Mairzy Doats
E1042008
"Mairzy Doats" is a novelty song from the 1940s, famous for its playful, nonsensical lyrics that became a popular hit and cultural catchphrase.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Mairzy Doats canonical | 2 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
novelty song
ⓘ
song ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats and Little Lambsy Divey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| chartSuccess |
hit in the United Kingdom
ⓘ
hit in the United States ⓘ |
| composer |
Al Hoffman
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Jerry Livingston NERFINISHED ⓘ Milton Drake NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| culturalImpact |
became a popular catchphrase
ⓘ
widely quoted in American popular culture ⓘ |
| era |
World War II
ⓘ
surface form:
World War II era
|
| finalClarifyingLine |
"If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey"
ⓘ
"Sing 'mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy'" ⓘ |
| firstPopularRecordingBy | Merry Macs NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
novelty
ⓘ
popular music ⓘ |
| hasForm | verse-chorus form ⓘ |
| hasInstrumentation | dance band arrangements ⓘ |
| hasLyricsStyle |
nonsense lyrics
ⓘ
tongue twister ⓘ |
| hasMeter | simple duple meter ⓘ |
| hasNotability |
example of 1940s novelty hit
ⓘ
remembered for playful nonsensical lyrics ⓘ |
| hasRefrain | Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey ⓘ |
| hasTempo | up-tempo ⓘ |
| hasTheme | hidden meaning revealed in final line ⓘ |
| influenced | later novelty songs using nonsense lyrics ⓘ |
| intendedAudienceReaction |
amusement
ⓘ
humor ⓘ |
| isInCatalogOf | American popular standards ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| lyricalFeature | based on mispronunciation of the phrase "mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy" ⓘ |
| lyricist |
Al Hoffman
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Jerry Livingston NERFINISHED ⓘ Milton Drake NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| medium | popular song ⓘ |
| notableRecordingBy |
Alvino Rey and His Orchestra
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Bing Crosby NERFINISHED ⓘ Merry Macs NERFINISHED ⓘ The Pied Pipers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| performancePractice | often performed in a light comedic style ⓘ |
| releasePeriod | 1940s ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
language play
ⓘ
wordplay ⓘ |
| titleSpellingVariant | Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats and Liddle Lamzy Divey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedAs |
children’s rhyme
ⓘ
party song ⓘ |
| yearPopularized | 1944 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.