Lily the Pink (song)

"Lily the Pink" is a modification of the older folk song "The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham", and the modifications were not extensively due to The Scaffold - for example a similar version was the unofficial regimental song of the Royal Tank Corps, at the end of World War II.

"Lily the Pink" was a surprise hit for The Scaffold, becoming the Christmas #1 in the UK singles chart for four weeks, in December 1968 for the UK comedy group. Another version of the song was also a minor hit in North America for The Irish Rovers from the Decca LP release Tales to Warm Your Mind in 1969, at a time when covers were released almost as soon as the originals.

The Scaffold's version of the song had famous help - Elton John and Graham Nash of The Hollies contributed with backing vocals and Jack Bruce (of Cream) played the bass guitar. It also has a number of in-jokes which were largely missed by listeners. The line Mr Frears has sticky out ears refers to film director Stephen Frears who had earlier worked with The Scaffold.^[1] The line Jennifer Eccles had terrible freckles refers to the single "Jennifer Eccles" by The Hollies, remembering that Graham Nash of The Hollies adds backing vocals to the song.^[1]

This song has become part of the folk community and has been performed live by The Brobdingnagian Bards and other Celtic-style folk and folk artists.

See also

• List of number-one singles of 1968 (Ireland)
• List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s

References