"Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" is a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...

and published in 1950. The song was introduced in the Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

, ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'', which opened at the 46th Street Theatre on November 24, 1950. In the context of the show, gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson invents a dream about being saved from hell in order to bring together the members of the prayer meeting. It was performed on stage by Stubby Kaye who later reprised his role as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1953 London production, as well as the 1955 film version of the play. The song is generally considered to be the 11 o'clock number in ''Guys and Dolls''.

Notable recordings

*The song was recorded by

Harpers Bizarre Harpers Bizarre was an American sunshine pop band of the 1960s, best known for their Broadway/sunshine pop sound and their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." Career Harpers Bizarre was formed out of ...

for their third album, '' The Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre''. *A cover of the song by

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

was featured in the soundtrack of the 1992 film, ''

Leap of Faith In philosophy, a leap of faith is the act of belief, believing in or accepting something not on the basis of reason. The phrase is commonly associated with Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Idiomatic usage As an idiom, ''leap of faith'' ca ...

'', and hit number 13 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart in 1993. *

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

released a cover on his 2020 album, '' American Standard''. *

Jennifer Nettles Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based bands ...

covered the song on her 2021 album, ''

Always Like New ''Always Like New'' is the fourth solo studio album by American singer Jennifer Nettles. It was released on June 25, 2021, and is her first release under Concord Records. Taking inspiration from Broadway, the album consists of cover songs from Bro ...

''. *Cedric Neal covered the song for the 2023 London cast recording.

In popular culture

;Television "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" was performed in the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

of the show ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' in 2009, and then redone in the season 3 finale, "Goodbye", although it was never released as a single or on any album. Mac performs part of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" a Church cruise in Season 11, Episode 9 of ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' "The Gang Goes to Hell (Part One)". ;Films The song was sung in the movie, ''The Finest Hours''. ;Books The 1979 novel '' And the Devil Will Drag You Under'' by Jack Chalker takes its title from a line in "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat".

References

{{Authority control Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat Songs from Guys and Dolls 1950 songs 1992 singles Don Henley songs Works about ships Contemporary Christian songs