Polly-Wolly-Doodle (Student's Songs 1884)

"Polly Wolly Doodle" is a traditional American children's song. It was sung by Dan Emmett's

Virginia Minstrels The Virginia Minstrels or Virginia Serenaders was a group of 19th-century American entertainers who helped invent the entertainment form known as the minstrel show. Led by Dan Emmett, the original lineup consisted of Emmett, Billy Whitlock, ...

, who premiered at New York's

Bowery Amphitheatre The Bowery Amphitheatre was a building in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City. It was located at 37 and 39 Bowery, across the street from the Bowery Theatre. Under a number of different names and managers, the structure served as a circus, m ...

in February 1843, and is often credited to Emmett (1815–1904). It was known to have been performed by the

Yale Glee Club The Yale Glee Club is a mixed chorus of men and women, consisting of students of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1861, it is the third oldest collegiate chorus in the United States after the Harvard Glee Club, founded in ...

in 1878, and was first published in a Harvard student songbook in 1880. "Polly Wolly Doodle" appears in the manuscript for

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

's novel, ''

These Happy Golden Years ''These Happy Golden Years'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1943, the eighth of nine books in her ''Little House'' series – although it originally ended it. It is based on her later ado ...

'' (1943), exactly as it is used in the published version. The melody of the song, as it is usually sung, formed the basis for

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

's hit "

Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" is a 1979 single by German Euro disco band Boney M. as an adaptation of nursery rhyme '' Polly Wolly Doodle''. Despite breaking their row of 7 consecutive German #1 singles, peaking at #4, the single was a ...

" in 1979, and for Alexandra Burke's song " Start Without You". The tune is also found in children's music, including the Sunday school song "O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E", "Radio Lollipop" by the German group

die Lollipops Die Lollipops was a children's music, children's band which formed in Germany in the summer of 2000 under the Edelkids record label, label, a subsidiary of Edel Music. Music Their music can be divided into three basic types: * Traditional childr ...

, and the ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...

'' songs "Alphabet Soup" (using only the tune of the first verse) and "If I Had One Wish" (which uses both verses).

Notable recordings

* 1917: Harry C. Browne * 1926:

Gid Tanner James Gideon "Gid" Tanner (June 6, 1885 – May 13, 1960) was an American old-time fiddler and one of the earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the Skillet Lickers, was one of the most innovative and influe ...

and the

Skillet Lickers The Skillet Lickers were an old-time band from Georgia, United States. When Gid Tanner teamed up with blind guitarist Riley Puckett and signed to Columbia in 1924, they created the label's earliest so-called "hillbilly" recording. Gid Tanner ...

(as "Polly Wolly Doo"). * 1939:

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

(as "Polly Wolly Doodle All Day") * 1940: Shirley Temple * 1961: Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album '' 101 Gang Songs''. * 1962: Alvin and the Chipmunks on their album '' The Chipmunk Songbook'' * 1964:

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

* 1976:

Leon Redbone Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian; August 26, 1949 – May 30, 2019) was a singer-songwriter and musician specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized by his hat (often a Panama hat), dark sunglasses, and black tie, Re ...

on his album ''

On the Track ''On the Track'' is debut album from Leon Redbone, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1975, and reissued on CD in 1988. The album features a cover illustration by Chuck Jones depicting the character Michigan J. Frog. Track listing Side One ...

'' * 1979:

(as "

") * 1979:

Baton Baton Mein ''Baton Baton Mein'' () is a 1979 Indian romantic comedy film, produced and directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film stars Amol Palekar and Tina Munim in leading roles. David, Pearl Padamsee, Asrani and Ranjit Choudhary appear in supporting role ...

(as "Uthe sabke Kadam" by Amit Kumar, Pearl, Rajesh Roshan and Yogesh) * 1982: Sandra Beech sings "Holi-Holiday" on her record, "Inch by Inch" * 1989:

Wee Sing Wee or WEE may refer to: * Wee, a slang term for urine (see also wee-wee) * Wee, short stature, or otherwise small Anthroponym * Wee (surname), Chinese surname and name * Wee Willie Harris, singer * Wee Willie Webber, Philadelphia TV and ...

Fun 'n' Folk * 1991:

The Singing Kettle The Singing Kettle (also known as Artie's Singing Kettle) are a folk music and entertainment group from Scotland who perform traditional children's songs, along with live theatre performances. Originally from the village of Kingskettle in Fife, ...

(as "Mice on Ice" on their ''Christmas Cracker Show'' video; coincidentally two years later they recorded "Polly Wolly Doodle" with a different tune and set of lyrics for the ''Adventures in Kettleland'' video) * 2002:

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retell ...

on their album on CD, ''Bob and Larry's Backyard Party'' * 2003:

The Cheeky Girls The Cheeky Girls are a Romanian singing duo consisting of identical twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia (both born 31 October 1982). After appearing as auditionees on '' Popstars: The Rivals'', they achieved success in the UK charts with fou ...

(as "(Hooray, Hooray) It's A Cheeky Holiday") * 2009: Alexandra Burke (as " Start Without You")

Appearances in film and television

* Shirley Temple sings "Polly Wolly Doodle" in the 1935 film ''

The Littlest Rebel ''The Littlest Rebel'' is a 1935 American musical drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Edwin J. Burke was adapted from a play of the same name by Edward Peple. Cast * Shirley Temple as Virgie Cary * John Boles as Herbert Ca ...

''. * The song is featured in two Frank Capra films: '' You Can't Take It with You'' (1938) and ''

Pocketful of Miracles ''Pocketful of Miracles'' is a 1961 American comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, produced and directed by Frank Capra, filmed in Panavision. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend was based on Robert Riskin's screenplay for ...

'' (1961). * The song is the theme of the 1938 ''Donald Duck'' short film ''

Good Scouts ''Good Scouts'' is a 1938 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon follows Donald Duck leading his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie ...

'', in which it is played over the opening credits and sung by Donald and his nephews on their march. * Clark Gable sings the song while wildcatting in the 1940 film ''Boomtown''. *

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

sings the song while driving his car in the opening scene of the 1947 short film '' Well Oiled''. * Character actor

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. ...

sings the song continually (and eventually gets the whole Anderson family to sing along) in the first episode of season three of the TV show ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by ...

''. This episode originally aired 12 September 1956. * The song appears at the 2:19 mark of Sam Peckinpah's 1969 ''

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'', sung by

Strother Martin Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable pe ...

's character, Coffer. * Julie Andrews sings the song in the opening faux-musical set piece of '' S.O.B'' (1981) and the tune is heard several times throughout the film. * Robert Culp sings "Polly Wolly Doodle" in The Greatest American Hero - Season 3, Episode 4 (1982) - The Resurrection of Carlini * The

Kidsongs ''Kidsongs'' is an American children's media franchise that includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, The Kidsongs TV Show, CDs of favorite children's songs, song books, sheet music, toys and an ecommerce website. It was created by ...

kids sing the song in the 1987 video "A Day at the Circus". * The Juke Box Puppet Band performs the piece in an episode of ''

Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is an American children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the Ame ...

'' * Kimmy Gibbler (

Andrea Barber Andrea Laura Barber (born July 3, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for playing Kimmy Gibbler in the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' and the Netflix sequel series '' Fuller House''. Early life Barber is the youngest of three children. She ...

) sings the song in a 1991 episode of ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best ...

''. * Mr. Hollywood sings the song constantly in episodes of ''

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''. * In the ''

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'' Episode, Island of Dr. Mystico, The villains sing the song, poorly, in the plane scene. * In the video games ''Pokémon Red'', ''Green'', ''Blue'', and ''

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

'', as well as the '' Pokémon: Indigo League'' anime, the composition "Road to Viridian City Leaving Pallet Town" sounds similar to "Polly Wolly Doodle". * The song is played in a get-well card in the ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'' season 4 episode "Monk Stays in Bed" (2005). * In the ''

Even Stevens ''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes over three seasons. It follows the life of the Stevens, a family living in subur ...

'' episode, “Little Mr. Sacktown”, Beans armpit farts to the tune of “Polly Wolly Doodle". * In the video game ''

Red Dead Redemption 2 ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in 1899 and f ...

'', NPC's can occasionally be heard playing the song on a banjo.

References

{{Authority control American folk songs Blackface minstrel songs 1880 songs American children's songs Traditional children's songs Songs about Louisiana Shirley Temple songs Bing Crosby songs Alvin and the Chipmunks songs