| The Gingerbread Man | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
John Dough |
|
First Appearance |
The Gingerbread Man (1905) |
|
Created by |
Frederic Ranken & A. Baldwin Sloane |
Origin
The Gingerbread Man, opened on Broadway in 1905. The musical featured a live Gingerbread Man named John Dough. The show also featured King Bun, and Sallie Lunn.
It is worth pointing out that L. Frank Baum and Sloane collaborated on some songs for the 1903 Wizard of Oz. It is not known if they ever discussed ideas for new projects (such as a musical featuring a live Gingerbread Man named John Dough). Baum always insisted that his was "the original John Dough." However, then Frederic Ranken the lyricist says the same thing in the song!
Here is "John Dough" the song from The Gingerbread Man the Musical:
- Come gather 'round, ye little kids,
- And listen unto me;
- I'll tell you the interesting tale,
- Of how I come to be,
- For I am the man you've heard of oft,
- But none of you may know,
- I'm the man that the law
- Has a warrant out for,
- The original John Dough.
- John Dough, John Dough,
- They are looking for me high and low,
- I'm wanted for that,
- I'm wanted for this,
- For any old thing that has gone amiss,
- You know, John Dough,
- I am second cousin to Richard Roe,
- In "Do, Re, Me"
- You plainly see
- The original John Dough.
- John Dough, John Dough...
- I have been done brown a dozen times,
- I do not care a rap,
- Though kids on me commit all crimes,
- My life's a gingersnap,
- They've hung me in a window, marked
- A penny each a throw,
- And the girls on the street
- Say I'm just fit to eat,
- The original John Dough.
- John Dough, John Dough...
- A little boy buys me with a cent,
- To his innocent delight,
- And removes an arm or leg or two,
- With a quick decisive bite,
- As down his throat I gently float,
- How can that hopeful know,
- Unless he is told,
- That he's stowed in his hold
- The original John Dough.
- John Dough, John Dough...
Notes
- You can play a MIDI of this delightfully catchy number.
- Not to be confused with the many, many other Gingerbread Men who have appeared over the years. Only versions of him pre-1923 are PD.