R.P. Weston from beyond the grave:
I know the song from when I was a child because my mother used to sing it to us, when I was so young that I didn't have a sweet clue who Henry VIII was and so didn't even get the joke. But she only sang the Hermit's version so I wasn't aware of the verses until I was considerably older and had developed an interest in music from the period in question. Here they are:
You don't know who you're looking at
Now have a look at me
I'm a bit of a nob I am
Belong to Royaltee
I'll tell you how got came about
I married widow Burch
And I was King of England
When I toddled out of church
Outside the people started shouting, “Hip hooray”
Said I, “Get down upon your knees its Coronation Day
(Chorus)
I'm Henery the eighth I am
Henery the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
Everyone was a Henery she wouldn't have a Willie or a Sam
I'm her eighth old man named Henery
I'm Henery the eighth I am
(Verse 2)
I left the Duke of Cumberland, a pub up in the town
Soon with one or two moochers I was holding up the Crown
I sat upon the bucket that the car men think their own
Surrounded by my subjects I was sitting on the throne
Out came the potman saying, “No get off to the bed”
Said I, “Now say another word and off'll go your head
(Verse 3)
Now at the waxworks exhibition not so long ago
I was sitting among the Kings I made a lovely show
To good old Queen Elizabeth I shouted, “Wotcha Liz!”
While people poked my ribs and said, “I wonder who this is?”
One said, “Its Charlie Peace.” and then I got the spike I shouted,
“Show your ignorance!” as waxy as you like.
I don't feel like this song requires a great deal of explanation. The obvious joke is that King Henry the Eighth (himself married six times) was the eighth English king named Henry, whereas in the song, the chap is the eighth man named Henry to marry Widow Burch. The word "nob" in the first verse is a slang term for an aristocrat. I am admittedly a little less certain about some of the references in verse 2; a "moocher" is someone who sponges off others, and a "potman" is someone who serves liquor in a pub. But I don't really know what the lines about "holding up the crown" or the car men and their bucket refer to, if anything.
Here's Harry Champion singing the original song:
You can't really compare Harry Champion's version to the other two- it's a completely different style for a completely different era and audience. But of the later two versions, I have to say that I much prefer Joe Brown's interpretation, though obviously it didn't win over the shrieking teeny bopper crowd.