Mairzy Doats

The song "Mairzy Doats," performed by the Merry Macs, became a surprise hit in 1944. The song is probably familiar to some of you, but for those who haven't heard it, it's worth having a listen because it's definitely one of the odder songs to ever become a chart topper. Its appeal was probably that it provided some comic relief during the war.

The song had an apparently nonsense refrain:

Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

But if you listened to the refrain carefully, it made sense as English. Read more about it at wikipedia.




1944 cartoon from the Ogden Standard-Examiner
     Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 01, 2013
     Category: Music | 1940s





Comments
Ah, come on, where do you think duwhop and bang-shang-a-lang came from?
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 08/01/13 at 10:57 AM
Little does Alex know that I wrote a story with the title "Mairzy Doats" many years ago, which earned the cover image on the zine it appeared in.

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?47685

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?61114
Posted by Paul on 08/01/13 at 11:24 AM
So, Paul, did you actually meet the famed Mairzy Doats when you wrote her biography?
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 08/01/13 at 11:28 AM
Alas, no meeting with Mairzy Doats herself. BUT! Shortly afterward the son of the song's composer contacted me, and we struck up a friendship!
Posted by Paul on 08/01/13 at 11:46 AM
I grew up hearing my Dad play this song, but from a different group. A Big Band, but I don't remember who. It also reminds me of "Down in the Meadow in a Little Bitty Pool".
Posted by Mike on 08/01/13 at 01:17 PM
Prepare to groan and facepalm!
http://www.hirezfox.com/km/co/comics/co20130424a.jpg
One of the best (worst) puns of mairzy doats... ever!
Posted by Captain DaFt on 08/01/13 at 04:51 PM
The Spike Jones arrangement is pretty funny.
Posted by KDP on 08/01/13 at 05:23 PM
There was another verse:

Oh frogzy bugz
and birdzy bugs
and liddle dogzy dliver
a kiddly dliver too, wooden you?
Posted by Cecil Rose on 08/01/13 at 05:23 PM
I always thought it was mares eat oats, and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy....
Posted by Kenneth on 08/02/13 at 12:15 PM
During one of my Deutsch classes we had to practice some local tongue twisters and rhymes.
I laid this one on our instructor along with "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck". Which incidentally, Siri will answer.
Posted by Billy on 08/12/13 at 11:28 AM
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