Non-lexical Vocables in Music - Popular Music of The WWII Era

Popular Music of The WWII Era

The song "Swinging the Alphabet" is sung by The Three Stooges in their 1938 film, "Violent Is the Word for Curly." It is the only full-length song performed by the Stooges in their short films, and the only time they mimed to their own pre-recorded soundtrack. The lyrics use each letter of the alphabet to make a nonsense verse of the song:

B-A-bay, B-E-bee, B-I-bicky-bi, B-O bo, bicky-bi bo, B-U bu, bicky bi bo bu. C-A-cay, C-E-cee, C-I-cicky-ci, C-O co, cicky-ci co, C-U cu, cicky ci co cu. D-A-day, D-E-dee, D-I-dicky-di, D-O do, dicky-di do, D-U du, dicky di do du. F-A-fay, F-E-fee, F-I-ficky-fi, F-O fo, Ficky-fi fo, F-U fu, ficky fi fo fu. ...

The song "Mairzy Doats" (1943) used blurred lyrics that sound non-lexical:

Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

However, the lyrics of the bridge provide a clue:

If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey, Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."

Read more about this topic:  Non-lexical Vocables In Music

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