Bab Ballads and Savoy Songs

In Short

This volume brings together comic light verse and operatic lyrics defined by rigorous metre, playful rhymes, and cheerful absurdity. Its narrative poems depict absurd figures—cannibalistic sailors, overzealous bishops, self-important officers, and vain social climbers—who navigate improbable dilemmas with deadpan logic. Alongside these standalone verses are selections from comic operas, featuring satirical patter songs about Victorian institutions, pompous authority figures, and romantic entanglements. The work has endured because its pristine formal execution elevates complete nonsense into timeless, sharp satire on human conceit, duty, and social respectability.

The Story

The book opens with narrative verse built around eccentric characters in ridiculous dilemmas. An old, weed-bearded sailor sits alone on the shore, reciting a baffling riddle: he claims to be simultaneously the cook, captain, mate, bo'sun, midshipmite, and entire crew of the brig Nancy Bell. When questioned, he casually explains that after being shipwrecked without food, the crew consumed one another until only he remained, leaving him as the sole living embodiment of the entire ship's roster. Nearby, Captain Reece of the Royal Navy obsessively pampers his crew, providing them with luxury goods, feather beds, and soft music. When his men suggest it is his duty to marry off his female relatives to them, he dutifully complies, arranging weddings for his sisters, aunts, cousins, and widowed mother.

Satire shifts toward religious and social authority in tales of over-earnest figures. A stout Bishop of London relentlessly harasses an unwilling Jewish omnibus driver named Hash Baz Ben, preaching outside his vehicle every day for seven years. Driven to tears, the driver finally visits the bishop's residence and agrees to convert simply to end the endless harassment, instantly acquiring a "Christian nose" and transforming into a respectable man named Adolphus Brown. Elsewhere, the Bishop of Rum-ti-Foo arrives in London from his remote tropical diocese, where he has adopted his islanders' habit of dancing and eating scalps served in rum. Determined to entertain his flock upon his return, he earnestly takes lessons in theatrical leaps and bounds from a street dancer. In another tale, King Borria Bungalee Boo leads a famished army to conquer a neighboring state for a meal, only for his men to be temporarily disarmed by a squad of flirtatious Amazons before the hungry soldiers politely remind the ladies that they have come solely for their blood.

The collection then moves into theatrical lyrics that target British professions and social postures. A young lawyer describes climbing to the top of his field by marrying a rich attorney's unattractive daughter, receiving a steady stream of briefs in return, and promptly abandoning her once he gains wealth and prominence. A proud Major-General boasts of knowing everything about history, math, and classical art, while admitting he knows virtually nothing about actual military tactics. A First Lord of the Admiralty explains his rise to supreme naval command despite having never been to sea, having simply polished door handles, served an attorney, and voted straight for his party. The Lord Chancellor celebrates the legal system while admitting his personal susceptibility to his young female Wards in Chancery. Throughout every scenario, characters act out their base desires or foolish vanities under the strict guise of proper British duty and decorum, ending in total absurdity.

How It Unfolds

The sailor's riddle An observer meets a lone naval veteran on the coast who insists he comprises an entire ship's company. He explains his claim by describing a starving crew's orderly, step-by-step cannibalism until he alone remained to hold every rank.

The polite conversion A zealous bishop hound a London bus driver for seven years until the exhausted man surrenders and converts to end the annoyance. The driver instantly undergoes a physical transformation, gets a respectable new name, and marries the prelate's daughter.

The bishop's dance The Bishop of Rum-ti-Foo returns from his Pacific island to London and stops in the street to learn acrobatic stage dances. He rigorously practices jumps and bounds so he can perform them to delight his native congregation back home.

The hungry invasion A famished king leads his warriors to attack a neighboring queen's territory purely to find something to eat. When four flirtatious Amazons try to charm the army with smiles and blushes, the soldiers politely decline the romance and demand their dinner.

The legal ladder A briefless barrister schemes his way to professional success by courting the unattractive daughter of a wealthy attorney. Once the father fills his portfolio with lucrative courtroom briefs, the newly rich lawyer discards his fiancee without hesitation.

The professional rise High-ranking public officials explain their career triumphs through complete incompetence and blind conformity. From naval commanders who never sailed to judges who hoodwink juries, each figure attributes his success to social scheming rather than skill.

The People

The Elderly Naval Man He wants to tell the truth about his past while surviving a disastrous shipwreck on the Nancy Bell. Trapped by starvation alongside his crewmates, he participates in eating them one by one until he remains the sole survivor, forever carrying the collective identity of the entire ship's company.

Captain Reece He wants nothing more than to promote the absolute comfort and happiness of his naval crew. Hindered only by his own obsession with duty, he grants every strange request his men make, ultimately forcing his female relatives into marriages with his sailors to keep his ship contented.

Hash Baz Ben (Adolphus Brown) He wants to drive his Putney omnibus in peace without constant religious harassment. Harassed for seven years by a zealous prelate, he eventually capitulates to conversion solely to gain quiet, transforming into a plump, fair-haired gentleman who marries into the clergy.

The Briefless Barrister He wants wealth, legal prestige, and prominent court briefs without enduring poverty. Blocked by a total lack of clients, he uses romantic manipulation by proposing to an attorney's daughter, dumping her the moment he achieves financial independence.

The Major-General He wants to be recognized as the ultimate modern officer and intellectual. Hindered by his complete ignorance of actual modern warfare, he covers his professional deficiencies by memorizing massive amounts of useless trivia, historical facts, and classical literature.

In Its Own Voice

A stranded sailor reveals the terrible secret behind his multi-role identity aboard the shore:

"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold, / And the mate of the Nancy brig, / And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, / And the crew of the captain's gig."

A legal official casually outlines the pragmatic strategy that launched his lucrative courtroom career:

"So I fell in love with a rich attorney's / Elderly, ugly daughter."

An ambitious military commander reflects on the surprising cultural tastes of the local public:

"But the peripatetics / Of long-haired aesthetics, / Are very much more to their taste--"

What It's Really About

The collection acts as a satire on Victorian respectability, social hypocrisy, and the rigid obsession with professional duty. Beneath the silly rhymes lies a sharp critique of how institutions—such as the law, the military, the church, and the government—reward vanity and political conformity over actual skill. Characters repeatedly commit absurd or selfish acts, from cannibalism to abandonment, while maintaining an unyielding pose of moral correctness and gentlemanly decorum. The text constantly questions whether human motives are ever as noble as society pretends, suggesting that ambition, self-preservation, and vanity are the true drivers behind solemn public life.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers who enjoy sharp literary satire, theatrical verse, and formal poetic skill. Reading it feels like attending an energetic Victorian comic show, where bouncy rhythms and elaborate rhymes contrast hilariously with dark or ridiculous plot lines. The language moves at a rapid pace, packed with clever wordplay, unexpected end-rhymes, and deadpan comic timing that remains surprisingly fresh.

Modern readers should be prepared for period difficulties. The book reflects nineteenth-century British colonial attitudes, containing outdated racial terminology, ethnic caricatures, and imperial tropes that reflect its era. Additionally, several poems rely on hyper-specific Victorian references, including regional London geography, extinct legal courts, and political scandals of the day. Yet despite these historical artifacts, the core humor remains accessible. The vanity of politicians, the incompetence of self-important leaders, and the absurdity of human posturing have not aged a day, making this collection a memorable masterclass in comic verse.