"K-K-K-Katy" was a popular World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

-era song written by Geoffrey O'Hara

Geoffrey O'Hara

Geoffrey O'Hara was a Canadian American composer, singer and music professor.O'Hara was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He initially planned a military career. O'Hara entered the prestigious Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario at age 18 and he trained with the 1st Hussars...

 in 1917 and published in 1918. The sheet music advertised it as "The Sensational Stammering

Stuttering

Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...

 Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors," reflecting a time when speech impediments could be poked fun at—albeit gentle fun in this case. The song tells the story of Jimmy, a young soldier "brave and bold," who stuttered when he tried to speak to girls. Finally he managed to talk to Katy, the "maid with hair of gold." The chorus is what he spoke:

K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy,

You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore;

When the m-m-m-moon shines,

Over the c-c-c-cowshed,

I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door.

"K-K-K-Katy" was recorded 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...

 on March 8, 1918 and released on Victor 18455.

The song was covered by Mel Blanc

Mel Blanc

Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...

 in his Porky Pig

Porky Pig

Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...

 voice (1949), with some vocalists backing him. The song can be heard on the compilation album, "Mel Blanc: The Man of 1000 Voices" (2007).

In 1963 an implied reference was made to it in newspaper headlines. Reporting Sandy Koufax

Sandy Koufax

Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...

's then-record World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 pitching performance of 15 strikeouts (scoring symbol 'K'), some newspapers bannered the story with 'K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-KOUFAX!'

The song is also mentioned in Dennis Potter's play 'Blue Remembered Hills', which was first seen on BBC TV in January 1979. The play is about a group of seven year-old children (played by adults) who spend a summer's day in 1943 playing in the woods. Raymond, a child with a stammer, is mocked by the other children, who taunt him several times during the play by singing lines from 'K-K-K-Katy'.

Katie, the 1987 debut album of post-punk group Bodhitrees, featured a humorous cover of the song to conclude the album.

Additionally, the political humor group Capitol Steps

Capitol Steps

The Capitol Steps are an American political satire group. It has been performing since 1981, and has released approximately thirty albums consisting primarily of song parodies. Originally consisting exclusively of Congressional staffers performing around Washington, D.C., the troupe now primarily...

 performed a parody of this song entitled "K-K-Kuwaitis," about the 1990 invasion of Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, which began the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

. The song was released on their 1990 album "Sheik, Rattle & Roll!."

The "Yriekay" movement of P.D.Q. Bach's Missa Hilarious includes a section with the text "K-K-K-Kyrie eleison", in reference to this song.

External links

• Billy Murray's solo recording