Percy French's 1877 song "Abdul Abulbul Amir"set in the atmosphere of the Russo-Turkish War...
Original Lyrics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Abulbul_AmirThe sons of the Prophet are brave men and bold
And quite unaccustomed to fear,
But the bravest by far in the ranks of the Shah,
Was Abdul Abulbul Amir.
If you wanted a man to encourage the van,
Or harass the foe from the rear,
Storm fort or redoubt, you had only to shout
For Abdul Abulbul Amir.
Now the heroes were plenty and well known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Czar,
And the bravest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
One day this bold Russian, he shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer,
Downtown he did go where he trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.
Young man, Abdul roared, with your life are you bored
That you wish to end your career?
Vile infidel, know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.
So take your last look at the sunshine and brook
And send your regrets to the Czar
For by this I imply, you are going to die,
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
Then this bold Mameluke drew his trusty skibouk,[A]
Singing, "Allah! Il Allah! Akbar!"
And with murderous intent he ferociously went
For Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
They parried and thrust, they side-stepped and cussed,
Of blood they spilled a great part;
The philologist blokes, who seldom crack jokes,
Say that hash was first made on the spot.
They fought all that night neath the pale yellow moon;
The din, it was heard from afar,
And huge multitudes came, so great was the fame,
Of Abdul and Ivan Skavar.
As Abdul's long knife was extracting the life,
In fact he was shouting, "Huzzah!"
He felt himself struck by that wily Calmuck,
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
The Sultan drove by in his red-breasted fly,
Expecting the victor to cheer,
But he only drew nigh to hear the last sigh,
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.
There's a tomb rises up where the Blue Danube rolls,
And graved there in characters clear,
Is, "Stranger, when passing, oh pray for the soul
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir."
A splash in the Black Sea one dark moonless night
Caused ripples to spread wide and far,
It was made by a sack fitting close to the back,
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps,
'Neath the light of the cold northern star,
And the name that she murmurs in vain as she weeps,
Is Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
And quite unaccustomed to fear,
But the bravest by far in the ranks of the Shah,
Was Abdul Abulbul Amir.
If you wanted a man to encourage the van,
Or harass the foe from the rear,
Storm fort or redoubt, you had only to shout
For Abdul Abulbul Amir.
Now the heroes were plenty and well known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Czar,
And the bravest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
One day this bold Russian, he shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer,
Downtown he did go where he trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.
Young man, Abdul roared, with your life are you bored
That you wish to end your career?
Vile infidel, know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.
So take your last look at the sunshine and brook
And send your regrets to the Czar
For by this I imply, you are going to die,
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
Then this bold Mameluke drew his trusty skibouk,[A]
Singing, "Allah! Il Allah! Akbar!"
And with murderous intent he ferociously went
For Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
They parried and thrust, they side-stepped and cussed,
Of blood they spilled a great part;
The philologist blokes, who seldom crack jokes,
Say that hash was first made on the spot.
They fought all that night neath the pale yellow moon;
The din, it was heard from afar,
And huge multitudes came, so great was the fame,
Of Abdul and Ivan Skavar.
As Abdul's long knife was extracting the life,
In fact he was shouting, "Huzzah!"
He felt himself struck by that wily Calmuck,
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
The Sultan drove by in his red-breasted fly,
Expecting the victor to cheer,
But he only drew nigh to hear the last sigh,
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.
There's a tomb rises up where the Blue Danube rolls,
And graved there in characters clear,
Is, "Stranger, when passing, oh pray for the soul
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir."
A splash in the Black Sea one dark moonless night
Caused ripples to spread wide and far,
It was made by a sack fitting close to the back,
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps,
'Neath the light of the cold northern star,
And the name that she murmurs in vain as she weeps,
Is Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
Alternative Version: The Ballad of Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
The sons of the Prophet are valiant and bold
And wholly impervious to fear
But the bravest of all was a man by the name
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
If you wanted a man to encourage the van
Or harass the foe from the rear
Or to storm a redoubt, you had only to shout
For Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
This son of the desert in batle aroused
Could spit twenty men on his spear
A terrible creature, sober or soused
Was Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
There are brave men in plenty, and well known to fame
In the army that's run by the Czar
But the bravest of all was a man by the name
Of Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
He cuold imitate Irving, tell fortunes by cards
And play on the Spanish guitar
In fact quite the cream of the Muscovite team
Was Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
The ladies all loved him, his rivals were few
He could drink them all under the bar
As gallant or tank there was no one to rank
With Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
One day that bold Russian, he shouldered his gun
And with his most cynical sneer
Was going down town, when he came right upon
Brave Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
"Young man," said Bulbul, "Is existence so dull
That you hanker to end your career?
For infidel know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer"
"So take your last look upon sky, sea, brook
And send your regrets to the Czar
For by this I imply, you are going to die
Oh, you Ivan Petrofsky Skevar"
"But your murderous threats are to me but a joke
For my pleasure and pastime is war
And I'll tread on your toes whene'er I may choose"
Quoth Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
Then that brave Mameluke drew his trusty chabook
Singing, "Allah! Il Allah! Akhbar!"
And with murder intent he ferociously went
At Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
But the Russian gave back not a step at the attack
For Ivan had never known fear
And with quickly aimed gun, put a stop to the fun
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
Yet the whistling chabook did like lightning descend
And caught Ivan right over the ear
But the bayonet of Ivan pressed right through the heart
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
The Russian commander spurred thither in haste
To seek for his favourite Hussar
Lo, pierced through the snoot from the fatal chabook
Lay Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
The Sultan rode up the disturbance to quell
Or to give to the victor a cheer
But he arrived just in time to take hasty farewell
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
Then Gotchikoff, Skabeloff, Menchikoff too
Drove up in the Emperor's car
But only in time to bid rapid adieu
To Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
There lieth a stone where the Danube doth roll
And on it in characters clear
Is, "Stranger, remember to pray for the soul
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer"
A Muscovite maiden, her sad vigil keeps
In her home by the cold northern star
And the name that she murmurs so oft in her sleep
Is Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
And wholly impervious to fear
But the bravest of all was a man by the name
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
If you wanted a man to encourage the van
Or harass the foe from the rear
Or to storm a redoubt, you had only to shout
For Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
This son of the desert in batle aroused
Could spit twenty men on his spear
A terrible creature, sober or soused
Was Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
There are brave men in plenty, and well known to fame
In the army that's run by the Czar
But the bravest of all was a man by the name
Of Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
He cuold imitate Irving, tell fortunes by cards
And play on the Spanish guitar
In fact quite the cream of the Muscovite team
Was Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
The ladies all loved him, his rivals were few
He could drink them all under the bar
As gallant or tank there was no one to rank
With Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
One day that bold Russian, he shouldered his gun
And with his most cynical sneer
Was going down town, when he came right upon
Brave Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
"Young man," said Bulbul, "Is existence so dull
That you hanker to end your career?
For infidel know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer"
"So take your last look upon sky, sea, brook
And send your regrets to the Czar
For by this I imply, you are going to die
Oh, you Ivan Petrofsky Skevar"
"But your murderous threats are to me but a joke
For my pleasure and pastime is war
And I'll tread on your toes whene'er I may choose"
Quoth Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
Then that brave Mameluke drew his trusty chabook
Singing, "Allah! Il Allah! Akhbar!"
And with murder intent he ferociously went
At Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
But the Russian gave back not a step at the attack
For Ivan had never known fear
And with quickly aimed gun, put a stop to the fun
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
Yet the whistling chabook did like lightning descend
And caught Ivan right over the ear
But the bayonet of Ivan pressed right through the heart
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
The Russian commander spurred thither in haste
To seek for his favourite Hussar
Lo, pierced through the snoot from the fatal chabook
Lay Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
The Sultan rode up the disturbance to quell
Or to give to the victor a cheer
But he arrived just in time to take hasty farewell
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer
Then Gotchikoff, Skabeloff, Menchikoff too
Drove up in the Emperor's car
But only in time to bid rapid adieu
To Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
There lieth a stone where the Danube doth roll
And on it in characters clear
Is, "Stranger, remember to pray for the soul
Of Abdulla Bulbul Ameer"
A Muscovite maiden, her sad vigil keeps
In her home by the cold northern star
And the name that she murmurs so oft in her sleep
Is Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
Songs
by Frank Crumit - 1927
https://youtu.be/o6vyZ_q-TjAby George Melly
https://youtu.be/A0aJX6uv4V0Animation
1941 MGM cartoon, Abdul the Bulbul-Ameer
produced by Fred Quimby and directed by Hugh Harman
Shadow Theater - Ye Ballade of Ivan Petrofsky Skevar
Commercials
Springmaid cotton sheets in Life magazine, 7 January 1952
Whitbread Best Bitter Beer - 1982
staring Stephen Fry, Tony Cosmo,
Tim McInnerny, Roy Castle,
and directed by Paul Weiland
enjoy....
