He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)

Sheet music cover for "He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)" as performed by Bobby North

"He'd Have to Get Under – Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)" is one of the lengthier titles in the history of popular songs. The song was published in 1913, with music by Maurice Abrahams and lyrics by Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie.^[1]

It was introduced in vaudeville by Adele Ritchie,^[2] and was a hit for recording artists such as Al Jolson in 1913, Billy Murray in 1914, and it was revived by Bobby Horton in the Ken Burns documentary film Horatio's Drive (2003).

The title was essentially self-defining. The song poked fun at the trials and tribulations of the average young car owner of the 1910s, especially when he wanted to get down to some serious "sparking" with his female passenger.

Lyrics

He'd have to get under—get out and get under—to fix his little machine

He was just dying to cuddle his queen

But ev'ry minute

When he'd begin it

He'd have to get under—get out and get under—then he'd get back at the wheel

A dozen times they'd start to hug and kiss

And then the darned old engine, it would miss

And then he'd have to get under—get out and get under—and fix up his automobile.

References

1. "He'd have to get under-get out and get under/Maurice Abrahams[sheet music]". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
2. Jasen, David A. (2013). A Century of American Popular Music. Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-135-35264-6.

External links

• Billy Murray's 1914 recording of the song