"Under the Blasted Oak" is a

comic 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 wi ...

written by

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

and Frederick E. Cliffe.Richards p. 194 Formby recorded it on 11 October 1942 for

Regal Zonophone Records Regal Zonophone Records was a British record label formed in 1932, through a merger of the Regal and Zonophone labels. This followed the merger of those labels' respective parent companies – the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramopho ...

. It tells a humorous "

ghost story A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature'' ...

" about the attempts of Formby and his girlfriend to find a buried stash of money, hidden by a

miser A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone who ...

under a blasted

Oak Tree An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

. The miser makes an apparently ghostly appearance, only to turn out to be wearing a

bed sheet A bed sheet is a rectangular piece of cloth used either singly or in a pair as bedding, which is larger in length and width than a mattress, and which is placed immediately above a mattress or bed, but below blankets and other bedding (such as ...

. The song features in Formby's 1943 film ''

Get Cracking ''Get Cracking'' is a 1943 United Kingdom, British comedy film, comedy war film, film director, directed by Marcel Varnel starring George Formby, with Dinah Sheridan and Ronald Shiner. It was film producer, produced by Marcel Varnel and Ben Henr ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* Gammond, Peter. ''The Oxford Companion to Popular Music''. Oxford University Press, 1991. * Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Age of the Dream Palace''. I.B. Tauris, 2010. British songs 1942 songs George Formby songs Songs written by George Formby Songs written by Fred E. Cliffe {{1940s-song-stub