The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10325 Message #4179830
Posted By: Lighter
24-Aug-23 - 12:40 PM
Thread Name: Origin: Riley's Daughter / Reilly's Daughter
Subject: RE: Origin: Riley's Daughter / Reilly's Daughter
Movie "The Halls of Montezuma" (1950) in context of USMC, Pacific, 1945:
As I was sitting in O’Reilly’s bar,
Listening to tales of blood and thunder,
Came a thought into my mind,
“Why not love O’Reilly’s daughter?”
Fiddly-eye-o, fiddly-eye-ay,
Fiddly-eye-o for the one-eyed Reilly [sic],
Rub-a-dub-dub, kiss and hug,
Rub-a-dub-dub, love on!
I grabbed that sea-witch by the hair...
Tune is essentially "Polly-Woddle-Doodle."
Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW) (Aug. 19, 1951) (review of the movie):
"A touch that might be missed by many is the singing of about half a verse of the age-old ditty 'One-eyed Riley's Daughter' by a marine.
"This ditty is as well-known to marines as the famous parody on 'Colonel Bogey' is known to Australian troops."