Macnamara's Band

DESCRIPTION: "My name is Macnamara, I'm the leader of the band, My wife is Betty Grable, she's the fairest in the land"; she can sing, dance, "show a leg" ... everything but "make my ham and eggs"
AUTHOR: John J. Stamford (according to Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame -- but this probably refers to the source song)
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame)
KEYWORDS: derivative playparty food | Betty Grable
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond),Scotland(Bord))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame 121, "Macnamara's Band" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Abrahams-JumpRopeRhymes, #383, "My name is Macnamara" (1 text)
Roud #19014
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "McNamara's Band" ("My name is Macnamara, I'm the leader of the band" line)
cf. "My Name is McNamara" ("My name is Macnamara" line)
SAME TUNE:
No. 5. Squadron Song (File: Hopk041)
NOTES [137 words]: Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame: "'Macnamara's Band', written by John J. Stamford (copyright J.H. Larway, 1914) has been a song too good for children to abandon, and is particularly cherished in Scotland."
Betty Grable, a movie star of the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, was married to band-leader Harry James from 1943 to 1965. (Source: Wikipedia article Harry James ) - BS
I am honestly not sure whether Roud #19014 is this song (a derivative game song) or the the original here indexed as "McNamara's Band"; they are clearly both derived from the latter, but equally clearly they have gone separate ways. The Roud entries for this and "My name is McNamara" are, however, confusing. The other song is identified by the fact that it refers to an actual band, which is small in number, and the fact that it's not a game song. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: OpGa121

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