Beginners Guide to HMS Pinafore Songs

Never Mind the Why and Wherefore is from Act 1 of Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. 

Josephine, the daughter of Captain Corcoran, falls for lowly sailor Ralph Rackstraw. However, she’s torn between her true love, and her father’s desire for her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty.

Gilbert & Sullivan are renowned for their comic operas, and this humour is also prevalent in their songs.

‘I am the Captain of the Pinafore’, sees the Captain making bold claims to his crew that aren’t always true. He makes various statements like ‘I’m never, never sick at sea!’, which the chorus of sailors question by responding ‘What, never?, until the Captain admits, well ‘Hardly ever!’.

This humorous idea of a respectable, high ranking officer of the sea being sea sick, encapsulates the light-heartedness of the whole opera that pokes fun at the Royal Navy.

‘I’m Called a Little Buttercup’ is one of the most famous songs from HMS Pinafore.

It is a waltz tune that introduces the character of Buttercup to the audience, and is subsequently played throughout the opera when she enters the stage.

However, Buttercup is not her real name, but a nickname the crew members assigned to her. It’s ironic as a buttercup denotes something delicate and sweet, which is the complete opposite of Buttercup’s character.

Instead, she is a type of hard-hitting, wheeler dealer that sells all kinds of contraband, objects and food to the sailors, who actually find her a little annoying.

A British Tar is not only a common name for a ship, but a nickname for British sailors. The popular song, ‘A British Tar’ depicts the idea of the perfect British sailor.

It lists all the requirements that a man should meet in order to achieve ‘British Tar’ status, although not the things you would think would be necessary.

For example, ‘his nose should pant and his lip should curl, his cheeks should flame and his brow should furl’. There have even been sketches demonstrating what this ‘ideal’ sailor would like.

‘For He is an Englishman’ is the final song at the end of Act 2 which features the entire cast.

It is a reflection of the good-natured way Gilbert & Sullivan poke fun at patriotism throughout the opera, as after all, “in spite of all temptations to belong to other nations, he remains an Englishman”.

Despite being a shorter piece of music, it has had quite the impact on popular culture. It has been featured in films such as Chariots of Fire (although admittedly not the most famous piece of music from this film), during the montage of protagonist Harold Abraham at Cambridge University, positioning Abraham as the quintessential ‘Englishman’.

It has also taken over the small screen, with references in TV shows like The West Wing where the characters argue over which Gilbert & Sullivan opera the song is from.