Anyone know this song?

[andylim]

Apologies up front on long posting.

I left England in ’74 and been humming the first few bars of Sister Josephine all over the world ever since. Presently working in Korea and only recently stumbled upon this wonderful site!

I only saw Jake once. Must have been ’72 at the folk club at Univ. Southampton. Right before the concert proper, a Roadie asked Jake to test the mic. Instead of the usual 1-2-3-test, he launched into a short dittie that went something like this:

[b]I hold your hand in mine, dear;
and press it to my lips,
and take a healthy bite from…
your dainty finger-tips. :woohoo:

The night you died, I cut it off,
I really don’t know why!
For each time I kiss your fingers,
I get blood-stains on my lips!!

I’m sorry now I killed you,
Our love was something fine.
But till they come to get me,
I will hold your hand in mine!![/b] :S

It stuck in my head for over 30 years now. Only a poet like Jake could have come up with something like that. I can find no mention of this anywhere in this website. Can anyone throw some light on this song, or indeed locate a recording of this????

[Jamie]

It’s ‘I Hold Your Hand in Mine’ by Tom Lehrer. Well worth checking out if you’ve not come across him. Your memory is pretty impressive – those are the lyrics almost verbatim. The only substantial difference is the bloodstains were on his tie, not his lips.

It’s the first I’ve heard of Jake singing a Lehrer song – I’d love to have been there for that.

[Hugh Williams]

You certainly needn’t apologise for your “long posting”, andylim, and it’s great that Jamie knew all about the song.
Well done, the two of you. 🙂

[AndrewJ]

Haha, strange; I heard a Tom Lehrer song for the first time at the start of this week and have been constantly listening to him ever since, so I knew the song the moment I saw your post.
I’ve been listening to the “Tom Lehrer in Concert” CD. Very funny lyrics and clever music. The audience reactions really add to it; there’s quite a bit of hissing :laugh:
Obviously this is JakeThackray.com not TomLehrer.com so I’d just like to say that Tom Lehrer is clearly no match for Jake Thackray.. 🙂

[Paul]

If you sign up (for free) to http://www.spotify.com, you can listen, on line, to this and many other Tom Lehrer songs (and lots of Jake as well, for that matter).

[andylim]

Thanks, everybody!! That solved a 30+ year mystery for me!! I shall check into the website mentioned for sure. Cheers!!

[andylim]

I could not open http://WWW.spotify.com website so I googled it, only to find out that service is only available to IP addresses in Sweden, Norway, Finland, UK, France & Spain. I live in U.S. and work in Korea. Most unfortunate for me. I shall find a way though!!

[Ian Burdon]

you could always try here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjPhFSlhOuQ

Ian

[Malcy]

In the sleeve notes of one of Tom Lehrer’s lps, you will find the following testament to his character :

“If, after hearing my songs,” he says, wistfully, “just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while.”

🙂

[Dave Knibb]

Only just spotted this thread and I’m amazed! I have performed an increasing number of Jake’s songs in various venues around the area since I returned to the guitar after a 25 year absence. Then, in one club, someone handed me a cd of songs “I might like”. It turned out to be a collection of live and studio performances of Tom Lehrer, collected over a number of years.
The links to the master are clear – a similar sense of dark humour in places, a wonderful use of the English language and unique choices of subject matter (Listen to Masochism Tango or Poisoning Pigeons!)

[vonthompsonfamilysingers]

strange but hey both feature on my ipod and both artists use satirical humour

[Author]

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