"In My Merry Oldsmobile" is a popular song from 1905, with music by Gus Edwards and lyrics by

Vincent P. Bryan Vincent Patrick Bryan (June 22, 1878 – April 27, 1937) was an American composer and lyricist. In the 1903-1909 production of '' The Wizard of Oz'' he was called upon to introduce new songs in numerous revisions. *with Theodore F. Morse * ...

. The song's chorus is one of the most enduring automobile-oriented songs. The verses, which are slightly suggestive (by 1905 standards) tell of a couple who court and fall in love during a trip with a new Oldsmobile.

Popular culture

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

Division of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

used the song, with altered lyrics, for several decades as a marketing jingle. The song was featured in the 1931

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

animated short ''In My Merry Automobile'' as a "follow the bouncing ball" sing-along feature. The short, directed by Jimmy Culhane, was produced "by arrangement and in cooperation with" the

Olds Motor Works Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

featured the song in his film '' The Star Maker'' in 1939 and recorded the song for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

on June 30, 1939. "In My Merry Oldsmobile" was often used by

Carl Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

, long-time music director for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

cartoons, especially when references to automobiles or driving were made. "In My Merry Oldsmobile" is one of the songs played on

Main Street USA Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...

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and the

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Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...

. It was also sung in episod
The Best Of Enemies
of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'' by

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(played by

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war co ...

) while driving a

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The song was also featured in the Broadway musical

Tintypes ''Tintypes'' is a musical revue conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle. Description With its time frame set between the turn of the 20th century and the onset of World War I, this chamber piece with a cast of five provides a mus ...

. "In My Merry Oldsmobile" is one of the songs sung by the

BonziBuddy BonziBuddy ( , stylized as BonziBUDDY) was a freeware desktop virtual assistant created by Joe and Jay Bonzi. Upon a user's choice, it would share jokes and facts, manage downloads, sing songs, and talk, among other functions, as it used Microsof ...

software application. In the song " Lord, Mr. Ford" on the 1979 album ''Matchbox'' by British

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band

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, they cover

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

's 1973 original, and the line "Come away with me, Lucille" is repeated several times, with the addition, at the end of the song, of the line "In my smoking choking automobile." The name Lucille hit its highest number in the US register of 1902; it was highly popular and had a certain glamour at the point of the song's popularity. Oldsmobile sponsored several TV shows starring

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

in the 1950s, including ''

The Patti Page Show ''The Patti Page Show'' is an American television series which aired from 1955 to 1956. It aired in a 15-minute time-slot, with two commercial breaks for sponsor Oldsmobile. In the series, Patti Page lip-synced pop songs, mostly standards, with add ...

'' from 1955–56, ''

The Big Record ''The Big Record'' is an American television music variety series which aired from September 18, 1957, to 1958 on CBS. Originally it was an hour-long show (approx. 50 minutes excluding ads) but later was a half-hour show (approx. 25 minutes exclud ...

'' from 1957–58 and ''The Oldsmobile Show starring Patti Page'' from 1958–59. "In My Merry Oldsmobile" was used as the theme song on every telecast, and Page often sang some form of it with new lyrics. On some of the programs, the musical commercial segments were performed by Bill Hayes and

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...

. It was used as the opening and closing theme on

Techdirt Techdirt is an American Internet blog that reports on technology's legal challenges and related business and economic policy issues, in context of the digital revolution. It focuses on intellectual property, patent, information privacy and cop ...

Podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

Episode 28: Is Car Ownership On The Way Out?"Techdirt Podcast Episode 28: Is Car Ownership On The Way Out?"
techdirt.com, Jun 9th, 2015

Lyrics

The words, as sung by Billy Murray, are as follows: Verse 1 :Young Johnny Steele has an

:He loves his dear little girl :She is the queen of his gas machine :She has his heart in a whirl :Now when they go for a spin, you know, :She tries to learn the auto, so :He lets her steer, while he gets her ear :And whispers soft and low... Verse 2 :They love to "spark" in the dark old park :As they go flying along :She says she knows why the motor goes :The "sparker" is awfully strong :Each day they "spoon" to the engine's tune :Their honeymoon will happen soon :He'll win Lucille with his Oldsmobile :And then he'll fondly croon... Chorus :Come away with me, Lucille :In my merry Oldsmobile :Down the road of life we'll fly :Automobubbling, you and I :To the church we'll swiftly steal :Then our wedding bells will peal :You can go as far as you like with me :In my merry Oldsmobile.

References

External links

An early Billy Murray recording
Murray revived the old song for a "follow the bouncing ball" cartoon in the 1930s.
In My Merry Oldsmobile (1932)
at Internet Archive {{authority control 1905 songs 1900s song stubs Parlor songs Billy Murray (singer) songs Songs with music by Gus Edwards Songs about cars Oldsmobile