"Whistle While You Work" is a song with music written by

Frank Churchill Frank Edwin Churchill (October 20, 1901 – May 14, 1942) was an American film composer and songwriter. He wrote most of the music for films directed by Walt Disney, such as ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Dumbo'', ''Bambi'', '' The Adve ...

and lyrics written by

Larry Morey Lawrence L. Morey (March 26, 1905 – May 8, 1971) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He co-wrote some of the most successful songs in Disney films of the 1930s and 1940s, including "Heigh-Ho", "Some Day My Prince Will Come", and "Whis ...

for the

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

animated

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

film ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

''. It was performed in the film by voice actress

Adriana Caselotti Adriana Elena Loreta Caselotti (May 6, 1916 – January 18, 1997) was an American actress and singer. Caselotti was the voice of the title character of the first Walt Disney animated feature, ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', for which she w ...

. It also is featured in the 1979 stage adaptation.

Covers and parodies

Shep Fields Shep may refer to: People Given name * Shep Fields, American band leader *Shep Goodman, American music producer and songwriter *Shep Gordon, American talent manager, Hollywood film agent, and producer * Shep Mayer, Canadian ice hockey player *Shep ...

collaborated with

John Serry Sr. John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voic ...

to record the song for

Bluebird Records Bluebird Records is a record label best known for its low-cost releases, primarily of kids' music, blues and jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. It was founded in 1932 as a lower-priced RCA Victor subsidiary label of RCA Victor. Bluebird became known ...

in 1937. *The song was covered in the form of rock-and-roll by

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...

for their 1959 debut album ''

Let's All Sing with The Chipmunks ''Let's All Sing With the Chipmunks'' is the debut album of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It is an interactive children's novelty album. The songs on the record are a mixture between cover versions of children's songs in the public domain and custom ...

'' and would later be adapted into a musical segment on ''

The Alvin Show ''The Alvin Show'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 1961, ...

'' in 1962. *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded a cover of the song for his album '' Disney Songs the Satchmo Way'' in 1968. Armstrong's cover was used in a

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a discontinued Android-based phablet designed, developed, produced and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on 2 August 2016, it was officially released on 19 August 2016 as a successor to the Galaxy Note 5. I ...

commercial. *

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

included a Children's Chorus version on the 3-CD release ''Favorite Children's Songs'' in 2004. *A children's parody version of the song often uses lyrics such as "''

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

is a jerk,

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

is a weenie.''" (Or in a more vulgar vein, "...Mussolini ''bit'' his weenie, now it doesn't squirt (or "work" in another version)!" or "...Mussolini chopped his weenie, now it doesn't work!" ) Several variants are cited in

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

and

Peter Opie Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, (13 October 1923 – 23 October 2017) and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and ...

's survey, ''The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren.'' One variant is "''Whistle While You Work. Hitler is a jerk, Mussolini is a meanie and the

Jap ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

s are worse.''" * The ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' episode "

The Deadly Attachment "The Deadly Attachment" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. It was originally transmitted on Wednesday 31 October 1973. It has become one of the best known episodes of the series due to the ra ...

" contains a scene in which

Private Pike Private Frank Pike is a fictional Home Guard private and junior bank clerk, first portrayed by actor Ian Lavender in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. He was appointed as the platoon's information officer by Captain Mainwaring in The Ma ...

sings a parody of the song mocking Hitler to a captured German officer. This prompts the prisoner to add Pike's name to a list of names for whom retribution will be sought after the war ends, after

Captain Mainwaring Captain George Mainwaring () is a fictional Home Guard captain, first portrayed by Arthur Lowe in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In the 2016 movie he is played by Toby Jones and in the 2019 remake of three missing episodes he is p ...

inadvertently gives it away by exclaiming "Don't tell him, Pike!" after the prisoner asks what it is. *

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

and

Ray Ventura et ses Collégiens Raymond Ventura (16 April 1908, Paris, France – 29 March 1979, Palma de Mallorca, Spain) was a French jazz pianist and bandleader. He helped popularize jazz in France in the 1930s. His nephew was singer Sacha Distel. Career Ventura was born t ...

recorded a version entitled "Sifflez en travaillant" in the jazz guitar and swing style, featured on the album "Intégrale Django Reinhardt Vol 7 (1937-1938)".Intégrale Django Reinhardt Vol 7 (1937-1938) *

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re-f ...

covered the song as part of the track "Medley Four" in the 1988 tribute album '' Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films''. *

Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo/D'Angelo Holmes on February 13, 1979). They are not twin brothers. They did the windows to the walls song. The ...

interpolated the song in 2000's "

Whistle While You Twurk "Whistle While You Twurk" is a song by American hip hop group Ying Yang Twins. It was released on March 12, 2000 as the lead single from their debut studio album '' Thug Walkin (2000). Produced by Mr. Collipark, the song contains an interpolat ...

". *

Katy Tiz Kate Alexandra Tizzard (born 6 July 1988) is a British pop singer-songwriter. She covered Rock Mafia's single "The Big Bang (song), The Big Bang" in 2014 to moderate success. She subsequently signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. ...

had a song similar to “Whistle While You Work” called Whistle (While You Work It). The songs video uses animated animals helping Tiz just like in the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

References

External links

* (on Disney's official channel) {{Authority control 1937 songs 1938 singles Songs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film) Songs with music by Frank Churchill Music published by Bourne Co. Music Publishers Songs with lyrics by Larry Morey Songs written for films Songs about labor Alvin and the Chipmunks songs Bluebird Records singles