NOBODY LOVES A FAIRY WHEN SHE'S FORTY
(written by Arthur Le Clerq - 1934)
Billy Cotton
Tessie O'Shea


For years a fairy queen I've been
For years I foiled the Demon King
But alas I'm getting on the years have flown somehow
And I feel that Fairy Snowdrop isn't wanted now 

Chorus
Nobody loves a fairy when she's [forty] fifty
Nobody loves a fairy when she's old


She may still have a magic power but that is not enough
They like their bit of magic from a younger bit of stuff
When once your silver star has lost its glitter
And your tinsel looks like rust instead of gold
Fairy days are ending when your wand has started bending
No-one loves a fairy when shes old


For years I reigned in Fairy Dell
I waved my wand and waved it well
If I can't do all I did Im satisfied because
I'd sooner be a Has-Been that I would a Never Was 

Nobody loves....
Nobody loves.. 

The face of this Immortal One to many has appealed
But gone is the illusion once you've had it soled and heeled
When you've lost your little fairy dimples
And the moth holes in your dress let in the cold
The Goblins and the Pixies turn their backs and say Hi Nixey
No one loves a fairy when she's old. 

Nobody loves.....
Nobody loves..... 

As far as I can see they try to push you off the map
When once your wand has withered and your wings refuse to flap
When you can't cast a spell without it spilling
And a fairy tale for years you haven't told
You stand there shouting What O.. but they all pass by your Grotto
Nobody loves a fairy when shes old. 

Nobody loves.....
Nobody loves..... 

They don't give you an earthly chance to make a livelihood
Theyre building council houses now in my enchanted wood
When you are past the age for Television
And the air you use is government controlled
It seems that they would sooner 
Listen to a blinkin' crooner
Nobody loves a fairy when shes old.