Note: I’m no longer the same variety of pedant that I am in my post below. There is a collection of different versions of these lyrics in the comments thread, which is fascinating, and seems to have taken on a life of its own. Feel free to contribute your own versions, if you know of any different.
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This logico-temporal monstrosity has irked me for quite a long time.
I will first quote the song:
“After the ball was over
Nellie took out her glass eye
Put her false teeth in water
Corked up her bottle of dye
Put her false leg in the corner
Hung up her wig on the door
And all that is left goes to bye byes
After the ball”
I have a problem with the first line.
think about the time period in which “the ball was over”…now, let’s say that the ball finished last night. That means that the ball is now over. It also could be said any time in the future that the ball is over, because it has finished…so the time period implied by that fragment is unbounded as it extends into the future. It stretches out forever into the future.
Now look at the first word, “after”.
!!!!!!
How on earth can there exist a time after the ball was over (and don’t get me started on the fact that it’s in the past tense)…when the ball will never stop being over once it has finished!!!
Damn stupid song…all songwriters should have to do courses in logic… .
22 Comments
I learned the song from an old WWI veteran in the 1950’s. He had a bunch of them.
After the ball was over
I learned the song from an old WWI veteran in the 1950’s. He had a bunch of them.
After the ball was over Sadie took out her glass eye; Stood her wooden leg in the corner; hung out her hair to dry; Put her false teeth in some water; nailed her wax ear to the wall; there wasn’t much left of poor Sadie; after the balllll.
I heard it like this:
After the ball was over,
Mary took ou!r glass eye,
Put her false teeth in the tumbler,
Hung her hair up to dry,
Put her peg leg in the corner,
Hung her ear on the wall,
That is what happened to mary after the ball!
Lol! Now that’s funny! Lmao
In 1974 a 93 year old man taught me the song. I doubt many of those who have made comments on the song can go back that far with only one single contact; thus, it is fair to say this version likely is much closer tot the original version.
“After the ball was over,
Minnie took out her glass eye.
Put her false teeth in cold water,
Hung up her wig to dry.
Stood her cork leg in the corner,
Screwed her tin ear, from her head.
Then what was left of poor Minnie,
Crept slowly under the bed.”
Mitch
This song was in the written in Georgian times England. Women back then (those that could afford to go to balls) wore so much white lead make up that eye would fall out. Teeth for rich people eating all that sugar had false teeth. Wigs where big and covered in lice so hanging out to dry. Due to lead and other poisons used in make up would problem course you to loose lims mostly legs.
This was written to in support of act passed that basically if a women made herself out to be prittier than she really was and never told the guy he could device her.
Like I said its historical England and history is gruesome.
I am hoping to sing “after the ball is over” (the humorous version) at my local singing group’s next concert. The one my mum loved singing to us as kids in the 50s was very similar to the ones I’ve read, but the ending, which I like the best, goes like this:
Nobody recognised nellie, after the ball. I’m going to try and write a couple of my own verses. I’ll add them the website,or do a blog.
This is the way I’ve been singing it for 50 years.
After the ball was over
Maggie took out her glass eye
Put her false teeth in the water
Hung up her wig to dry
Stood her peg leg in the corner
Hung her wax ear on the wall
Nothing was left of Maggie
After the ball
Well known in Australia in 40-50’s. Much of the lady’s bits, as I recall, were put on a chair and I remember the last two lines as:
SO I slept on the chair.
There was more of her there,
After the ball.
My mum used to sing this to me when I was small. This is how I remember it…
After the ball is over
See her take out her glass eye
Put her false teeth in water
Cork up her bottle of dye
Prop her false leg in the corner
Hang up her wig on the wall
And all that is left goes to bye-byes
After the ball
After the Ball was over
Suzie took out her glass eye…
Put her old wig on the table
Washed off her bucket of dye…
Put her false teeth in the water
Hung her cork leg on the wall..
And all that was left went to nigh-nigh
After the ball
After the ball was over
Joanie took out her glass eye
Put her false teeth in the water
And hung up her wig to dry
Put her peg leg in the corner
Stuck her wax ear to the wall
Then what was left of her crawled into bed.
After the ball.
My mom use to sing this version
After the ball was over
She took her glass eye out,
Put her false teeth in water
And hung out her wig to dry.
Put her left leg in the corner
Put her right arm in the draw,
Then crept into bed like a Lady,
After The Ball
I remember my grandmother would sing it to me to calm us down. Wasn’t until later in life I realized how twisted it was lol
After the ball was over
Mary took out her glass eye
Put her false teeth in water
Hung her hair up to dry
Put her wood leg in the corner
Hung her tin ear on the wall
And the rest of poor mary was slumbering after the ball
My paternal Mennonite grandmother used to sing it like this when I was about 5, I’m now 61.
After the ball was over,
Maggie took out her glass eye,
Put her false teeth in some water,
Hung up her wig to dry,
Set her wooden leg in the corner,
Slapped her wax ear on the wall,
That’s all that was left of poor Maggie,
Af-ter the ball.
My father was a WWI vet and sang this to me when I was a boy. It was most similar to comment#2 in that it ended
“There wasn’t much left of poor Katy after the ball.”
However, I remember the second line being. “After the guests were gone” and 4th line as being “Katie went up to her room”. Also “she threw her peg leg in the corner” which is different from set, put, stood, etc.
Wish I remembered it all the way he sang it.
“After the ball was over,
Maggie took out her glass eye,
Put her false teeth in water,
Hung up her wig to dry,
Put her Peg Leg in the corner,
Hung her waxed ear on the wall,
There wasn’t much left of Maggie
after the ball.”
After the ball was over
She took out her glass eye
Popped her false teeth into water
Shook from her hair the night
Propped her false leg in the corner
Stripped of her false nails and all
What was left but to bye byes
After the ball
What a delight to read all these! My remembered version:
After the ball was over
Katie took out her glass eye,
Put her false teeth in the water,
Hung out her out her wig to dry;
Threw her wood leg in the corner,
Hung her tin ear on the wall-
The rest of poor Katie went bye-bye
Af-ter the ball.
These first few lines are sung in an episode of “Maude” (1972/3):
After the ball is over
Mary takes out her glass eye
Puts her false teeth in cold water…
The character is in her late 40s & remembers the song from her college sorority days
My Dad served in the British Army in WWI. He had a beautiful voice and sand all those English music hall songs.My favorite was Nellie at the Ball(not Mary, Katie, Maggie etc…)The lyrics were similar to the above, but I like my Dad’s ending the best.. “And all that was left of Nellie,
Was left to dream of the ball!”
After the ball was over ,see her take out her glass eye,put her false teeth in the tumbler ,hang up her wig to dry .put her false leg in the corner and all that was left crept into the bed after the ball ..
I was sung this when I was little back in the 50s.
My parent’s version was:
After the Ball was over
Nellie took out her glass eye
Then she took out her false teeth
and hung up her wig to dry
Then she took off her false leg
and stood it against the wall
Then all that was left of her went to bed
After the Ball