For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

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"For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" is a British and American song which is sung to congratulate a person on a significant event, such as a retirement. The melody originates from that of the French song Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" is the second most popular song in the English language, following "Happy Birthday to You" and followed by "Auld Lang Syne."

1 British and Australian lyrics
2 American lyrics
3 Variations
4 See also
5 References

[edit] British and Australian lyrics

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us

And so say all of us, and so say all of us

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us

[edit] American lyrics

For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow

For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), that nobody can deny

Which nobody can deny, that nobody can deny

For he's a jolly good fellow (pause), which nobody can deny

[edit] Variations

Amongst certain groups a different word is substituted for "fellow". Also the 'British' and 'American' versions can be combined, normally with 'and so say all of us' in the middle of the verse, and 'which nobody can deny' at the end.

In addition the song can be altered to agree with the sex of the intended recipient, "he" being replaced with "she".

In some parts of the United Kingdom, when singing the song to the driver of a bus or coach, usually on a specially commissioned trip rather than a standard scheduled journey, it is customary to add "on the bus" to the line "and so say all of us", resulting in "and so say all of us on the bus".

The 1977 Disney animated feature film The Rescuers featured a variation of the song called "For Penny's a Jolly Good Fellow".

[edit] See also

Sto lat - traditional Polish song that is sung to express good wishes to a person
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki