"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular American song written in 1918, released in late 1919, becoming a number one hit for Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It has been revived and adapted over the years, serving as the anthem of

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Origins

The music was composed by John Kellette in 1918. The lyrics are credited to "Jaan Kenbrovin" — actually a collective

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

for the writers James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent, combining the first three letters of each lyricist's last name. The number debuted in the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

, ''

The Passing Show of 1918 ''The Passing Show of 1918'' is a Broadway musical revue featuring music of Sigmund Romberg and Jean Schwartz (and other songwriters), with book and lyrics by Harold R. Atteridge. The show introduced the hit songs "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" a ...

'', and it was introduced by Helen Carrington. The

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

to "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was registered in 1919 by the Kendis-Brockman Music Co. Inc. It was transferred later that year to Jerome H. Remick & Co. of New York and Detroit. James Kendis, James Brockman, and Nat Vincent all had separate contracts with their own publishers, leading them to use the name Jaan Kenbrovin for credit on this song. James Kendis and James Brockman were partners in the Kendis-Brockman Music Company.

Reception

The

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

was a major

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

hit, and was performed and recorded by several singers and bands in late 1919 and 1920.

Ben Selvin Benjamin Bernard Selvin (March 5, 1898 – July 15, 1980) was an American musician, bandleader, and record producer. He was known as the Dean of Recorded Music. Selvin was born in New York City, United States, the son of Jewish Russian immigran ...

's Novelty Orchestra held number one for four weeks late in 1919, and ranked number 6 for the year. The

Original Dixieland Jass Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the m ...

recording of the number is an unusual early example of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

in 3/4 time. The writer

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

parodied the lyric during the Black Sox scandal of 1919, when he began to suspect that players on the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(a United States-based baseball team) were deliberately losing the World Series to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. His version began: "I'm forever blowing ballgames". The song also became a hit with the public in British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

s and theatres during the early 1920s.

Dorothy Ward Dorothy Ward (26 April 1890 – 30 March 1987) was an English actress who specialised in pantomimes, playing the principal boy roles, while her husband Shaun Glenville would play the dame roles. She had a successful 52 year career and played i ...

was especially renowned for making the song famous with her appearances at these venues. The song was also used by English comedian "Professor"

Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in ''Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ''Whack-O!''. Early lif ...

as his signature tune—played on the trombone.

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...

would play the song on clarinet, which would then begin emitting bubbles. The melody is quoted in the 1920s song "

Singing in the Bathtub "Singing in the Bathtub" is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film ''The Show of Shows''. ''The Show of Shows'' was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', ...

", and has frequently been used in

animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

sound tracks during bubble-related scenes; it is also repeatedly sung by

Tweety Bird Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for th ...

. The song features extensively in the 1931

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

gangster movie ''

The Public Enemy ''The Public Enemy'' (''Enemies of the Public'' in the UK) is a 1931 American all-talking pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman and stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward ...

'', starring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

. It also was sung by a white bird in the ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' cartoon ''

I Love to Singa ''I Love to Singa'' is a 1936 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The short was released on July 18, 1936. Plot ''I Love to Singa'' depicts the story of an owlet (singing voice of Jackie Morrow, speaking voic ...

''. The song is also sung in the 1951 film '' On Moonlight Bay'', starring Doris Day and Gordon MacRae, which was the prequel to the 1953 film '' By the Light of the Silvery Moon''. A parody of the song was written and performed as "I'm Forever Blowing Bubble-Gum" by

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

and his City Slickers. In

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

's 1969 film ''

Women in Love ''Women in Love'' (1920) is a novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel ''The Rainbow'' (1915) and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, ...

'' the song is featured in an unusual scene where two sisters, played by

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...

and

Jennie Linden Jennie Linden (born 8 December 1939) is an English actress. She is best known for her starring role in Ken Russell's film ''Women in Love'' (1969) as well as her starring role in the cult film ''Nightmare'' (1964). Life and career Linden was bo ...

, wander away from a large picnic gathering and are confronted by a herd of cattle. In the early 1970s, the

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art, ...

's stage show featured a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

that sang the air while blowing bubbles. A solo guitar rendition is periodically featured within the action of Woody Allen's 1999 film ''

Sweet and Lowdown ''Sweet and Lowdown'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama mockumentary film written and directed by Woody Allen. Loosely based on Federico Fellini's film ''La Strada'', the film tells the fictional story, set in the 1930s, of self-confident jazz guit ...

''. Director

Brad Mays Brad Mays (born May 30, 1955) is an independent filmmaker and stage director, living and working in Los Angeles, California. Background and education Mays was raised in the Edinburg section of West Windsor Township, New Jersey, attending the ...

paid homage to that scene in his 2008 film '' The Watermelon'', in which actress Kiersten Morgan sings the song while dancing on a Malibu beach.

Lyrics

The original lyrics (as per the first publication)

Verse 1

:''I'm dreaming dreams'', :''I'm scheming schemes'', :''I'm building castles high''. :''They're born anew'', :''Their days are few'', :''Just like a sweet butterfly''. :''And as the daylight is dawning'', :''They come again in the morning''.

Chorus

:''I'm forever blowing bubbles'', :''Pretty bubbles in the air'', :''They fly so high'', :''Nearly reach the sky'', :''Then like my dreams'', :''They fade and die''. :''Fortune's always hiding'', :''I've looked everywhere'', :''I'm forever blowing bubbles'', :''Pretty bubbles in the air''.

Chorus

:''I'm forever blowing bubbles'', :''Pretty bubbles in the air''. :''They fly so high'', :''Nearly reach the sky'', :''Then like my dreams'', :''They fade and die''. :''Fortune's always hiding'', :''I've looked everywhere'', :''I'm forever blowing bubbles'', :''Pretty bubbles in the air''.

West Ham United connection

The song is well known in England as the club anthem of

, a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based football club. It is said to have been adopted by West Ham's supporters in the 1920s (although there is no record of West Ham fans singing the song until 1940), and it is now one of the most recognisable club anthems in

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

, alongside songs similarly adopted by other clubs, such as "Keep Right on to the End of the Road", "

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...

", "

Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

", "

On the Ball, City "On The Ball, City" (sometimes abbreviated 'OTBC' in writing) is a football chant sung by fans of Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Nor ...

" and "

Blaydon Races "Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in a style deriving from music hall. It is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle Falcons rugby club, a ...

". "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was played in various football grounds by marching bands in the 1920s, for example at

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and West Ham's rival

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. The song was introduced to West Ham by former manager

Charlie Paynter Charlie Paynter (28 July 1879 in Swindon – 1 December 1971) was the manager of West Ham United from 1932 to 1950. He moved to Plaistow with his family as a child. He played for the local teams Victoria Swifts and South West Ham, but while ...

in the late 1920s. A player, Billy J. "Bubbles" Murray, who played for the local Park School had a resemblance to the boy in the " Bubbles" painting by Millais used in a Pears soap commercial of the time. Headmaster Cornelius Beal began singing the tune "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" with amended lyrics when Park players played well. Beal was a friend of Paynter, while Murray was a West Ham trialist and played football at schoolboy level with a number of West Ham players such as Jim Barrett. Through this contrivance of association, the club's fans took it upon themselves to begin singing the popular music hall tune before home games, sometimes reinforced by the presence of a house band requested to play the refrain by Paynter. In 1980, as a tribute to West Ham United, the punk rock band the

Cockney Rejects Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre. The band members are supporters of West Ham United, and pay ...

covered the song. The song is also heard in the movie ''

Green Street Hooligans ''Green Street'' (also known as ''Green Street Hooligans'' and ''Hooligans'') is a 2005 crime drama film about football hooliganism in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Lexi Alexander and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. Two s ...

'' and at the end of episode 6 of series 3 of '' Ashes to Ashes'', which took place in 1983 and featured the death of a West Ham United supporter. In 2006, at the final match at Arsenal F.C.'s Highbury stadium,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

supporters broke into song to celebrate West Ham's defeat of

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

which secured Arsenal's spot in the Champions League on the last day. Similarly,

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

were heard singing "Bubbles" in their dressing room after West Ham assisted them winning the

in 1995 having held

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

to a 1–1 draw on the final day of the season, led by

Tony Gale Anthony Peter Gale (born 19 November 1959) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit for Sky Sports. He is also the chairman of non-league club Walton Casuals. As a player, he made 636 appearances as a ...

(an eleven-year West Ham veteran who had moved to Blackburn earlier in the season). On 16 May 1999, prior to a home game against Middlesbrough, 23,680 fans in the

Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...

blew bubbles for a minute, setting a new world record. On 27 July 2012, during the Olympics Opening Ceremony, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was used as part of the soundtrack to the event at the

London Olympic Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...

. On 1 September 2018, to mark the centennial of the song's original debut, Alex Mendham & His Orchestra performed a special arrangement of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" at the

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...

Shriners International connection

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, the song played a part in the foundation of the

Shriners Hospitals for Children Shriners Children's is a network of non-profit medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-center ...

, which are owned and operated by

Shriners International Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

, a

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

-related organisation. At their 1920 Imperial Session (national convention), Freeland Kendrick proposed a unified charitable mission for the Shriners fraternity by building an orthopedic hospital for children. The idea had come to him after visiting the

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, located in Dallas, is a pediatric hospital specializing in the treatment of orthopedic conditions and sports injuries, as well as certain related arthritic and neurological disorders and learning disorder ...

, which primarily treated children suffering the devastating effects of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

. He was shocked to learn that there were not enough hospitals specialising in care for children, especially those suffering from polio. When he made the proposal, many expressed doubts; with the prospects of the plan being approved fading fast, Forrest Adair then spoke: “I was lying in bed yesterday morning, about four o’clock, and some poor fellow who had strayed from the rest of the band stood down there under the window for 25 minutes playing "I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles".” Adair said that when he awoke later that morning he thought again of the wandering musician. “I wondered if there were not a deep significance in the tune that he was playing for Shriners… I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.” Adair continued, “While we have spent money for songs and for bands, it is time for the Shriners to spend money for humanity. ... Let us get rid of all the technical objections. And if there is a Shriner in North America who objects to having paid the two dollars after he has seen the first crippled child helped, I will give him a check back for it myself.” Adair sat down to the sound of thunderous applause. In that moment, the tide had turned; the resolution was passed unanimously. A committee chosen to determine the site and personnel for the Shriners Hospital concluded that there should not be just one hospital, but a network of hospitals throughout North America. When the committee brought the proposal to the 1921 Imperial Session in Des Moines, Iowa, it too was passed.

Sparta Warriors connection

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the song is known as the club anthem of

Sparta Warriors Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg, commonly referred to as the Sparta Warriors, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Sarpsborg, Norway. They currently play in the GET League. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi arena and is Norway's ...

, a

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

-based

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

club. The Norwegian version of the song, rewritten and performed by Kai Robert Johansen, is titled ''"Blå Bobler"'' (Blue Bubbles).

Recordings

Recordings of the song include: *

Albert C. Campbell Albert Charles Campbell (August 17, 1872 – January 25, 1947) was an American popular music singer who recorded between the late 1890s and the 1920s. He was best known for his many duo recordings with Henry Burr, and as a member of the Peerle ...

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alex ...

** Columbia A-2701 (matrix: 78263-1) **Recorded January 22, 1919 *

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

& George Wilton Ballard ** Edison

Blue Amberol Blue Amberol Records was the trademark name for cylinder records manufactured by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in the US from 1912 to 1929. They replaced the 4-minute black wax Amberol cylinders introduced in 1908, which had replaced the 2-minute wa ...

3798 **Released August 1919 *

& his Novelty Orchestra **

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

18603 (matrix: 22966-6) **Recorded July 31, 1919 * Peter Dawson (as Will Strong) **

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

B 1092 **Recorded

February 16, 1920 *

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

**Recorded

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

& Jack Smith with the Norman Luboff Choir with orchestra directed by

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the F ...

** Columbia 39453 (matrix: RHCO 4481-1N) **Also released as a track of the 10" LP, '' On Moonlight Bay'' **Recorded

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

April 27, 1951 *

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

Mary Ford Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers; July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hi ...

** Capitol UK **CL. 13583 **Recorded Sep 1951 * Les Brown and his Band of Renown ** Vogue Coral Q 72242 **Recorded April 1957 *

Kirby Stone Four The Kirby Stone Four were an American vocal ensemble popular in the 1950s and early 1960s. Kirby Stone founded the group in the years after World War II and began playing clubs in the New York area. They won slots on local television, including ''T ...

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

PB 938 **Recorded 1959 * The Blue Diamonds **

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

F 21346 **Recorded 1961 *

The Kalin Twins The Kalin Twins (born February 16, 1934), also known as Hal and Herbie, were an American pop singing, songwriting and recording duo, formed in 1958 by twin brothers Harold Kalin and Herbert Kalin. The duo is best remembered for their number one ...

** Brunswick 05862 **Recorded 1961 *

Frank Fontaine Frank Fontaine (April 19, 1920 – August 4, 1978) was an American stage, radio, film and television comedian, singer and actor. Early years and personal life Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fontaine came from a family of entertai ...

(as Crazy Guggenheim on The Jackie Gleason Show/CBS-TV;'Songs I Sing on the Jackie Gleason Show' – Track 2) ** ABC Paramount Records 90212 **Recorded 1962 **Number One Album on Billboard in February 1963 *

The Kaye Sisters The Kaye Sisters were a trio of British pop singers who scored several hits on the UK Singles Chart in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Career The Kaye Sisters were formed in 1954. They got their name and their start in the music industry from the ...

326569 BF **Recorded 1963 *

Cup Squad ** Pye 7N 45470 **Released May 1975 *

Grandma's Boys Grandma's Boys is the barbershop quartet that won the 1979 SPEBSQSA International Contest. In the summer of 1968, a quartet of New Trier High School students from the North Shore of Chicago rode a Greyhound bus to Cincinnati, checked into the ...

** PEBSQUA: Barbershop Harmony Music**Recorded 1979 *

Zonophone Zonophone (early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone) was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey, by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company but was applied to records and machines sold by Seaman's Universal Talki ...

Z 4 **Released May 1980 *

Joan Morris Joan Morris (born February 10, 1943) is an American mezzo-sopranoProfile
, bolcomandmorris. ...

and

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

**Moonlight Bay: Songs As Is and Songs As Was **Albany Troy 318 **Released 1999 *

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands o ...

– ''Bop for the People'' (vocal by Jackie Cain and Roy Kral) **Proper Box UK **Released September 2005 *Also, a version of the tune can be heard in the animated film ''

The Thief and the Cobbler ''The Thief and the Cobbler'' is an Unfinished creative work, unfinished animated film, animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Richard Williams (animator), Richard Williams. Originally conceived in the 1960s, the film was in and out o ...

'' by Richard Williams *At least 4 different versions are heard in the 2022 film ''

Bullet Train Bullet train may refer to: Rail * Shinkansen high-speed trains of Japan, nicknamed for their appearance and speed * Other high-speed trains of a similar appearance to Japanese trains * An ongoing project to build high-speed rail in India. Rail to ...

'', the version on the film's soundtrack was recorded by Englebert Humperdinck.

Singles chart success

Versions of the song have charted in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on two occasions, both coinciding with an

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

appearance by

. On 10 May 1975 a version recorded by the West Ham 1975 FA Cup Final squad entered the chart at number 31, only staying in the top 40 for one week. For the 1980 FA Cup Final appearance the

version of the song entered the charts at number 35 on 31 May 1980, again only staying in the top 40 for the one week.

References

External links

West Ham United club history at KUMB
contains full lyrics for the song
The Story of Bubbles
by John Helliar, from the official West Ham United website *

DAHR List of Alternate Versions 1919-1968
{{authority control 1919 songs Pop standards Football songs and chants West Ham United F.C. Original Dixieland Jass Band songs Songs with lyrics by James Brockman Mildred Bailey songs Doris Day songs Vera Lynn songs EMI Records singles