Britten Thematic Catalogue

Notes

Written for the singer Hedli Anderson and published as number 3 of Cabaret songs in 1980. The other cabaret songs are: 2 Funeral blues, Johnny (May 1937) and 4 Calypso (summer 1939). It was later incorporated into The Punch revue (1955).

Two other cabaret songs were written around the same time, with text by W.H. Auden and also for Hedli Anderson, but the scores have been lost. These are: Give up love and I'm a jam tart both from May 1937.

The only manuscript source (probably dating from the period of composition) for this work is a non-holograph copy, in the key of B flat major. There were subsequent copies of the piece made by Rosamund Strode, possibly in preparation of the publication in 1980 in the higher keys of D flat major and D major, the key of the published version. It is possible that the original key was B flat major, and it was later transposed up for Peter Pears to sing as he occasionally included this song in recitals after Britten's death.