"Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!" is a song composed by Abe Olman (1887–1984), lyricized by

Ed Rose Ed Rose is an American sound engineer and record producer. He has worked extensively with groups in the modern emo and pop punk scenes. He also co-owns Black Lodge Recording with Rob Pope and his brother Ryan Pope, members of the emo band The ...

(pseudonym for Edward Smackels Jr.; 1875–1935), and

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

by Forster Music Publisher, Inc. The music was copyrighted 7 February 1917 and the copyright was renewed 29 December 1944. Under the

Copyright Term Extension Act The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act – also known as the Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or (derisively) the Mickey Mouse Protection Act – extended copyright terms in the United States in 1998. It is one of several ac ...

(1998), the sheet music is in the public domain, as is all music published in the U.S. prior to 1923. Its melody and structure form the basis of a self-calling circle dance, using square dance steps and popular in summer camps.

Lyrics

; Original lyrics, 1917, by

:; 1st verse (16 bars, , E♭ Major) : ''All the girls are crazy about a certain little lad,'' : ''Al-tho he's very, very bad,'' : ''He could be, oh, so good when he wanted to'' : ''Bad or good he understood 'bout love and other things,'' : ''For every girl in town followed him around,'' : ''Just to hold his hand and sing:'' :; Chorus (32 bars) : ''Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny!'' : ''How you can love!'' : ''Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny!'' : ''Heavens above!'' : ''You make my sad heart jump with joy,'' : ''And when you're near I just'' : ''Can't sit still a minute. I'm so,'' : ''Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny!'' : ''Please tell me dear.'' : ''What makes me love you so?'' : ''You're not handsome, it's true,'' : ''But when I look at you,'' : ''I just, Oh, Johnny!'' : ''Oh, Johnny! Oh!'' :; 2nd verse : ''Johnny tried his best to hide from every girl he knew,'' : ''But even this he couldn't do,'' : ''For they would follow him most everywhere,'' : ''Then his friends got him to spend a week or two at home'' : ''It's worse now than before, 'cause the girl next door hollers thru the telephone:'' : (chorus) ---- ;

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

patriotic version, 1917, lyrics added by Raymond A. Sherwood :; Verse : ''Uncle Sam is calling now for ev'ry mother's son'' : ''To go get behind a gun and keep Old Glory waving on the sea'' : ''Now prepare to be right there to help the cause along'' : ''To every chap you meet when you're on the street'' : ''You can sing this little song:'' :; Chorus : ''Oh, Johnny, oh Johnny, why do you lag?'' : ''Oh, Johnny, oh Johnny, run to your flag'' : ''You're county's calling can't you hear?'' : ''Don't stay behind while others do all the fighting, Start to'' : ''Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny! Get right in line,'' : ''And help to crush to foe.'' : ''You're a big husky chap,'' : ''Uncle Sam's in a scrap, You must!'' : ''Go, Johnny! Go, Johnny! Go!'' ---- ; Self-Calling circle dance version, date unknown :; (To the chorus melody) : ''Well, you all join hands as you circle the ring'' : ''Stop where you are, give your honey a swing'' : ''Swing that little gal behind you'' : ''Swing your own, if you have time when you get home'' : ''Allemande left with the corner gal'' : ''Do-si-do with your own'' : ''Then you all promenade'' : ''With the sweet corner maid'' : ''Singing "Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny! Oh!"''

Inspiration for the song

According to an August 1945

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

article,

wrote the song when his friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Hansen of

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, began dating while attending college in Indiana. They were so conspicuously in love that Rose, also their classmate, wrote the song about them and presented them with the original manuscript.

Notable recordings

* Premier Quartet :

Blue Amberol Records Blue Amberol Records was the trademark name for phonograph cylinder, cylinder records manufactured by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in the United States, US from 1912 to 1929. They replaced the 4-minute black wax Amberol cylinders introduced in 1908, w ...

wax cylinder Phonograph cylinders (also referred to as Edison cylinders after its creator Thomas Edison) are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their heyday (c. 1896–1916), a name which ...

(1917) *

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo ...

with the Vic Schoen Orchestra : 2840

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

; 10 inch (1939) : Recorded November 9, 1939, New York City : Side A

matrix Matrix (: matrices or matrixes) or MATRIX may refer to: Science and mathematics * Matrix (mathematics), a rectangular array of numbers, symbols or expressions * Matrix (logic), part of a formula in prenex normal form * Matrix (biology), the m ...

66498 : /www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuactAjlacM Audio sample * Bonnie Baker with Orrin Tucker and His Orchestra : Columbia,

; 10 inch (1939) : Recorded August 20, 1939, Los Angeles : Side A — vocal version by Bonnie Baker : Side B — instrumental version by Orin Tucker and His Orchestra : /www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dD1wXNhJco Audio sample: Pop hit on the Billboard Charts for 14 weeks, quickly became the top-selling record for the Columbia Recording Corporation, with 1.5 million records by the end of 1940 *

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

with orchestra conducted by

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

: Album: ''

I Like Men! ''I Like Men!'' is a 1959 studio album recorded by American singer Peggy Lee, arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall. Track listing # " Charley, My Boy" (Ted Fio Rito, Gus Kahn) – 1:35 # "Good-For-Nothin' Joe" (Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler)& ...

'' :

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, 33 1/3 rpm, 12 inch (April 1959) stereo mono : Recorded 1959 : /www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONovrmvcLG4 Audio sample *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

and Her Famous Orchestra : NBC broadcasts : Recorded January 25, 1940, at the

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Kathy Linden Kathy Linden (born 1938) (died 2024) is an American pop singer from Moorestown Township, New Jersey. She grew up in Burlington, New Jersey. Biography Linden scored two big hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 late in the 1950s. The first w ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1958 entitled "Oh Johnny, Oh!".Kathy Linden, "Oh Johnny, Oh!" single release
Retrieved January 22, 2016.

Filmography

* ''Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love'' (1940 film), directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was an American filmmaker, known for directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed nine Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography ...

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

* '' Spotlight Scandals'' (1943 musical film), directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out a remarkable 179 feature-length films in a wide variety of genres. He is best know ...

:: Starring

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...

, Bonnie Baker,

Harry Langdon Henry Philmore "Harry" Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American actor and comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', December 27 ...

* ''

Swing Shift Cinderella ''Swing Shift Cinderella'' is a 1945 MGM animated cartoon short subject directed by Tex Avery. The plot involves the Big Bad Wolf and Cinderella. Frank Graham voiced the wolf, and Sara Berner voiced both Cinderella and The Fairy Grandmother, wi ...

'' (1945), directed by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...

:: Sung as "Oh, Wolfy" by Red (voiced by

Imogene Lynn Imogene Lynn (1922 – 2003) was a 20th-century American jazz and pop singer. Biography Lynn was born September 9, 1922, in Trenton, Missouri. She began singing professionally in 1940, singing with Emerson Gill and other bands on a national to ...

) as Cinderella * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005 film) :: During the scene when the children are playing hide and seek — when Lucy goes through the wardrobe *"Blitz" (2024 film)

Original publications

* ''Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh,''

Sheet music (public domain)

See sheet music collections: *

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

—
IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana
' *

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

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USC Music Library: ''Sheet Music Catalog''

References

{{Authority control 1917 songs 1939 singles 1958 singles Songs with music by Abe Olman Kathy Linden songs American patriotic songs