"Waiting at the Church" is a popular comedic British music hall song written by Fred W. Leigh (words) and Henry E. Pether (music) for Vesta Victoria, and copyrighted in 1906.
It is sung by a bride-to-be who has given her fiancé, Obadiah Binks, all her money to buy a ring or a house, only to be left "waiting at the church"; she finds out the truth when Obadiah sends her a note telling her he is already married.
The silent film Waiting at the Church featured a performance by Victoria as she acted out the lyrics.
The second half of the song's refrain was sung by the then Prime Minister James Callaghan at the Annual Congress of the TUC in September 1978, to end widespread speculation that there would be a general election that year.
[1][2] Callaghan misattributed the song to the better-known Marie Lloyd, an error not corrected by many news media when reporting it and which has in consequence become common.