"Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning and published in 1954.
The best-known version in the United States was recorded by The Four Lads with teenage girls Lillian Pasciolla and others on February 27, 1954. The best-known version in the United Kingdom by Max Bygraves, also recorded in 1954.
The recording by The Four Lads was released in the US by Columbia Records as catalog number 40236. It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on July 3, 1954, peaking at #18.[1]
Max Bygraves' recording was released in the UK by HMV as catalog number B 10734. It entered the UK chart on September 10, 1954. It spent eight weeks on the chart, peaking at #7.
The song is frequently featured in the game known as "One Song to the Tune of Another" in the long-running radio panel show, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
Heino Gaze has written the German lyrics. The German title is identical with the original title. Bibi Johns und Die Starlets, Franz Thon und das Tanzorchester des NWDR, Hamburg, recorded it in Hamburg on September 5, 1954. The song was released by Electrola Records as catalog number EG 8116.