A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Carey, Henry

by John William Cousin

Carey, Henry (d. 1743).—Dramatist and song-writer, was believed to be an illegitimate s. of George Savile, Marquis of Halifax. He wrote innumerable burlesques, farces, songs, etc., often with his own music, including Chrononhotonthologos (1734), a burlesque on the mouthing plays of the day, and The Dragon of Wantley (1744?). His poem, Namby Pamby, in ridicule of Ambrose Phillips (q.v.}, added a word to the language, and his Sally in our Alley is one of our best-known songs. God Save the King was also claimed for him, but apparently without reason.