"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" is a song that is sung to congratulate a person on a significant event, such as a promotion, a birthday, a wedding (or playing a major part in a wedding), a wedding anniversary, the birth of a child, or the winning of a championship sporting event or in general being a good mate who always pays his debts. The melody originates from the French song "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre (Marlborough Has Left for the War). The traditional children's song The Bear Went Over the Mountain is sung to the same tune.
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." It is frequently used instead of "Happy Birthday to You" in films and television to avoid possible copyright issues.
Read more about For He's A Jolly Good Fellow: History, Lyrics, Variations
Famous quotes containing the words jolly good fellow, jolly and/or fellow:
“A black pall, you know, with a silver cross on it, or R.I.P.—requiescat in pace—you know. That seems to me the most beautiful expression—I like it much better than ‘He is a jolly good fellow,’ which is simply rowdy.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“Troll the bowl, the jolly nut-brown bowl,
And here, kind mate, to thee!
Let’s sing a dirge for Saint Hugh’s soul,
And down it merrily.”
—Thomas Dekker (1572?–1632?)
“As for your high towers and monuments, there was a crazy fellow once in this town who undertook to dig through to China, and he got so far that, as he said, he heard the Chinese pots and kettles rattle; but I think that I shall not go out of my way to admire the hole which he made.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)