Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder? is a popular song. It was written by George L. Giefer in 1898 and originally recorded by Edward M. Favor in 1901. It was later recorded by Bing Crosby in 1956.
The song describes an incident in which a pair of worn-out overalls are found in a batch of Mrs. Murphy's large pot of chowder. Tim Nolan, who discovered the overalls, immediately assumes it was a prank, and promises to inflict pain on "the mick that threw the overalls ... ". Mistress Murphy, upon realizing the ruckus, admits that she forgot to take the overalls out of the pot after she had been using it for laundry earlier in the day, at which point Nolan apologizes and the group puts music to his words and sing (the chorus).
The song has enjoyed some popularity with Irish-Americans and association with the Saint Patrick's Day holiday and is sometimes played during the holiday, sometimes edited to remove elements of the song that can be construed to disparage the Irish.
Famous quotes containing the words threw, murphy and/or chowder:
“I have heard many years of telling,
And many years should see some change.
The ball I threw while playing in the park
Has not yet reached the ground.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“If I were in the unenviable position of having to study my work my points of departure would be the “Naught is more real ...” and the “Ubi nihil vales ...” both already in Murphy and neither very rational.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
“Here in the country it is only a few idle boys or loafers that go a-fishing on a rainy day; but there it appeared as if every able-bodied man and helpful boy in the Bay had gone out on a pleasure excursion in their yachts, and all would at last land and have a chowder on the Cape.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)