I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am

"I am Henery the Eighth, I Am" (also "I'm Henery the VIII, I Am" or "I'm Henery VIII, I Am"; spelled "Henry" in references to the Herman's Hermits version) is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston. It was a signature song of music hall star Harry Champion and became the fastest-selling song in history to that point when revived in 1965 by Herman's Hermits,MacInnes, Colin (1965) "The Old English Music Hall Songs Are New." "The New York Times," November 28, 1965, p. SM62: "Henery"—which hit the top of the record lists and, according to one American expert, was 'the fastest-selling song in history'—was in fact an old English music hall song enjoying a new lease on life. Description of Champion's performance: p. 95. Spelling of title: image on p. 62 shows title presented in all-caps, "I'M HENRY VIII, I AM." Text of article, however, uses the spelling "Henery" throughout, even when referring to the Herman's Hermits revival. Perhaps the most correct spelling is "'Enery"; that is certainly how Harry pronounces it.] becoming the group's second number-one on the Hot 100 chart. The lead solo on the Hermits' version was played by the groups lead guitarist Derek "Lek" Leckenby. [Peter Noone interview, Keith Hopwood pers. corres.]

In the well-known chorus, Henery explains that his wife had been married seven times before:

"I'm Henery the Eighth, I am!
"Henery the Eighth I am! I am!"
"I got married to the widow next door,"
"She's been married seven times before."
"Every one was an Henery"
"She wouldn't have a Willie or a Sam"
"I'm her eighth old man named Henery"
"Henery the Eighth I am."

According to one source, Champion "used to fire off [the chorus] at tremendous speed with almost desperate gusto, his face bathed in sweat and his arms and legs flying in all directions."op. cit] In later versions recorded by Champion, "Willie" is changed to "William" because of the risqué usage of the former in Britain.

The song is often sung in a Cockney accent.

Earlier sources usually spell the name "Henery" [cite book|title=Philosophy of Music: An Introduction|first=R. A.|last=Sharpe|year=2005|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press|id=ISBN 0-7735-2928-4 "I shall give an example of the first, Harry Champion's music-hall song 'I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am', although I suspect readers may not thank me. (You probably won't be able to dislodge it from your mind for a week or two). [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0773529284&id=yJB7UV93CMgC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&sig=X961FrGfT8CKTBbBa_3rRnKH_kY p. 161] ] [cite book|title=Mr. Noon|first=D. H.|last=Lawrence|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1987|id=ISBN 0-521-27247-5 "He strayed on inconsequentially, singing: "Henery the eighth I am, I am/Henery the eighth I am" [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521272475&id=q3nQnf3Vt1YC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&sig=UJ0V_u1Y3ktH2N2ZRkPHPR_ZO-g p. 258] ] [cite book|title=Just a Philadelphia Boy|first=William J.|last=Lynch|Publisher=Xlibris|id=ISBN 1-4010-7911-3|year=2003 "We had a neighbor, a skinny little Englishman... He would saunter merrily up our street... singing 'I'm Henery the Eighth, I am" at the top of his voice..." [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1401079113&id=FYmoCZ04JVUC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&sig=4NtfmhmyAtoy5LaRtjj63tbB-c0 p. 42] ] (as do some old sources when referring to the historical King of England [cite book|title=The English and Scottish Popular Ballads|first=Francis James|last=Child|coauthors=George Lyman Kittredge|publisher=Houghton, Mifflin|year=1883 "And lowlye kneeled his prince before/And sayd, My soueraigne king, Henery the Eighth" [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC07326919&id=cHsicFK4rykC&pg=PA356&lpg=PA356 p. 356] ] ), and the music requires the name "Henery" to be pronounced as three syllables. The sheet music for the 1965 Herman's Hermits revival, however, presented the name as "Henry", as do sources referring to this version.op. cit] [cite book|title=Sheet Music Reference and Price Guide|first=Anna Marie|last=Guiheen|publisher=Collector Books|year=1995|id=ISBN 0-89145-648-1 "I'm Henry the Eighth I Am by Fred Murray and L. P. Weston, 1965, Herman's Hermits" [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0891456481&id=vFECvOmdHi4C&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&sig=aRWvwAT-ewGMc3l59i7qQIXxzNw p. 102] ]

Cultural references

In the 1990 movie "Ghost", the Ghost Sam tortures Oda Mae Brown by preventing her from sleeping by singing this song over and over again in a bad English accent.

Homer Simpson sings this song in the "Simpsons" episode "Margical History Tour", but with much different lyrics. Homer is playing King Henry VIII of England and substituting many words to state he is eating multiple course meals. However, the verse was cut short due to Margarin of Aragon's (Marge's) interruption.

ee also

*Henry VIII of England, English monarch known for having had six wives. (A listener new to the song might assume the narrator is claiming to be Henry VIII until the third or fourth line.)

References

External links

*An MP3 download of a 1911 recording is available at Archive.org: [http://www.archive.org/details/HarryChampion I'm Henery The Eighth]