Sheet Music - Oh! What a Difference Since the Hydro Came
Date1912
MediumInk
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Harold Rutledge, 1978
Object number1978.007.003T-U
Label TextIn 1912, Londoner Claud L. Graves penned the music and words to the song, “Oh, What a Difference since the Hydro Came.” Hydroelectricity had arrived in London at the end of 1910 and began to power the city’s streetlights. They were much brighter than the gas-lit versions they replaced. As Graves’ song suggests, not everyone embraced the change.
American-born Claud Graves immigrated to Canada in 1906 with his wife Bessie, his son Lloyd, and three of his sisters. Settled in London, this composer and song writer also ran a printing business from his home, which permitted him to publish his own music. In an interesting twist, at one point, Graves also worked for Sir Adam Beck, the founder of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. In addition to the 1912 hit, “Oh! What a Difference since the Hydro Came,” Graves wrote the booster song “Come to London,” (1910), the “Indian Maid” (1919), “A Dream of Mother and Childhood Days” (undated) and “I Like You Best of All” (undated).
When Graves and his family arrived in London, some of the city’s streetlights already were powered by electricity. In 1886, the Municipal Council had given the Ball Electric Company and the Royal Electric Company three-year contracts, and permission to erect 20 lamps each. More electric streetlights followed as residents and business owners petitioned Council for lighting in their areas. Despite the use of electricity, in 1906 gas still fuelled many of the city’s streetlights. Incorporated in 1853, the London Gas Company produced this fuel by burning coal. From the first eight gas lamps erected on Mark Lane, a part of present day Richmond Street, the city’s lighting infrastructure grew to 1,206 gas lights by 1874. The era of gas-lit streets, already waning, ended in 1910 when London was connected to electricity generated by Niagara Falls. Hydroelectricity was cleaner and less expensive. It was also brighter, the subject of Graves’ lament.
For those who supported the widespread adoption of hydroelectricity, the brightly-lit nighttime streets indicated progress and modernity, safety and security. They were a source of civic pride for many. But “Oh! What a Difference since the Hydro Came,” a comedic commentary on the ardour-dampening effects of this lighting, suggests there may have been some mixed feelings: “And when you go a-strolling with your lady love / Don’t for-get the Hydro shining bright above. / You darsent try to kiss her the Hydro is to blame. / Ho! Ho! What a difference since the Hydro came.” It seems that progress never comes without some costs!
NameMusic, Sheet
