"Merrily We Roll Along" is a song written by

Charlie Tobias Charles Tobias (August 15, 1898 – July 7, 1970) was an American songwriter. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Tobias grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with brothers Harry Tobias and Henry Tobias, also songwriters. He started hi ...

, Murray Mencher, and

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

in 1935, and used in the ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' cartoon ''

Billboard Frolics ''Billboard Frolics'' is a 1935 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on November 16, 1935. The short features the song " Merrily We Roll Along" (which would later become the opening theme for the Merrie ...

'' that same year. It is best known as the theme of

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

' ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon series. The first two lines of Cantor's recording are: :Merrily we roll along, my honey and me :Verily there's no one half as happy as we In the 1970s, it was adopted by WGN as the theme music for '' The Ray Rayner Show'', which featured Warner Bros. cartoons. In 1995, it was used as the closing theme of ''

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries ''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation which aired from September 9, 1995 to February 5, 2000 on Kids' WB. The final episode, containing the segments "The Tail End?" and ...

''. The song shares a title with the 1934 play '' Merrily We Roll Along'' by

George S. Kaufman George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. ...

and

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

, but is unrelated to it. The song is also an introduction to all the

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

concerts in their tour Not in This Lifetime... Tour. The old folk song "

Goodnight, Ladies "Goodnight, Ladies" is a folk song attributed to Edwin Pearce Christy, originally intended to be sung during a minstrel show. Drawing from an 1847 song by Christy entitled "Farewell, Ladies", the song as known today was first published on May 16 ...

" contains the line "Merrily we roll along", which is often used as a child's nursery rhyme. The tune from the first line of the Tobias-Mencher-Cantor song matches that line from "Goodnight, Ladies", but the tunes diverge from there.

External links

A website containing Cantor's recording of the song
Looney Tunes songs Songs written by Charles Tobias 1935 songs Animated series theme songs Comedy television theme songs Children's television theme songs {{1930s-song-stub