John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt

"John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt" is a traditional children's song that originates from the United States and Canada. The song consists of one verse repeated (usually four times), each time increasing or decreasing in volume or tempo.

Lyrics and melody

There are various lyrics to the song; for example, in the following version, the verse is repeated four times, often while altering the tempo or pitch:[1]

Musical scores are temporarily disabled.

Origin

While the origins of the song are obscure, some evidence places its roots with vaudeville and theatre acts of the late 19th century and early 20th century popular in immigrant communities. Some vaudeville acts during the era, such as the work of Joe Weber and Lew Fields, often gave voice to shared frustrations of German-American immigrants and heavily leaned on malapropisms and difficulties with the English language as a vehicle for their humor.[2] "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" shares many characteristics with "My Name Is Jan Jansen", a song that can trace its origin to Swedish vaudeville in the late 19th century.

The song appears to have already become widely known by the mid-twentieth century. It received a major boost when it was circulated throughout the country during scout troop gatherings in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1926, the The Times newspaper of Munster, Indiana printed that, during a Girl Scout outing, the scouts sat around a camp fire and "it was solemnly announced that John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith after a long and useful life had died from overwork on the way to Whiting. He was buried with due ceremony and his ghost is not to be seen until October first. All the favorite camp songs were sung."[3] In 1927, the Portsmouth Daily Times reported that a group of boys from the state YMCA camp sang several camp songs, including "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt."[4] In 1931, Elmira, New York newspaper the Star-Gazette reported that at a Boy Scout gathering at Seneca Lake, as scouts entered the mess hall, "Troop 18 soon burst into the first camp song, 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith'."[5] A 1941 Milwaukee Journal article also refers to the song, with the same alternate title of "John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith."[6]

The song is indefinitely repetitive, in a similar manner to "The Song That Never Ends", "My Name Is Jan Jansen" or "Michael Finnegan."

Versions of the song appear in other languages, such as the Spanish rendition, "Juan Paco Pedro de la Mar."

Notable appearances

Note and references
  1. "Bug Juice Days" Lynch, Dan
  2. Wasson, Andrew. "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt is not a Person". Dairy River. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. The Times of Munster, Indiana. "Girl Scout Hike". July 29, 1926, p. 6. Retrieved on February 2, 2021.
  4. Portsmouth Daily Times. "Hold Reunion". January 18, 1927, p. 3. Retrieved on February 2, 2021.
  5. Elmira Star-Gazette. "Scouts Open Camp Seneca Term Sunday". July 6, 1931, p. 8. Retrieved on May 29, 2019.
  6. Milwaukee Journal. "Youth Finds Fun at Fair". August 17, 1941, p. 4. Retrieved on May 24, 2019.
  7. Daddy Dewdrop, "Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It)" single release Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  8. IMDB Retrieved May 24, 2019
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