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Ada Jones sings \"The Bird On Nellie's Hat\" with words by Arthur J. Lamb and music by Alfred Solman. Edison Amberol cylinder #237.
Every Saturday, Willie got his pay.
Then he'd call for Nell. Trousers
neatly pressed and nice white vest--
button-hole bouquet as well!
On Nellie's little hat, there was a
little bird. That little bird knew lots
of things--it did upon my word.
And in its quiet way, it had a lot to
say as the lovers strolled along.
\"I'll be your little honey--I will promise
that!\" said Nellie as she rolled her dreamy
eyes. \"It's a shame to take the money,\"
said the bird on Nellie's hat. \"Last night
she said the same to Johnny Wise.\"
Then to Nellie, Willie whispered as they
fondly kissed, \"I'll bet that you were
never kissed like that!\" \"Well, he don't
know Nellie like I do!\" said the saucy little
bird on Nellie's hat.
In a shady nook, by a quiet brook,
Nell and Willie fish. Lips together
meet in kisses sweet. Love is such a
dainty dish. Then Nellie said to Will
such pretty things galore, but
everything that Nellie said that bird
had heard before, and as he took her
hand, she sighed, \"Oh ain't it
grand?\" Birdie winked the other eye.
\"Now I haven't caught a fish. What do
you think of that?\" said Nellie with a most
bewitching look. \"You can bet she knows
her business!\" said the bird on Nellie's
hat, \"And Willie's the fish she's going to
hook.\" \"Oh, it's twelve o' clock' said Willie
as he took her home. \"I'll bet you're
never out as late as that!\" \"Well, he don't
know Nellie like I do!\" said the saucy little
bird on Nellie's hat.
Autumn came along--love's young
dream all wrong, Will went round to
call. Servant with a grin said, \"She's
not in! Nellie's gone away--that's
all!\" Poor Willie's heart was broke;
his life seemed all in vain until upon
Fifth Avenue he met his Nell again.
Said he, \"We meet once more!\" Said
she, \"Love's dream is o'er! But we
can be real good friends.\"
\"And I'll keep your presents, honey, just
for old time's sake,\" said Nellie as she
rolled her dreamy eyes. \"It's a shame to
take the money,\" said the bird on Nellie's
hat. \"Oh Willie, Willie, when will you be
wise?\" \"Well, but how about the diamond
engagement ring? Of course,\" said Willie,
\"you'll return me that!\" \"Well he don't
know Nellie like I do!\" said the saucy little
bird on Nellie's hat.
Ada Jones (1 June 1873 - 2 May 1922) was the leading female recording artist in the acoustic recording era, especially popular from 1905 to 1912 or so. Her singing range was limited but she was remarkably versatile, being successful with vaudeville sketches, sentimental ballads, hits from Broadway shows, British music hall material, \"coon\" and ragtime songs, and Irish comic songs.
She was known for an ability to mimic dialects.
Victor catalogs listed roles at which she excelled: \"Whether Miss Jones' impersonation be that of a darky wench, a little German maiden, a 'fresh' saleslady, a cowboy girl, a country damsel, Mrs. Flanagan or an Irish colleen, a Bowery tough girl, a newsboy or a grandmother, it is invariably a perfect one of its kind.\"
Columbia catalogs as late as 1921 stated: \"Miss Jones is without question the cleverest singer of soubrette songs, popular child ballads and popular ragtime hits adaptable for the soprano voice now recording for any Company. She is also one of the most popular singers in the record field and her records have been heard in all quarters of the globe. Her duet records with Mr. [Walter] Van Brunt, unique and entertaining as they are, have also come in for unlimited popular approval.\"
Despite this high praise in Columbia's 1921 catalog, very little of her vast output was available by the early 1920s. For example, of the nearly two hundred titles that she recorded for Columbia from 1904 to 1917, only six remained in the catalog by 1921--five duets and one solo effort, \"Cross My Heart and Hope To Die.\"
She was born in her parents' home at 78 Manchester Street in Oldham, Lancashire, England. Her father, James Jones, ran an inn, or public house, named The British Flag--the original building no longer stands. Her mother's maiden name was Ann Jane Walsh. Ada was baptized on June 15 in Oldham's St. Patrick's Church as Ada Jane Jones. Her birth was registered on August 18, 1873.
The family moved to Philadelphia by 1879 (documents show that a brother was born there in that year). Her mother died and her father remarried. Ada's stepmother, Annie Douglas Maloney, encouraged Ada to make stage appearances, and \"Little Ada Jones\" was on the cover of sheet music in the early 1880s. One example is the sheet music for Harry S. Miller's \"Barney's Parting\" (1883).
The January 1921 issue of Farm and Fireside duplicates an 1886 photograph showing Ada Jones as \"Jack, a stable boy with song.\"
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