For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
England Lyrics
For he's a jolly good fellow,
For he's a jolly good fellow,
And so say all of us.
And so say all of us,
And so say all of us!
For he's a jolly good fellow,
For he's a jolly good fellow,
For he's a jolly good fellow,
And so say all of us!
History and Meaning
This song is sung to congratulate a person on a significant event, such as a promotion, a birthday, or a wedding, and its melody derives from the 18th-century French folk song "Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre" (Marlborough Has Left for the War). The French tune originated as a satirical lament composed around 1709, following the Battle of Malplaquet during the War of the Spanish Succession, mocking the British General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, based on a false rumor of his death during the war. Initially an orally transmitted folk tune, "Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre" gained widespread popularity in France around 1780, with its fame significantly increasing in 1785 when Marie Antoinette heard one of her maids singing it as a lullaby to the infant Louis XVII, leading to its rapid spread throughout the royal court and eventually to the wider public. The melody eventually made its way to the United Kingdom, where by the mid-19th century, new English lyrics emerged transforming it into the celebratory "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," which by 1862 was familiar in the United States. Before "Happy Birthday to You" became globally prevalent in the early 20th century, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" often served as the standard birthday song in English-speaking regions, and the tune is also used for other songs such as "The Bear Went Over the Mountain."