In The Land Where The Women Wear The Trousers

Fred E. D’Albert, Fred Godfrey & Billy Williams, 1909.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“There is only one Billy Williams, and he is unique. If you doubt this, hear him sing..‘The Land Where The Women Wear The Trousers’.”¹ At a time when the women’s suffrage movement was in full swing, this bit of social commentary would have amused male listeners, at least. The crossdressing works both ways here, too!

Recordings

Billy Williams recorded four versions of this song: 4 March 1909 for Homophone, 27 July 1909 for Zonophone, ca. October 1909 for Edison Standard, and ca. March 1910 for Pathé. Reissues appeared on several other labels.²

Fred Mayne (Columbia-Rena 1278, 1910)

Charles Denton (Indestructible 7027, ca. 1910) [4 min. cylinder]

__________________

Notes

1  “Talking machine news,” Bedfordshire Times and Independent, 13 May 1910, p. 11.
2  For comprehensive discographies of recordings by Billy Williams, see Brian Rust, British Music Hall on Record (Harrow, UK:
    Gramophone, 1979); and Frank Andrews and Ernie Bayly, Billy Williams’ Records: A Study in Discography (Bournemouth, UK:
    Talking Machine Review, 1982).