Nonsense and Novelty Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mares eat oats

The lyrics in part are:

"Mairzy doats and dozy doats
And liddle lamzy divey"

translates to

"Mares eat oats
And does eat oats
And little lambs eat ivy"

Composer Milton Drake ran across an old English nursery rhyme that went "Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters" or "Cows eat wheat and sows eat wheat and little sharks eat oysters". He thought he could make something of that and result was "Mairsy Doats". He had difficulty finding a publisher but when it came on the market in 1944 it was an instant hit.

In pop-culture the ditty was used in Woody Allen's "Radio Days" (1987) and in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" (1990).

Answer: No known language or dialect

The words are pure gibberish concocted by the three composers but few people bothered to check. Supposedly, "Rawlson" is Swedish town, "rillerah" a stream, "brawla" a boy and girl. "Hut-Sut" is their dream.

It was recorded first by Horace Heidt's band in 1941 then at various times by Mel Tormé, Freddy Martin, The Four King Sisters and Spike Jones. It has used in at least three films "From Here to Eternity", "Ace in the Hole", and "A Christmas Story".

Answer: Putty Putty

Bulee "Slim" Gaillard wrote "Cement Mixer". He is sometimes given credit for developing 'jive talk' and wrote a dictionary on the subject. As a talented jazz musician the original idea was not just to add to the jive lexicon but to provide a framework for jazz improvisation for other jazz artists. He was often compared to Cab Calloway and Louis Jordan.

After repeating "Cement Mixer, Putty Putty" five times, the next two lines are

"A puddle o' vooty, a puddle o' gooty,
A puddle o' scooby, a puddle o' veet concrete."

One of the most popular recordings of the song was by Liberace who played it seriously on his candelabra-decked piano with operatic overtones.

Answer: Jimmy Durante

Jimmy Durante left school in the seventh grade to become a jazz pianist. He sent time in all points of entertainment in his career: band leader, composer, comedian, vaudevillian, and comic relief in films, radio, and television. Through many of these steps he sang with his distinctive clipped gravelly voice:

"Ink a dink a dink, a dink a dink, a dink a doo
Oh what a tune for croonin'
Ink a dink a dink, a dink a dink, a dink a doo
It's got the whole world swoonin'"

In his act attention was often called to the size of his nose and it was sometimes referred to as "The Great Schnozzola". Equally remembered is his sign-off "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." Durante told several stories about who Mrs. Calabash was but it is generally believed that it was allusion to his first wife who died in 1943.

Answer: Little Richard

Little Richard had a so-so career in recordings but in 1955 "Tutti Frutti" sent him to the top of the charts. The original lyrics were rather risque but were sanitized for mixed audiences. It is regarded as one of the most influential songs of early rock n' roll. The song is often credited to Little Richard but that has been in dispute.

Pat Boone was persuaded to record "Tutti Fruiti" but Little Richard did not mind because it opened his music up to a wider white audience. When it was recorded it was often with some modification of the lyrics. Among those who recorded it are Queen, Elton John, Elvis Presley, and Sting.

Answer: Three Little Fishies

The song by Josephine Carringer, Bernice Idins and Saxie Dowell made a splash as a novelty song and was recorded by a host of artists. Briefly, the story is of three little 'fishies' who don't obey their mother and swim away but return when they find out about the sharks in the world. In recent years it has been used as a children's song.

Glenn Miller, Hal Kemp, and Liberace all took a turn with the 'fishies' but the best recording was by the Andrew Sisters or the parody by Homer and Jethro.

Answer: Baha Men

Anslem Douglas of Trinidad did the original recording in 1998. It was picked up by the Baha Men and through some aggressive promotion they got it placed in the film "Rugrats in Paris" followed by a single. It went to number one in Australia and New Zealand and number two in the UK. It is mostly regarded as a dance tune. It has been the subject of copyright infringement.

The song is kept alive as many sport teams and arenas have adopted it as means of enlivening games. For instance, the Mississippi State Bulldogs gave been known to use it as well as soccer teams.

Who can forget those great lyrics?

"Who let the dogs out {woof, woof, woof, woof}
Who let the dogs out {woof, woof, woof, woof}
Who let the dogs out {woof, woof, woof, woof}
Who let the dogs out {woof, woof, woof, woof}"

Answer: Sue

The multi-talented Shel Silverstein wrote the song, influenced by his friend Jean Shepard. It was given to Johnny Cash to be included in his live concert at San Quentin Prison, although Silverstein planned to record it himself. The song was heard on radio stations across the United States and Canada. It became Cash's most popular song.

The song concerns a boy named Sue who made quest to find the father who had deserted his family and had named him Sue. When he found him and they had a bitter fight, the father explained that he named him Sue to make him tough.

"ya ought to thank me, before I die
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
'Cause I'm the son-of-a-bleep that named you Sue"

History records that male attorney Sue K. Hicks was a prosecutor at the famous Scopes trial in Tennessee. He was named for his mother.

Answer: Allan Sherman

Sherman wrote several versions as years passed to add new material. Sherman developed the original concept for the panel show "I've Got a Secret" and became its producer. He was fired after several incidents went awry on the show such as releasing a hundred rabbits.

But anyone who was sent to summer camp could relate to his most famous song sung to the tune of Amilcare Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours".

"I went hiking with Joe Spivy
He developed poison ivy
You remember Leonard Skinner
He got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner".

Sherman suffered from obesity, alcoholism, and emphysema and died at 48. His career and marriage had collapsed and he lived on unemployment benefits.

Answer: They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa

"They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa" was sung by Jerry Samuels, using the alias Napoleon XIV. Samuels was an audio engineer. Leaving the novelty song aspects aside, it was something of a sound achievement for 1966. A snare drum and tambourine provide the rhythmic background and a variable-frequency oscillator was used to change pitch of the voice. The vocal glissando was achieved manipulating tape recording speeds. The flip side had the same material but was played in complete reverse.

The song quickly peaked at number three but fell fast as mental health groups tried to have it banned as it ridiculed people with mental health issues. They did not see any satire, parody, or redeeming social value in:

"And They're coming to take me away Ha Ha
They're coming to take me away ho ho he he ha ha
To the loony bin with all you can eat prescription drugs like thorizine, and lithium, and electric shock and insulin
They're coming to take me away Ha Ha"

Music critic Dave Marsh call it the"most obnoxious song ever to appear in a jukebox".