I should qualify my message above, because "Pull Your Shades Down, Mary Ann" is not just a parody of one song. It seems to be one of the few that parody * two * songs simultaneously.

On the one hand, it seems clear that "Pull Your Shades" is based on the framework of "Keep Your Head Down Fritzie Boy." It has the "I saw you, I saw you" and other lines that fit exactly.

On the other hand the specific lyrics of "Pull Your Shades" seem to be inspired by the Andrews Sisters' "Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann," which was current on radio in the early to mid-1940s when this parody was apparently invented.

That leaves us with a problem. Did the Marines who sang "Pull Your Shades Down, Mary Ann" sing it to the tune of "Fritzie," the tune of "Skirt," or a combination of the two?

Can anyone do an ABC of the tune they've heard sung to "Pull Your Shades Down Mary Ann?" That might answer the question.

Thanks!

Bob