Help - music hall song lyrics please

Help please how would I find the lyrics to a very, very, very old music hall song that my paternal grand-father's (older) brothers used to sing to me (and my sisters) when we were very young...

It went:

'And when they've all had a picking at me four pound ten -
There's ninepence left for poor old Father!...'

It was, as you can probably guess, a music hall song about a Dad who had to provide for his family.. He sang about paying the gasman, the tallyman, etc and I am trying (have been trying) for a long while to fill out the rest of the song from memory - but am failing miserably

Is there a mp3 of this (whats the title /artist) please

thanks

Dear Rov214,

What a shame that I did not see this thread much sooner! It looks as though you no longer visit this forum, but I would like to answer your question anyway, just in case you should ever return, or in case anyone else is ever searching for the same song.

It is fascinating that you heard this song from your grandfather's older brothers! I have only ever heard the song once, on an old episode of a British comedy series called Round the Horne. A bit of quick Googling tells me that this was series 4, episode 9, and that it was originally broadcast on 21st April 1968 (series 4 of Round the Horne has been released on CD, so you would be able to buy a recording of the song quite easily, if you wished). It was sung by a comedian/actor called Hugh Paddick, and I had always assumed that he had written it, as I could not find any trace of the song at all any earlier than this, no matter how creative I was with my searches! However, if your grandfather's older brothers used to sing it to you, then it could well be a much older song than I had thought... fascinating, thankyou!

Unfortunately I cannot remember the lyrics to the verses - all I can tell you is that he talks, in the first verse, about the years of hard work which he has put into his job, and the amount of experience he has, and:

"... although I don't regret,
I'm worth a hundred pounds a week -
But that isn't what I get"

Then the chorus comes in -

"First of all the missus always wants a bit,
Always wants a bit,
And she takes a bit.
The boy'll want a bit,
The girl'll want a bit,
Then the fella who calls from the insurance wants a bit.

The landlord wants a bit,
The milkman wants a bit,
And the old bookmaker rather -

And when they've all had their pickings of me four pounds ten,
There's ninepence left for poor old father!"

It is a gorgeous song, isn't it? I hope that you discover this reply someday, and that you will be able to find a copy of the CD without too much bother!

Remember this song was on Round the Horne, ah, happy days