I recorded this song on my "Along Came a Giant" CD. I learned the song from Sam Hinton (1917-2009).

HI HO JERUM

Well, long long ago in the days of Kafusalem
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
There was a rich man lived in the town of Jerusalem
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

Hi-ho-jerum, hi-hi-jerum
Dinky, dinky didlium, dinky, dinky didlium,
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
There also was a man so sick and disable-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
And he picked up the crumbs at the rich man's table-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

But the rich man, he didn't fare so well-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
For the Devil came along and he took him down to helium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

The rich man asked for a whiskey and a sodium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
But the Devil said, "No, just shovel on more coal-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

He asked for a whiskey and a soda to consol-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
But the Devil said, "No, just shovel on the coal-ium!"
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

So if you go to church and you put in your penny-um
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
You'll go up and play the clarinet along with Father Abr-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

But all non-believers will go down beneath-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum
And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth-ium
Glory hallelujah, with a hi-hi-jerum

Sam explained:

I learned "Hi Ho Jerome" from the late Prof. Norris W. Rakestraw, an oceanographic chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Norris had learned it as an undergraduate at Stanford many, many years ago; I have no idea about where it came from or how old it is: all I know is that its macaronic nonsense syllables imitate the Latin that all college science students had to take up to the advent of World War II.

-Adam Miller