"Reuben and Rachel" is a popular song with words written by Harry Birch and music by William Gooch, originally published in Boston in 1871 by White, Smith, & Perry.[1] The song regained popularity in the 20th century as a children's song.[2]
The first line of the song, "Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking," was reused in a popular song at the close of World War I (1919), "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?."[3]
It was often sung on the playgrounds as: "Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking what in the world have you been drinking? Smells like whiskey, tastes like wine. Oh my gosh! It's turpentine!"[citation needed] The melody has often been used for parodies, such as Bowser and Blue's "Where The Sun Don't Shine! (The Colorectal Surgeon's Song)".[citation needed]
The song is not related to the 1799 novel of the same name by Susanna Rowson.
References
- ^ The Americana song reader By William Emmett Studwell (Psychology Press, 1997)
- ^ Folk Songs for Schools and Camps By Jerry Silverman (Mel Bay Publications, 1991)
- ^ The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music
External links
Works related to Reuben and Rachel at Wikisource
