Oom-Pah-Pah (song)

Oom-Pah-Pah is a lively and gently risqué song from Lionel Bart's musical "Oliver!", sung by Nancy and the crowd at the "Three Cripples" tavern. In the show the song is not even integrated into the plot; it merely begins Act II of the musical, after which the actual storyline resumes. In the Oliver! (film) (the 1968 film version of the show), it is moved to very late in the film, where it serves an extremely dramatic purpose. Nancy has made arrangements with Mr. Brownlow to return the kidnapped Oliver Twist to him that night at midnight on London Bridge. But Sykes and Fagin are with Nancy and Oliver in the tavern, so she must think of a strategy to sneak the boy out. She begins to sing "Oom-Pah-Pah" and coaxes the crowd to sing and dance it with her. By the climax of the song, the crowd is singing and dancing so loudly and enthusiastically that she is able to get Oliver out. However, Bullseye, Sykes's bull terrier, who had been guarding the boy, barks and alerts Sykes, who then rushes out to track them down. When he finds them at London Bridge, he kills Nancy and forces Oliver to return with him to Fagin's hideout but luckily Sykes does not get Oliver back as he escapes to Mr Brownlow. Sykes is later in the 1968 musical film shot by a police officer and in the book accidentally hangs himself while trying to escape from the police.