Children's chant

[Laurence Horn]

>"Colonel Bogey's March" was composed in 1914 by "Kenneth Alford"
>(Frederick J. Ricketts). It is said by Brophy & Partridge to have
>been the most popular march among British Army bands
>during World War I.
>
>JL

Aha.  It all makes sense, now.  I tried googling "Colonel Bogey's
March" and kept turning up sites related to BotRK.

L

>Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Laurence Horn
>Subject: Re: Children's chant
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>>It was widely sung in all anglophone armies during WWII.
>
>Right, but from what I understand the present tense would have
>allowed the first line to be rendered as "Hitler # has only got one
>ball". But actually that brings up the question of chronology.
>BotRK came out in 1957. Was the tune already well-established during
>WWII and just popularized by the movie? What's the story?
>
>>  BTW, "Goebbels" is pronounced in this unique case to rhyme with "no balls."
>
>Indeed, but given the usual random anglicization tendencies combined
>with a perhaps intentional disrespect I could imagine this
>pronunciation would not have been restricted to the exigencies of
>rhyming.
>
>L
>
>>
>>I also heard it from a college chum in 1970.
>>
>>JL
>>George Thompson wrote:
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>Sender: American Dialect Society
>>Poster: George Thompson
>>Subject: Re: Children's chant
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Larry Horn submits:
>>
>>>  and then there was the related (via Col. Bogey rather than Disney, of
>>>  course) verse, discussed on the list some years ago,
>>>
>>>  Hitler # had only one, left ball,
>>>  Goering # had two but they were small.
>>>  Himmler # had something similar,
>>>  And Goebbals
>>>  Had no balls
>>>  At all.
>>>
>>
>>Brendan Behan quotes this in Borstal Boy.
>>
>>GAT
>>
>>George A. Thompson
>>Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
>>Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>>
>>
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