"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" (also "I'm Henery the VIII, I
Am" or "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"; spelled "Henery" in references
to the Herman's Hermits version) is a 1910 British music hall
song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston. It was a signature song
of music hall star Harry Champion and became the
fastest-selling song in history to that point when revived in
1965 by Herman's Hermits, becoming the group's second
number-one on the Hot 100 chart. The lead solo on the Hermits'
version was played by the group's lead guitarist Derek "Lek"
Leckenby.
In the well-known chorus, Henery explains that his wife had
been married seven times before:
I'm Henery the Eighth, I am,,
Henery the Eighth I am, I am!,
I got married to the widow next door,,
She'd been married seven times before.,
And every one was an Henery,
She wouldn't have a Willie or a Sam,
I'm her eighth old man named Henery,
Henery the Eighth, I am!,
According to one source, Champion "used to fire off [the
chorus] at tremendous speed with almost desperate gusto, his
face bathed in sweat and his arms and legs flying in all
directions." In later versions recorded by Champion, "Willie"
is changed to "William" because the former is a slang term for
the penis in Britain.
The song is often sung in a Cockney accent.
The Herman's Hermits version consists of the chorus sung
three times. Between the first two choruses, Peter Noone calls
out, "Second verse, same as the first!"
This song was recorded (in 1961) and extensively performed
live by the british star Joe Brown, who revived the song and
made it largely known in the pop world. His version has two
choruses either side of his guitar solo. He performs it live
still today.
Earlier sources usually spell the name "Henery" (as do some
old sources when referring to the historical King of England),
and the music requires the name "Henery" to be pronounced as
three syllables. The sheet music for the 1965 Herman's Hermits
revival, however, presented the name as "Henry", as do sources
referring to this version.
In the 1990 movie
Ghost, the ghost Sam (Patrick Swayze) pesters Oda Mae
Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) into taking a message to his girlfriend
by singing this song over and over again in a bad English
accent all night long, keeping her awake. His girlfriend Molly
(Demi Moore) later reveals that Sam used this tactic to get her
to agree to go out with him.
Homer Simpson sings this song in the
Simpsonsepisode
Margical History Tour, but with much different lyrics.
Homer is playing King Henry VIII of England and substituting
many words to state he is eating multiple course meals.
In the comic book
Spike vs. Dracula, Spike threatens to haunt Dracula with
an endless singing of the song.