British music halls were popular in WWI but declined before WWII as the prevalence of radios, gramophones, and the cinema grew. Bawdy songs did manage to survive, although many singers refrained from cursing on stage. They preferred double entendres or leaving out the last word of a poem such as “When roses are red they’re ready for plucking; when girls are sixteen they’re ready for _,” then chiding audiences for their dirty minds. Sentimental favorites also lived on, including “Nellie Dean,” a heartbroken singer’s recollection of dreaming by the old mill stream with his long-lost love. Read more about music history in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
