Novelty 78s for August - IV - The Plucky Underdog

I'm ending this gang of motley comedy 78s with one suffering from bad surface noise, but lyrics that prove that humour often increases with a small dose of pathos.

Songwriters of the music hall era seemed to possess this quality - one I would wager is akin to humility - far better than we do today.

In I'll Fight Him For It, a man sees a mansion owned by the suggestively-named Lord Fitznoodle and, hearing how his forefathers fought for it, naively offers to fight for it there and then.

I'll Fight Him For It - Harry Bedford

And here are those wonderful words...

I'll Fight Him For It (Lyrics)

I sat in the grounds of a beautiful mansion
Watching the creeper creep over the walls,
When up came the keeper, who said "Out you go!
Your'n Lord Fitznoodles's place," I said, "Oh."
"How is that he - did Lord Fitznoodle - find it,
Or sink it or what?" He said, "Don't act a goat!
Why, everyone knows that his forefathers fought for it!"
I said "That's me!" as I offed with me coat...

I'll fight him for it,
Fight 'im whenever he like,
His forefathers, you tell me,
Fought for all this property.
Tell William the Kaiser
That the Honourable William Pike
Will fight him three rounds
For his quids and his grounds
And his castle whenever he like!

The keeper looked scared, he thought I was a piper,
Me hair was cut short - I'd just come out of jail -
But as I rushed up to the old castle door
I somehow remembered that in days of yore,
Knights used to throw down their gloves for a challenge
I hadn't a glove, so I threw down me hat,
And shouted "Oh, Fitznoodle did have four fathers,
And I ain't got one," let him come home on that!

I'll fight him for it,
Fight 'im whenever he like,
His forefathers, you tell me,
Fought for all this property.
Tell William the Kaiser
That the Honourable William Pike
Will fight him three rounds
For his quids and his grounds
And his castle whenever he like!

If anyone has a better quality recording, could you send me a copy? It's such a good song it shouldn't go unheard! I can imagine Billy Bragg at a pinch would do it justice, but I don't know of any other recordings, so are there any out there?