The Flies Crawled Up the Window

"The Flies Crawled Up the Window"
"The Flies Crawled Up the Window"
Song by Jack Hulbert
Released	1932
Songwriter(s)	Vivian Ellis

"'The Flies Crawled Up the Window" is a British song originally sung by the actor Jack Hulbert in the 1932 comedy film Jack's the Boy.^[1] The lyrics describe the antics of various flies as they crawl up windows. In the film it is sung by Hulbert's character, Jack Brown, to his disapproving father (Peter Gawthorne) after he has returned drunk from an evening out.^[2]

The film proved to be a major success, and the song was equally popular. Hulbert was pursued to the South of France by HMV who persuaded him to release it as a record.^[3] The song was later covered by other singers such as Pat O'Malley - sometimes with additional verses added.^[4] These are the lyrics I remember from my parents' 78 record of Jack Hulbert. It seems to have been recorded live (in Monte Carlo?) and had a spoken introduction in an exaggeratedly English accent "Madames et Messieurs, pardonnez-moi mais j'ai oublié tous le français que j'ai appris à l'école" Although the title is "The flies crawled up the window" my memory is that their activities are described in the present tense as befits the first verse.

Lyrics[]

A number of different variations of the song's lyrics exist, including:

I’ve got a little problem it really is sublime
It’s where do all the flies go when it is winter time?
You ought to know the answer
But I’ll tell you once more
As Mr Gladstone told the Queen in 1864

The flies crawl up the window
It’s all they have to do
They go up by the thousand
And come down two by two
The flies crawl up the window
They say we love to roam
So once more up the window
And then we’ll all go home

The flies crawl up the window
And this is why they do
If they don’t crawl up windows
How are they to see through?
But every fly by nature
Is modest and refined
So when it is your bath night
Do please pull down the blind

The flies crawl up the window
In sunshine and in rain
They do not seek for pleasure
They much prefer the pane
So if those flies annoy you
Here’s what I advise
If you have no windows
Why then you’ll have no flies

The flies crawl up the window
And yet the fact remains
You often meet with people
Who say flies have no brains
Next time you see flies crawling
Upside down upon a shelf
If you don’t think that’s clever
Just try it for yourself!

References[]

^ "Jack's the Boy the Flies Crawled up the Window - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum".
^ Sutton p.176
^ Mundy p.45
^ "MP3 Downloads".

Bibliography[]

Mundy, John. The British Musical Film. Manchester University Press, 2007.
Sutton, David. A Chorus of Raspberries: British film comedy 1929-1939. University of Exeter Press, 2000.

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[1] "Jack's the Boy the Flies Crawled up the Window - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum".

[2] Sutton p.176

[3] Mundy p.45

[4] "MP3 Downloads".

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"The Flies Crawled Up the Window"
Song by Jack Hulbert
Released	1932 (1932)
Songwriter(s)	Vivian Ellis