My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)

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My Old Man is an old music hall song written by Fred W. Leigh and Charles Collins, made popular by Marie Lloyd.

It is a humorous song, but it also reflects some of the hard aspects of working class life in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century. The couple, in the song, are obliged to move house quickly in the middle of the night, because they can't pay the rent. They fill up the van with their possessions, but there is not room for the two of them also, so the husband instructs his wife to follow behind the van, which she does, carrying the pet bird.

The chorus of the song is well-known.

My old man said "Follow the van,

And don't dilly dally^[1] on the way".

Off went the van wiv me 'ome packed in it,

I walked behind wiv me old cock linnet^[2].

But I dillied and dallied, dallied and I dillied

Lost me way and don't know where to roam.

Well you can't trust a special like the old time coppers

When you can't find your way 'ome^[3]

An alternative to the fourth line is: "I followed on wiv me old cock linnet"

An alternative to the last two lines is

I stopped on the way to have me old half quarten, now I can't find my way home

"Half quarten" was a slang expression for a measure of spirits (usually Gin) and was equal to 2½ Imperial ounces.

The chorus is the basis of a terrace chant popular among English football fans. The lyrics were changed to My old man said "Be a City fan". It was first sung by fans of Aston Villa about Birmingham City and then copied by fans of Manchester United about Manchester City, among others.

The first verse and the chorus were featured in episode 211 of The Muppet Show, performed by Miss Piggy. In the Muppet fan community the song is better known as "Don't Dilly Dally On the Way".

The song also appeared in the Sega Master System version of Lemmings, making its first appearance in the 17^th level rated "Fun".

In The Catherine Tate Show, during the Life at Ma's sketch (a spoof of Life on Mars), the last four lines are sung by Catherine Tate and a variety of other characters.

The song also appeared in the episode Home Sick in Only Fools And Horses, being sung by DelBoy and Granddad, as well as the very start of The Sweeney pilot, Regan.

[edit] Notes and references

^ To dilly dally is to linger
^ Caged song birds were very popular in Victorian and Edwardian England, and the male, or cock, linnet was common. Cock linnet is also cockney rhyming slang for minute
^ My Old Man, lyrics accessed 21 Jan 2007