Mairzy Doats
Encyclopedia
Mairzy Doats is a novelty song
composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman
and Jerry Livingston
. It was first played on radio station WOR
, New York, by Al Trace
and his Silly Symphonists. The song made the pop charts several times, with a version by the Merry Macs
reaching No. 1 in March 1944. A success on the home front, it was also a hit with American servicemen overseas, who allegedly used its nonsensical lyrics as passwords.
At first glance the song's refrain, as written on the sheet music, seems meaningless:
However, the lyrics of the bridge
provide a clue:
With this aid, the refrain is quite easily comprehended, and the ear will detect the hidden message of the final line: "A kid
'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?"
. According to this story, Drake's four-year-old daughter came home singing, "Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters." (Cows eat wheat and sows eat wheat and little sharks eat oysters.)
Drake joined Hoffman and Livingston to come up with a tune for the new version of the rhyme. But for a year no one was willing to publish a "silly song." Finally, Hoffman pitched it to his friend Al Trace
, bandleader of the Silly Symphonists. Trace liked the song and recorded it. It became a huge hit, most notably with the Merry Macs' 1944 recording.
Spike Jones
was among several other artists who covered it, characteristically substituting sound effects for the "food" words.
The song was used in movies by Stan Laurel ("The Big Noise
", 1944) and Woody Allen
("Radio Days
", 1987.) It was featured several times on the BBC radio show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
— most notably sung by Graeme Garden
. Shari Lewis
sang it on television's Lamb Chop's Play-Along
, and it was also heard in the The Beer Hunter episode of the British television series Minder
. The evocative title, sans song, was once borrowed for an episode of BBC's "Goodnight Sweetheart." Though "Mairzy Doats" is above all cheerful and childlike in character, director David Lynch
managed to give it the best known rendition with a sinister twist in the episode opening the second season of Twin Peaks
, when Ray Wise
's harrowing performance betrayed the madness of his character, Leland Palmer. The song was used to a similar effect in the 2000 horror film "The Cell
". Serial killer Carl Stargher, played by Vincent D'Onofrio
, sings the song to himself while in the bathtub. A version of the song can be heard briefly in the James Garner
1965 World War II suspense film "36 Hours
". Alan Alda
, as Hawkeye Pierce, on an episode of the tv series M*A*S*H, recites a couple of lines from the song while teaching Korean locals how to speak English.
In 1963 an up-tempo rock'n'roll version of "Mairzy Doats" was recorded by Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts and released as a 7" record on Laurie Records
the same year.
"Mairzy Doats" received a minor revival in 1967, when it was recorded by The Innocence who took it to Number 75 on the Pop Top 100 on Kama Sutra Records
.
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman , a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame since 1984, was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today...
and Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.-Biography:...
. It was first played on radio station WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
, New York, by Al Trace
Al Trace
Albert J. Trace was a prolific American songwriter and orchestra leader of the 1930s, 40s and 50s whose peak of popularity was reached in the Chicago area during the height of the Big Band era....
and his Silly Symphonists. The song made the pop charts several times, with a version by the Merry Macs
The Merry Macs
The Merry Macs were an American close-harmony pop music quartet active from the 1920s till the 1960s and best known for the hits “Mairzy Doats,” “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” and "Sentimental Journey." They also sang on recordings with Bing Crosby....
reaching No. 1 in March 1944. A success on the home front, it was also a hit with American servicemen overseas, who allegedly used its nonsensical lyrics as passwords.
At first glance the song's refrain, as written on the sheet music, seems meaningless:
- Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
- A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
However, the lyrics of the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
provide a clue:
- If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey,
- Sing "MareMareFemale horses are called mares.Mare is the Latin word for "sea".The word may also refer to:-People:* Ahmed Marzooq, also known as Mare, a footballer and Secretary General of Maldives Olympic Committee* Mare Winningham, American actress and singer...
s eat oatOatThe common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s and doeDeerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
s eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."
With this aid, the refrain is quite easily comprehended, and the ear will detect the hidden message of the final line: "A kid
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?"
History
One of the writers, Milton Drake, says the song is based on an English nursery rhymeNursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
. According to this story, Drake's four-year-old daughter came home singing, "Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters." (Cows eat wheat and sows eat wheat and little sharks eat oysters.)
Drake joined Hoffman and Livingston to come up with a tune for the new version of the rhyme. But for a year no one was willing to publish a "silly song." Finally, Hoffman pitched it to his friend Al Trace
Al Trace
Albert J. Trace was a prolific American songwriter and orchestra leader of the 1930s, 40s and 50s whose peak of popularity was reached in the Chicago area during the height of the Big Band era....
, bandleader of the Silly Symphonists. Trace liked the song and recorded it. It became a huge hit, most notably with the Merry Macs' 1944 recording.
Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
was among several other artists who covered it, characteristically substituting sound effects for the "food" words.
The song was used in movies by Stan Laurel ("The Big Noise
The Big Noise
The Big Noise is a 1944 comedy film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Sol M. Wurtzel and directed by Mal St.Clair. It has been regarded by many film critics and Laurel and Hardy historians as being among the duo's worst films....
", 1944) and Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
("Radio Days
Radio Days
Radio Days is a 1987 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story.-Plot:...
", 1987.) It was featured several times on the BBC radio show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game broadcast since 11 April 1972 at the rate of one or two series each year , transmitted on BBC Radio 4, with occasional repeats on BBC Radio 4 Extra and the BBC's World Service...
— most notably sung by Graeme Garden
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
. Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s...
sang it on television's Lamb Chop's Play-Along
Lamb Chop's Play-Along
Lamb Chop's Play-Along is a children's television series that was shown on PBS in the United States from 1992 until 1997, as well as on YTV in Canada. It was created and hosted by puppeteer Shari Lewis, and featured her puppet character Lamb Chop. Appropriately, Lamb Chop was a sheep; other...
, and it was also heard in the The Beer Hunter episode of the British television series Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
. The evocative title, sans song, was once borrowed for an episode of BBC's "Goodnight Sweetheart." Though "Mairzy Doats" is above all cheerful and childlike in character, director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
managed to give it the best known rendition with a sinister twist in the episode opening the second season of Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, when Ray Wise
Ray Wise
Raymond Nicolas "Ray" Wise is an American actor, known for his roles as Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, as Leon C. Nash, right-hand henchman to villain Clarence Boddicker in the science fiction classic RoboCop, and recently as the Devil in the CW television series Reaper.-Life and career:Wise was...
's harrowing performance betrayed the madness of his character, Leland Palmer. The song was used to a similar effect in the 2000 horror film "The Cell
The Cell
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
". Serial killer Carl Stargher, played by Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
, sings the song to himself while in the bathtub. A version of the song can be heard briefly in the James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
1965 World War II suspense film "36 Hours
36 Hours
36 Hours is a 1965 American suspense film, based on the short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl, starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor, and directed by George Seaton...
". Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
, as Hawkeye Pierce, on an episode of the tv series M*A*S*H, recites a couple of lines from the song while teaching Korean locals how to speak English.
In 1963 an up-tempo rock'n'roll version of "Mairzy Doats" was recorded by Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts and released as a 7" record on Laurie Records
Laurie Records
Laurie Records was a record label started in 1958 by Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel. Sussel was a multi-millionaire whose earlier record company, Jamie Records , had been unsuccessful. As a result, Sussel joined forces with Schwartz to found Laurie Records, this time named after his other...
the same year.
"Mairzy Doats" received a minor revival in 1967, when it was recorded by The Innocence who took it to Number 75 on the Pop Top 100 on Kama Sutra Records
Kama Sutra Records
Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The word "Kama Sutra" is a Sanskrit terminology....
.