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Sheet music cover from the 1920s

Sheet Music Cover

The Stuttering Song
or Bill McClusky


I learnt this song from Peter Lyons, which he regularly sang at the ‘Sunday Night at The Vic’ sessions in the early 1970s. He told me he learnt it from Tommy Brazil who often performed it at ‘The Nash’, Batley Irish Democratic League Club, ‘Monday Lunchtime Two Bob on the Shamrock Sessions.’ 
Read more about singing at Batley Nash (external link to my online PDF "The Batley Irish Connection").

The song is a variant of ‘You Tell Her I Stutter’ composed by Cliff Friend with lyrics by Billy Rose. It was recorded in 1923, by a 1920’s Jazz band called ‘The Cotton Pickers’. It was also recorded later that year by the American Vaudeville singer Billy Murray, as a belated follow up to his previous hit, recorded in 1918, K-K-K Katy.


The Stuttering Song or Bill McClusky

Verse 1
Bill McClusky was big an husky
Husky was this lad
And Bill McClusky had
A cute little girl by the name of Pearl
Bill McClusky big and husky
Stuttered very bad
And when he wanted to marry her
He asked his brother Jim
And he said;

Chorus:
Youpee, youpee, yupee, yupee, you—you—tell her
Cos I—I—I—I—I—I stutter, stutter,
On a summer, summer, summer, summers day
I’m feeling c—c—c—c—c—cold
She, she, she, she, she, she, she ought to know
I’ve b—b—b—b—b—b—bought a bungalow
Where we two could raise a little iff, huff,
Have a sup of Lofthus
Helpa, helpa, helpa, helpa, help a feller
Cos, you, you, you, you, you, you tell her
Cos both my teeth and tonsils seem to touch
And when I start f—f—f—f—fool around her
I’m afraid that I’m going to drown her
So you, you, tell her, so you, you tell her
Cos I—I stutter too much!



Verse 2
So Bills brother, told his mother
What McClusky said,
And she said go ahead
So Bill he grabbed a taxi cab
Right to his sweet hearts door
And when he saw her standing there
He stuttered all the more
And he said:

Chorus:
Youpee, youpee, yupee, yupee, you—you—tell her
Cos I—I—I—I—I—I stutter,stutter,
On a summer, summer, summer, summers day
I’m feeling c—c—c—c—c—cold
She, she, she, she, she, she, she ought to know
I’ve b—b—b—b—b—b—bought a bungalow
Where we two could raise a little iff, huff,
Have a sup of Lofthus
Helpa, helpa, helpa, helpa, help a feller
Cos, you, you, you, you, you, you tell her
Cos both my teeth and tonsils seem to touch
And when I start f—f—f—f—fool around her
I’m afraid that I’m going to drown her
So you, you, tell her, so you, you tell her
Cos I—I stutter too much!

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About Mick

Mick Haywood is a traditional folk singer & folk song collector who has run and organised folk clubs and festivals for many years. He now lives in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

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