Not to be confused with Lostprophets song "For He's a Jolly Good Felon".

"For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" is a song which is sung to congratulate a person on a significant event, such as a retirement, a promotion, a birthday, the birth of a child, or the winning of a championship sporting event. The melody originates from that of the French song "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre." The traditional children's song, The Bear Went Over the Mountain is sung to the same tune.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" is the second-most popular song in the English language, following "Happy Birthday to You" and followed by "Auld Lang Syne." It is frequently used instead of "Happy Birthday to You" in films and TV to avoid possible copyright issues.

History

The tune was originally composed the night after the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709.^[1]

Lyrics

As with many songs that use gender-specific pronouns, the song can be altered to agree with the sex of the intended recipient, "he" being replaced with "she."

American version

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (hold then pause), which nobody can deny

Which nobody can deny, which nobody can deny

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (hold then pause), which nobody can deny!

British and Australian version

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us

And so say all of us, and so say all of us

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us

Variations

• The British and American versions can be combined, normally with "and so say all of us" in the middle of the verse, and "which nobody can deny" at the end.
• Amongst certain groups a different word is substituted for "fellow."
• In Spain, it is often sung at every birthday instead of Happy Birthday To You.

In popular culture

• Sung in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai.
• Played in the beginning of Saint Valentine's Day massacre scene of Some Like It Hot.
• The 1977 Disney animated feature film The Rescuers featured a variation of the song called "For Penny's a Jolly Good Fellow."
• The "People's Front of Judea" sung it to Brian in the ending scene of Monty Python's Life of Brian.
• The song is sung by officers in the 1954 movie The Caine Mutiny.
• The song is sung to Mrs. Peacock in the second ending of the 1985 film Clue.
• In the movie Grease, the T-Birds sing this to Danny Zuko after he wins the race at Thunder Road.
• The song is sung to Benjamin Sisko in congratulations of his promotion to captain in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Adversary".
• Fans of Arsenal F.C. have a variation called "Jolly Good Vela," named after fan-favorite Carlos Vela.
• In the 2009 film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the character Zartan (played by Arnold Vosloo) has the habit of whistling the song.
• This song Sung to "Toot" in Holly Hobby's "Toot & Puddle."
• This song is frequently sung on the Nickelodeon television show iCarly.
• In the 1975 episode "Disturbing the Peace" in Ronnie Barker's famous TV show Porridge, every inmate sings the song on the return of Mr. Mackay.
• In the episode "The Good Sport" on Arthur, Francine starts singing the song to Jenna because Jenna won Athlete of the Year Award. The other students in Francine's class uncomfortably join in.

See also

See also in the movie "John Rabe", the life-safer for many chinese people in Nanjing in 1937

References

External links

• For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, Lyrics and Sound