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Henry Carey
d. 1743
An English poet, dramatist, and songwriter from the early 18th century, remembered for sharp political satire and songs that outlived him. He is often linked with “Sally in Our Alley” and with the long-running debate over whether he wrote “God Save the King.”
1 Audiobook
A Learned Dissertation on Dumpling (1726)
by Henry Carey
About the author
Best known as an English poet, dramatist, and songwriter, Henry Carey lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and died in 1743. He built a reputation as a lively comic writer and satirist, especially in works that poked at politics and public life.
Carey wrote for the stage as well as for print, and his songs helped make him widely popular. “Sally in Our Alley” became especially famous, and his name has often appeared in discussions about the authorship of “God Save the King,” though that claim remains debated.
His work captures the wit, performance culture, and political mood of Georgian England. Even centuries later, he is remembered less as a dusty historical figure than as an energetic entertainer whose verses and melodies stayed in circulation long after his death.