Polly Wolly Doodle
| "Polly Wolly Doodle" | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Polly Wolly Doodle in Student's Songs, Cambridge Mass. 1884 | |
| Song | |
| Published | 1843 |
"Polly Wolly Doodle" is a traditional American children's song. It was sung by Dan Emmett's Virginia Minstrels, who premiered at New York's Bowery Amphitheatre in February 1843,[1] and is often credited to Emmett (1815–1904).[2][3]
The melody of the song, as it is usually sung, formed the basis for Francis Blanche's 1946 song (recorded by Lily Fayol) "Le Gros Bill", Boney M.'s hit "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" in 1979,[4] as well as for Alexandra Burke's song "Start Without You". The tune is also found in children's music, including the Sunday school song "O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E", "Radio Lollipop" by the German group die Lollipops, and the Barney & Friends songs "Alphabet Soup" (using only the tune of the first verse) and "If I Had One Wish" (which uses both verses).
Recordings
[edit]- 1878: Yale Glee Club[5]
- 1917: Harry C. Browne[6]
- 1926: Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers (as "Polly Wolly Doo")[7][6]
- 1939: Carter Family (as "Polly Wolly Doodle All Day")[6]
- 1951: Pete Seeger[8]
- 1964: Burl Ives[6]
- 1979: Boney M. (as "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday")[6]
Parodies
[edit]In his medley "Schticks of One and Half a Dozen of the Other" (1963), Allan Sherman sings a song using the "Polly Wolly Doodle" tune, with lyrics describing his attempts to lose weight ("Oh, I diet all day and I diet all night / It's enough to drive me bats..."[1]
References
[edit]- ^ Lee Davis, Scandals and Follies: The Rise and Fall of the Great Broadway Revue (New York: Limelight Editions, 2000), p. 31., according to http://civilwartalk.com/threads/polly-wolly-doodle.15345/
- ^ Cooper, Karen (February 8, 2019). "Minstrelsy in Minnesota: Blackface wasn't only a southern problem". MinnPost. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Michael (2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History: From Pre-Historic Africa to Classical Europe to American Popular Music. Penguin. p. 148. ISBN 9781592577514.
- ^ https://www.sonymusic.de/kuenstler/boney-m Archived 2020-06-23 at the Wayback Machine; in German
- ^ "Mention of Polly Wolly Doodle, sung by the Yale Glee Club in 1878". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 26, 1878. p. 2 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "The Originals © by Arnold Rypens". Archived from the original on 2016-06-07.
- ^ "Country Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from CMT". Archived from the original on September 17, 2016.
- ^ "Lonesome Valley - A Collection of American Folk Music".
