Worton David

British songwriter & publisher. Father of songwriter Hubert Worton David. His works are often confused for his son's, and vice-versa. Born 17 Ocober 1872 in Rawmarsh, near Rotherham, England. Died 15 November 1940 in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Married to songwriter Lilian Shirley (1901-). Songs David wrote/co-wrote include "Hello, Hello, Who's Your Lady Friend" (1913), "Hold Your Hand out Naughty Boy" (1913), "Prisoner at the Bar" (1910), "The End of My Old Cigar" (1915), "That Old Fashioned Mother of Mine" (1919), "I Want to Sing in Opera" (1911), "Golden Dreamboat" (1922), "Rainbow" (1922) and "Which Switch Is the Switch, Miss, for Ipswich" (1915). He collaborated often with Horatio Nicholls (Lawrence Wright), C. W. Murphy, R. Penso, Harry Fragson, Bert Lee, Fred Godfrey and George Arthurs. David was described by the publisher and his sometimes co-writer Lawrence Wright, as the best lyric writer in Britain. Worton's first job was in a solicitor's office, but he spent most of his time writing stories, some of which were reprinted in Leeds Mercury. In 1914, David joined up with Wright to producer a number of hits but the partnership ended when David objected to the number of American songs Wright was importing. Wright bought David out of all the songs they had written together and David started his own publishing firm.