"The Combine Harvester" is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

which was a number one hit for Brendan Grace in Ireland in 1975 and then also for

The Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrase ...

in the UK in 1976. Written by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, the song is a parody of

Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...

's 1971 hit, "

Brand New Key "Brand New Key" is a pop song written and sung by folk music singer Melanie. Initially a track of Melanie's album ''Gather Me'', produced by Melanie's husband Peter Schekeryk, it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its chorus. It was ...

", with rustic lyrics replacing the original theme of

roller-skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

. In the UK the song was released by The Wurzels, a band from

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

with a rustic

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouc ...

style which they called "

Scrumpy and Western 200px, Fred Wedlock Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered ...

". It reached number one on 12 June 1976 and stayed there for two weeks.

Charts

References

1975 songs 1975 singles 1976 singles Novelty songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles EMI Records singles Songs about farmers Irish Singles Chart number-one singles {{1970s-single-stub