For He's a Jolly Good Fellow facts for kids
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow is a very popular song that people sing to celebrate someone special. It's often sung when someone has a birthday, gets a new job, gets married, or wins a big championship!
The tune for this song comes from an old French song called "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre" (which means "Marlborough Has Left for the War").
Singing the Song
When you sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," you can change the words to fit the person you're celebrating.
- If you're singing to a girl, you can say "For she's a jolly good fellow."
- If you're singing to a group of people, you can say "For they are jolly good fellows."
British Lyrics
In the United Kingdom, people often sing it like this:
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!
American Lyrics
In the United States, the lyrics are a little different:
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 that nobody can deny, that nobody can deny
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!
The Big Pause
When you sing the song, especially the third time you say "For he's a jolly good fellow," there's often a long pause. This makes it a bit tricky for everyone to start the next line at the same time! You might notice this at a birthday party or a sports game when a big crowd is singing. The pause usually lasts for about an extra half-beat, but it can be longer or shorter.
Cool Facts and Variations
- In Spain, this song is sometimes sung for birthdays instead of "Happy Birthday to You." This also happened in America on TV and in movies for a while. This is because "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" has been around for a very long time and anyone can use it for free (it's in the public domain). But "Happy Birthday To You" used to have a copyright until 2016.
- Sometimes, instead of "nobody can deny," people sing "no one can deny."
- The famous singer Bing Crosby included this song in a mix of songs on his album 101 Gang Songs in 1961.
- In an episode of the TV show Porridge called "Disturbing the Peace", all the prisoners sing this song to greet Mr. Mackay.
- There's a children's version of the song called "The Bear Went Over the Mountain." It's a popular campfire song!
