She could have recited the Twenty-Third Psalm and made it indecent

The lyrics of Marie [Lloyd]’s songs were never crude, but they were sufficiently suggestive to encourage the mind to wander. She could, said on impresario, have recited the Twenty-Third Psalm and made it indecent

J. Major, My Old Man: a personal history of music hall (2012), 121

It was low born but irresistable

In its formative years, the vulgarity and sentimentality of music hall attracted a largely working-class audience, but its appeal was far wider. It took root in England only a few years after there had been a real fear of revolution, and helped turn sour resentment into a patriotic roar of joy. It was low-born but irresistible. Its songs have become the folk songs of a nation.

J. Major, My Old Man: a personal history of music hall (2012), 3