Mairzy Doats

About Mairzy Doats

“Mairzy Doats” is a novelty song written and composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston. It was first played on radio station WOR, New York, by Al Trace and his Silly Symphonists. The song made the pop charts several times, with a version by the Merry Macs reaching No. 1 in March 1944. The song was also a number-one sheet music seller, with sales of over 450,000 within the first three weeks of release. The song's refrain, as written on the sheet music, seems meaningless: 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. "This hint allows the ear to translate the final line as "a kid'll eat ivy, too; wouldn't you?" more »