Whist! The Bogie Man

DESCRIPTION: "Oh gather round me, little ones, So full of fun and glee, Your father's going to be a fool To plase the family." "Oh, whist, whist, whist, Here comes the bogie man! Now go to bed, you baby." Mother and father both use the bogie man to hurry the children
AUTHOR: Words: Edward Harrigan / Music: David Braham
EARLIEST DATE: 1880 (sheet music published by Wm. A. Pond & Co)
KEYWORDS: ghost lullaby
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(England)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Finson-Edward-Harrigan-David-Braham, vol. I, #37, pp. 137-139, "Whist! The Bogie Man" (1 text. 1 tune)

ST HaBrWtBM (Partial)
Roud #V18643
RECORDINGS:
Ada Jones, "Whist! The Bogie Man" (Zon-o-phone [US] 5789. n.d., but rec. before 1911)
BROADSIDES:
LOCSheet, M 3500 M2.3.U6A44,, "Whist! the bogey man," Firth, Pond & Co. (New York), 1880
NOTES [449 words]: For background on Harrigan and Braham, see the notes to "The Babies on Our Block."
This is from "The Mulligan Guards Surprise," the fifth of eight Mulligan Guard musicals by Harrigan and Braham., which opened February 16, 1880 (Franceschina, p. 126). Dan Mulligan, having been convinced by his wife to move to a fancier home, only to find himself trying to understand French and high society, rebels and returns to his old home, where there is a surprise party (hence the title). There was also a wedding with a poisoned liverworst and a problem with the wedding documents, plus the usual arguing and fighting (Franceschina, pp. 115-116; Moody, p. 100).
"This ghost-evoking piece is filled with traditional 'scary music' devices: string tremolos, minor and diminished chords, a melody filled with short rests that imply breathlessness, and virtuosic runs evocated of the 'storm music' composed by serious composers. Ten years later, the number was interpolated into the British burlesque of Bizet's Carmen, Carmen Up-To-Data (sic.) and quickly became even more in London than it had been in New York. Not only did 'Whist! The Bogie Man' guarantee the success of the British show, the song itself turned into an international hit as well" (Franceschina, p. 127).
(Those breathless rests are interesting: they aren't at the end of measures but typically in the middle: the time signature is 6/8, and typically the first, third, fourth, and sixth beats of the measure are sung, the second and fifth are rests.)
"The 'Bogie Man' lullaby, sung as an accompaniment to a game of blindman's buff, later achieved extraordinary popularity with English nannies and now would be declared too terrifying for bedtime: 'Oh, whist, whist, whist, / Here comes the bogie man! / Oh, which, whist, / He'll catch ye, if he can'" (Moody, p. 101).
Franceschina, p. 232, lists this as one of the three Braham songs most heard around the world, the others being "Maggie Murphy's Home" and "The Mulligan Guard." It was popular enough to be parodied in Punch in 1892 (Volume 102, March 19, 1892, p. 138, available on Google Books: "Oh, huddle near us, cherished ones, Hushed is our civic glee. The Voters, they have played the fool About the L. C. C. Oh, Turtle, dear -- at table -- Oh, Griffin, spic and span, I hear the Civic Fathers say Here comes the Bogie Man!").
Despite its reported popularity as a lullaby, documented traditional collections seem to have been few, but Helen Creighton found a version for Mrs. W. J. Johns of Nova Scotia, which she called "Bogey Man." Sue Allan of WIgton reports having learned the chorus from family tradition. Good enough reason to include the song in the Index for me! - RBW
Bibliography

Franceschina: John Franceschina, David Braham: The American Offenbach, Routledge, 2003
Moody: Richard Moody, Ned Harrigan: From Corlear's Hook to Herald Square, Nelson Hall, 1980

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