"Ging Gang Gooli(-e)" or "Ging Gang Goo" (below “Ging Gang”) is a

gibberish Gibberish, also called jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense. It may include speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, or language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsi ...

song, widely spread around the world. It is popular among

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

and

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

Origin

In 1905 the song, with Scandinavian spelling of the

, was presented at a New Year’s cabaret in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden. The lyrics and the melody were presumably derived from student singing in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

is often quoted as the originator of the song, but there is no evidence that he was involved in its creation nor its introduction. After early adoption by the Scandinavian Scout organisations, the song became eventually (starting in the 1940s and 1950s) a global hit among Scouts. The Ging Gang melody is today the same as in 1905, whereas the spelling of the lyrics has changed in translations. The 1905 lyrics:

Hinkan, kolikolikolikolifejsan / Kinkan koh, kinkan koh
Hinkan, kolikolikolikolifejsan / Kinkan koh, kinkan koh
Ava, illa shava / O illa shava / Kolifejs!
Ava, illa shava / O illa shava / Kolifejs!
Tjolafalla, tjolafalla!

Phoneticized to English (earliest documented version 1952; many other variations in spelling and phonemes exist):

Ging gang, goolie goolie goolie goolie watcha / Ging gang goo, Ging gang goo
Ging gang, goolie goolie goolie goolie watcha / Ging gang goo, Ging gang goo
Heyla, heyla sheyla / Heyla sheyla / Heyla, ho!
Heyla, heyla sheyla / Heyla sheyla / Heyla, ho!
Shallawalla, shallawalla! / Shallawalla, shallawalla!
Oompah-oompah! / Oompah-oompah!

Versions

The century long popularity of Ging Gang is reflected by its inclusion (with various spellings and settings) in song books and records and other media all over the world - and today by the large number of youtube videos from different sources and with different purposes: scouts, orchestras, fitness/dance classes, night club, etc. In 1926, the probably earliest commercial record with a version of Ging Gang, Kinkan, was recorded in New York by the Columbia Phonograph Company: an arrangement for male choir, “Kinkan-Halvan”, with "Gleeklubben” in Brooklyn and the musical group "Lyran". The second part, “Halvan”, is a drinking song from the 1860-ies.. In 1969, a version was recorded by British comedic group The Scaffold. Released as a single, "Gin Gan Goolie" reached number 38 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 1978, British parody satire band

The Rutles The Rutles () were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series ''Rutland We ...

recorded a version of the song. The song was only released in the UK, and never officially released as part of an album. In 1991 Dorothy Unterschutz, a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Scout Leader A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

from

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, wrote a dramatization of the song in the form of a tale named "The Great Grey Ghost Elephant". It was published in

Scouts Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French ...

's ''The Leader'' magazine in the 1991 June–July Issue (p. 7). The tale has also become a hit.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1905 establishments in Sweden 1905 songs 1900s in Gothenburg Scouting Institutional songs Swedish songs Gibberish language