Alice, Where Art Thou?

"Alice, Where Art Thou?"
Song
Released1861
Songwriter(s)Wellington Guernsey
Composer(s)Joseph Ascher

Alice, Where Art Thou? is a popular British parlour song of the Victorian era. It was composed by Joseph Ascher.[1] The text was by Wellington Guernsey, although it is sometimes attributed to Alfred Bunn, who is best known for "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls".[2] It become a popular song, selling many copies of sheet music and featuring regularly as a standard in the music halls.

Usage

Recording by the Victor String Quartet, 1908

The phrase passed into popular usage for many decades.[3] In the 1954 British film Svengali, it is heard several times as the song Trilby O'Ferrall sings badly before she is mesmerised by the title character into performing as a brilliant opera singer. The 1980s British television series Open All Hours features a brass band version of the tune as its title music.

References

  1. ^ Newsome, p. 16.
  2. ^ Partridge, p. 6.
  3. ^ Partridge, p. 6.

Bibliography

  • Roy Newsome: Brass Roots: A Hundred Years of Brass Bands and Their Music, 1836-1936 (London: Routledge, 2019).
  • Eric Partridge: A Dictionary of Catch Phrases (London: Routledge, 2003).


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