Gina sings K-Katy on Glasgow’s Argyle Street

Here’s a bit about the World War I-era song and a performance by Gina.

Transcript

00:00I forgot, this is another wee jolly tune.

00:03Katie, oh kitty kitty Katie, you're the only kitty kitty girl that I adore.

00:09Oh when the moon shines over the cow shed, I'll be waiting at the kitty kitty kitchen door.

00:17Katie, she swallowed a ha'penny, thumpins of fish and thumpins of chips the night before.

00:24The night before that, she swallowed a doormat.

00:28Now she's trying to swallow the key of the kitchen floor.

00:32Adore!

00:33I've made a mistake with that wee bit, hen.

00:37This song that Gina shared with us,

00:39Ka Ka Ka Katie, was written in 1917 from the Canadian-American composer Geoffrey O'Hara

00:44during World War I.

00:46It was initially advertised as the sensational stammering song success

00:49sung by the soldiers and sailors.

00:51It was up in the top 20 between May 1918 and January 1919.

00:57So it was extremely popular at the time.

00:59The lyrics tell the tale of a brave but stuttering soldier called Jimmy

01:03who's lovesick over a beautiful woman named Katie

01:06of whom he buys a wedding ring before going to fight in France.

01:09The inspiration for the song is Catherine Craig Richardson from Kingston, Ontario

01:14who was a friend of O'Hara's sister

01:16and her parents recalled him writing the song in their living room.

01:19The song had a resurgence in popularity during World War II

01:23when it was sang in military training camps.

01:25The original commercial track was performed by Bill Murray.

01:28Katie, oh kitty kitty Katie, you're the only kitty kitty girl that I adore.

01:35Oh when the moon shines over the cow shed, I'll be waiting at the kitty kitty kitchen door.

01:43Katie, she's one of the...