"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" is a traditional children's song that originates from the United States. The song consists of one verse repeated over and over again with increasing in volume. It's repeated four more times quieter except for the closing "DA-DA-DA...!" phrase for each iteration. However, there have also been versions where it also speeds up. There are other ways of singing this song such as increasing or decreasing in tempo after each repetition. The lyrics of the song depend on who is singing.
Lyrics and melody
There are various lyrics to the song; for example, the following is one version, which is repeated several times, often while altering the tempo or pitch:
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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 its humor. Further, "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. By the mid-20th century, the song appears to have already become widely known. In 1931, the Elmira Star Gazette, a newspaper in upstate New York, 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'." A 1941 Milwaukee Journal article also refers to the song, with the same alternate spelling of "John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith". The song is indefinitely repetitive, like "The Song That Never Ends", "My Name Is Jan Jansen" or, "Michael Finnegan". Versions of this song also appear in other languages, such as the Spanish rendition, "Juan Paco Pedro de la Mar".
Notable appearances
Daddy Dewdrop released a version of the song, entitled "John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith", as the B-side to his 1971 single, "Chick-A-Boom ".
The song is the first thing heard in a late 1970's commercial for a mail order record called Children's Favorites; the group singing it and the other songs on the record is even named after the third name of the title, the Jingleheimers.
In the TV showPsych episode “Romeo and Juliet and Juliet”, Shawn uses the closely related "Jonathan Jacob Jingly Smith" as he introduces Gus, only to be challenged by the character's incredulous “You're saying his name is John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt?”
“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” is the name of Robin Williams’ character in the 1995 movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
This song was featured in various episodes of Barney & Friends.
Joel Robinson, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot, frequently sing the song during the Monster a Go-Go episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Holly Gibney is found muttering the song as a calming technique for a panic attack in the Mr. Mercedes episode "Bad to Worse".
In the King of the Hill episode "Peggy's Turtle Song", Peggy Hill, in need of a good song to sing on the bus for a field-trip, asks Bobby "What does that John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt do again?", to which Bobby replies "He goes out, people shout. Not a lot more is known about him."
