"In My Merry Oldsmobile" is a popular song from 1905, with music by Gus Edwards

Gus Edwards (songwriter)

Gus Edwards was an American songwriter and vaudevillian. He also organised his own theatre companies and was a music publisher.-Early life:...

 and lyrics by Vincent P. Bryan

Vincent P. Bryan

Vincent Patrick Bryan was a composer and lyricist.In the 1903-1909 production of The Wizard of Oz he was called upon to introduce new songs in numerous revisions.*with Theodore F. Morse...

.

The song's chorus is one of the most enduring automobile-oriented songs. The verses, which are slightly suggestive (by 1905 standards) and contain quaint terms for lovemaking, are seldom heard today.

Popular culture

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 Division of General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 used the song, with altered lyrics, for several decades as a marketing jingle.

"In My Merry Oldsmobile" was often used by Carl Stalling

Carl Stalling

Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...

, long-time music director for Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 cartoons, especially when references to automobiles or driving were made.

"In My Merry Oldsmobile" is one of the songs played on Main Street USA in Disneyland and the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...

It was also sung in an episode of M*A*S*H by Hawkeye Pierce (played by Alan Alda

Alan Alda

Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...

) while driving a Jeep

Jeep

Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...

 in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

.

"In My Merry Oldsmobile" is one of the songs sung by the Bonzi Buddy application.

In the song "Lord, Mr. Ford" on the 1979 album "Matchbox" by British rockabilly

Rockabilly

Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

 band Matchbox

Matchbox (band)

Matchbox is an English rockabilly band that formed in 1971, and is still active .-Career:Matchbox was formed in 1971 by Iain "Houndog" Terry, Fred Poke, Jimmy Redhead and Wiffle Smith. After 1978, the line-up consisted of Graham Fenton , Steve Bloomfield , Gordon Scott , Fred Poke and Jimmy Redhead...

, the line "Come away with me, Lucille" is repeated several times, with the addition, at the end of the song, of the line "In my smoking choking automobile."

Lyrics

The words, as sung by 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...

, are as follows:

Verse 1

Young Johnny Steele has an Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

He loves his dear little girl

She is the queen of his gas machine

She has his heart in a whirl

Now when they go for a spin, you know,

She tries to learn the auto, so

He lets her steer, while he gets her ear

And whispers soft and low...

Verse 2

They love to "spark" in the dark old park

As they go flying along

She says she knows why the motor goes

The "sparker" is awfully strong

Each day they "spoon" to the engine's tune

Their honeymoon will happen soon

He'll win Lucille with his Oldsmobile

And then he'll fondly croon...

Chorus

Come away with me, Lucille

In my merry Oldsmobile

Down the road of life we'll fly

Automobubbling, you and I

To the church we'll swiftly steal

Then our wedding bells will peal

You can go as far as you like with me

In my merry Oldsmobile.

External links

• An early Billy Murray recording

Murray revived the old song for a "follow the bouncing ball" cartoon in the 1930s.

• In My Merry Oldsmobile (1932) at Internet Archive