Harrigan (song)
Encyclopedia
"Harrigan" is a song written by George M. Cohan
for the 1907 Broadway
musical, Fifty Miles From Boston. It celebrates, and to some extent mocks, his own Irish
heritage.
The song was performed by James Cagney
and Joan Leslie
in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy
, a biopic of Cohan's life. In that film it was portrayed as an early work of Cohan's that he was shopping around. In real life, by 1907 he had already scored some major Broadway hits and had little need to try to sell individual songs to producers.
Contemporary Irish-American singer Billy Murray
made a popular recording of the song. In his version, the answer "Harrigan!" to each question is shouted by a background group.
The song was used decades later for a 1960-1961 ABC
television series, Harrigan and Son
, about a father-and-son law firm. Its lead players, Pat O'Brien
and Roger Perry
, would sing the song, silhouetted behind the closing credits of the show.
In his New York
gubernatorial campaigns in 1954 and 1958, as well as his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1956, Averell Harriman used a variation of the song, which sang of "H, A, double-R, I, M, A, N". And in 1960, John F. Kennedy
's campaign released a recording of Frank Sinatra
singing a version of the song, but with lyrics written specifically for "K, E, double-N, E, D and Y".
The term "divil" is an Irish expression that often found its way into Irish songs of that era. It essentially means "nary" or "hardly".
Allan Sherman
's short medley of Cohan song parodies included this tune, reworked to sing about pianist Vladimir Horowitz
.
The George M. Cohan song "Harrigan" (featured in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" starring James Cagney) was a vague tribute to songwriter Ed Harrigan of Harrigan and Brahm, popular musical theater writers/performers who preceded and influenced Cohan.
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
for the 1907 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical, Fifty Miles From Boston. It celebrates, and to some extent mocks, his own Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
heritage.
The song was performed by James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and Joan Leslie
Joan Leslie
Joan Leslie is a retired American film and television actress.-Early life:Leslie was born Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel in Detroit, Michigan, and raised Roman Catholic. She began performing as a singer at the age of nine as part of a vaudeville act with her two sisters; Betty and Mae Brodel...
in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
, a biopic of Cohan's life. In that film it was portrayed as an early work of Cohan's that he was shopping around. In real life, by 1907 he had already scored some major Broadway hits and had little need to try to sell individual songs to producers.
Contemporary Irish-American singer Billy Murray
Billy Murray (singer)
William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
made a popular recording of the song. In his version, the answer "Harrigan!" to each question is shouted by a background group.
Lyrics
- Who is the man who will spend or will even lend?
- Harrigan, that's me!
- Who is your friend when you find that you need a friend?
- Harrigan, that's me!
- For I'm just as proud of my name, you see
- As an Emperor, Czar or a King could be
- Who is the man helps a man ev'ry time he can?
- Harrigan, that's me!
- H, A, double-R, I, G, A, N spells Harrigan
- Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me
- Divil' a man can say a word agin' me
- H, A, double-R, I, G, A, N you see
- Is a name that a shame never has been connected with
- Harrigan, that's me!
- Who is the man never stood for a gadabout?
- Harrigan, that's me!
- Who is the man that the town's simply mad about?
- Harrigan that's me!
- They ladies and babies are fond of me
- I'm fond of them, too, in return, you see
- Who is the gent that's deserving a monument?
- Harrigan, that's me!
- H, A, double-R, I, G, A, N spells "Harrigan"
- Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me
- Di-vil' a man can say a word agin' me
- H, A, double-R, I, G, A, N you see
- Is a name that a shame never has been connected with
- Harrigan, that's me!
The song was used decades later for a 1960-1961 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series, Harrigan and Son
Harrigan and Son
Harrigan and Son is an ABC sitcom about a father-and-son team of lawyers, played by Pat O'Brien and Roger Perry as Jim Harrigan, Sr., and Jim, Jr. In supporting roles, as secretaries, are Georgine Darcy as Gypsy and Helen Kleeb as Miss Claridge. The series aired 34 episodes at 8 p.m. Eastern Time...
, about a father-and-son law firm. Its lead players, Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (actor)
Pat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
and Roger Perry
Roger Perry
Roger Perry is an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s.In the 1960-1961 television season, Perry portrayed a handsome young attorney, Jim Harrigan, Jr., in the ABC and Desilu Studios sitcom Harrigan and Son, with co-stars Pat O'Brien, Helen Kleeb, and Georgine...
, would sing the song, silhouetted behind the closing credits of the show.
In his New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
gubernatorial campaigns in 1954 and 1958, as well as his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1956, Averell Harriman used a variation of the song, which sang of "H, A, double-R, I, M, A, N". And in 1960, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's campaign released a recording of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
singing a version of the song, but with lyrics written specifically for "K, E, double-N, E, D and Y".
The term "divil" is an Irish expression that often found its way into Irish songs of that era. It essentially means "nary" or "hardly".
Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
's short medley of Cohan song parodies included this tune, reworked to sing about pianist Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
.
The George M. Cohan song "Harrigan" (featured in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" starring James Cagney) was a vague tribute to songwriter Ed Harrigan of Harrigan and Brahm, popular musical theater writers/performers who preceded and influenced Cohan.