city, her boyfriend whose name was Jack,
He said to her, "I fear you will not be true."
So he made her promise just as she was getting on the train
That every night at eight o'clock she would burst into tears.

3. Then she got to the city and was riding on an omnibus
When a man got up and offered her his seat
She refused him with scorn for she saw that he wore a ring
And for all she knew he could be a married man.

4. Then up stepped the driver and said, "I knew you would be true!"
And he tore off his false whiskers and it was Jack
The very same day she received a telegram saying her father's knee was
better
And an aunt had died and left her a substantial amount of money.

Note: The female counterpart to Fatal Glass of Beer RG
@musichall
filename[ POORGIRL
JB



---

Thread #58798   Message #935973
Posted By: Charley Noble
18-Apr-03 - 11:34 AM
Thread Name: songs about fallen women in the city
Subject: Lyr Add: THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER


Ellen- there is a version of the "Fatal Glass of Beer" in the DT here but it's strayed far more from the original Charles Case song than the family version I learned as a child which I'll post:

FATAL GLASS OF BEER-1 (DT Lyrics)
(From Helen Ramsay, printed in Shay's More Pious Friends etc.
Recorded by W. C. Fields)

There was a young man, and he came to New York
To find himself a lucrative position befitting his talents.

And he hunted all the Employment Agencies, but was nearly starved
to death,
When at last he got a job in a stone quarry with all the other
college graduates.

And after work was done, they lured him into a saloon,
And tempted him to drink a glass of beer.

But he'd promised his Dear Old Mother that he never would imbibe
That he'd never touch his Lips to a glass containing Liquor.

They laughed at him and Jeered, and they called him a cow-yard
Till at last he clutched and drained that glass of beer.

When he saw what he had Did, he dashed his glass upon the floor,
And staggered out the door with Delirium Tremens.

And the first person that he met was a Salvation Army Lass,
And with one blow he broke her tambourine!

When she saw what he had did, she placed a mark upon his brow
With a kick that she had learned before she was sav-ed.

And the moral of this tale is to shun that fatal glass,
And don't go around breaking other peoples' tambourines.

FATAL GLASS OF BEER-2
(Adapted from Charlie Case by the Ipcar Family in the 1960's)

There was a country lad, who left his country home
And came to the big city to seek employment;
He promised his dear mother, as he climbed aboard the train
To always shun the fatal curse of drink.

When he reached the big city he found employment in a quarry,
And they he made the acquaintance of two college men;
He did not know that they were demons, for they wore the best of clothes,
But clothes do not always make the gentleman.

One night he went out with his new found friends to dine,
And they tried to persuade him to have a drink;
He refused and he refused but they persuaded and they persuaded,
And finally he had a glass of beer.
.
When he saw what he had done, he dashed his liquor to the floor,
And staggered to the door with Delirium Tremens.
And under the fatal curse of drink he met a Salvation Army Lass,
And cruelly he broke her tambourine!

She only said "God Bless you!" and placed a mark upon his brow,
With a kick that she had learned before she was sav-ed.
So let this be a lesson, shun the fatal curse of drink,
And don't go around breaking little lassie's tambourines.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: req/ADD: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Dec 11 - 08:39 AM

Joe-

Thyanks for tidying up this old thread. I owe you a round!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, on the beach in the West Indies

Subject: RE: req/ADD: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Uncle Phil
Date: 07 Dec 11 - 08:56 AM

Joe -
What Charley said.
- Phil, from deep in the heart of Texas

Subject: RE: req/ADD: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Don Firth
Date: 07 Dec 11 - 03:23 PM

As I remember, W. C. Fields accompanied the song on the autoharp, playing it with mittens on.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 17 Mar 12 - 06:29 PM

'deed he did, Don, 'deed he did. The song's in the first of these YouTube clips, but the rest are worth a look to find out what happened next...

The Fatal Glass of Beer 1

Fatal Glass of Beer 2

Fatal Glass of Beer 3

Fatal Glass of Beer 4

"'tain't a fit night for man nor beast!"

On reflection, it wasn't an autoharp but some form of zither (same size, same strings, no keys).

Ross

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Dec 24 - 10:15 PM

Amazing! Ross's links still work!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 07 Dec 24 - 04:33 AM

I still sing this,and have done for many years, knowing nothing about its history. Thanks to this thread I now know more about it.

Subject: ADD Version: Ballad of a Young Man
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Dec 24 - 05:28 PM

The Digital Tradition identifies this song as FATAL GLASS OF BEER but it is almost identical to the song from Helen Ramsay, printed in Shay's More Pious Friends and Drunken Companions

Here is the text from More Pious Friends, page 100. Differences from the DT are in italics.

BALLAD OF A YOUNG MAN
(as sung by Helen Ramsey)

There was a young man, and he came to New York
To find himself a lucrative position befitting his talents.

And he hunted all the Employment Agencies, but was nearly starved to death,
When at last he got a job in a stone quarry with all the other College graduates.

And after Work was done, they lured him into a Saloon,
And tempted him to drink a glass of Beer.

But he'd promised his dear old Mother that he never would Imbibe
That he'd never touch his Lips to a glass containing Liquor.

They laughed at him and Jeered, and they called him a cow-yard
Till at last he clutched and drained the glass of Beer.

When he saw what he had Did, he dashed his glass upon the floor,
And Staggered out the door with Delirium Tremens.

And the first person that he met was a Salvation Army Lass,
And with one kick he broke her Tambourine.

When she saw what he had Did, she placed a Mark upon his Brow
With a kick that she had learned before she was Sav-ed.

And the Moral of this tale is to Shun that Fatal glass,
And don't go around kicking other peoples' Tambourines.

@drink @death
filename[ GLASBEER
RG

Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry:

Fatal Glass of Beer, The

DESCRIPTION: "There was a young man and he came to New York To find himself a lucrative position befitting his talents." He finds a job, but breaks his promise to his mother to abstain from drink. He breaks a Salvation Army tambourine and dies when its owner kicks him
AUTHOR: Charlie Case (source: Spaeth)
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions)
KEYWORDS: humorous work music death drink
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep, pp. 223-224 "The Charlie Case Songs" (1 text plus a parody, 1 tune)
Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions, pp. 174-175, "Ballad of a Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, GLASBEER
Roud #9546
NOTES [92 words]: What I presume is the original of this, in Spaeth, has a strange "tune" in which large portions are chanted to a single note. Shay's text still has recitation, but in different places, and it eliminates an accidental from the tune. It is also much more elaborate -- it looks like some other material (e.g. a slam on college graduates) has floated in. It's an amazing amount of folk processing for a piece that apparently was only once collected in the field.
The title I used here is from a short movie made by W. C. Fields in 1933 based on this plot. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: SBar174

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Subject: RE: Origins: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Mark Ross
Date: 07 Dec 24 - 05:37 PM

I first heard this from Patrick Sky at The Gaslight Cafe back in the '60's.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Dec 24 - 09:01 AM

Paddy Clancy and Davey Graham also sang this

Subject: RE: Origins: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Charley Noble
Date: 10 Dec 24 - 08:30 PM

On April 18, 2003, what I posted still has a typo:


"And THEY he made the acquaintance of two college men"

Which should read:

"And THERE he made the acquaintance of two college men"

Cheerily,
Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Origins: The Fatal Glass of Beer
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Dec 24 - 09:46 AM

A note: In the W.C. Fields clip, that is either not an autoharp, or it's simply a zither, as it has no chord bars.
Perhaps it's an autoharp with the bars removed.