"I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" is Popeye's signature theme song, written by Fleischer Studios composer Samuel "Sammy" Lerner for the sailor character's animated debut in 1933. The song is featured on the Popeye movie's soundtrack as performed by Robin Williams, and during the end credits of Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, performed by Mark Mothersbaugh.
The earliest cartoons opened to another song, "Strike Up the Band", then Popeye would make his entrance as he sang his theme song. In time, cartoon openings would begin with a few notes from "The Sailor's Hornpipe", then segue into an instrumental version of Popeye's main theme. It also became customary for Popeye to end the feature by singing the last few verses of the song, often in a variation that would reference the episode's action.
Another key role of the song is that of being played as a faster, instrumental fanfare to signal Popeye's strength boost upon his eating his spinach.
"I'm Popeye The Sailor Man" became so associated with the character that every screen or audio incarnation of his adventures has included the theme, which has also been subjected to numerous parodies.
Lyrics[]
Original version[]
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I yam wot I yam
And that's all wot I yam
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm one tough Gazookus
Wot hates all Palookas
Wot ain't on the ups and square
I biffs 'em and buffs 'em
And always out roughs 'em
But none of 'em gets nowhere
If anyone dasses to risk my "Fisk"
It's "Boff" an' it's "Wham" un'erstan'?
So, keep "Good Be-hav-or"
That's your one life saver
With Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm strong to the finich
Cause I eats me spinach
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
Live-action film version[]
Oh, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm strong to the finich
'Cause I eats me spinach
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's strong to the finish
'Cause he eats his spinach
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm one tough Gazookus
That hates all Palookas
That ain't on the up and square
I biffs 'em and buffs 'em
And always out roughs 'em
And none of 'em gets nowhere
If anyone dares to risk his fist
It's "Bop" and it's "Wham", understand?
So keep good behavior
That's your one life saver
With Popeye the Sailor Man
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's strong to the finish
'Cause he eats his spinach
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
Popeye, Popeye
Popeye, Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man
The Quest for Pappy version[]
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm strong to the finich
'Cause I eats me spinach
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I'm one tough Gazookus
Which hates all Palookas
Wot ain't on the ups and square, youse?
I biffs 'em and buffs 'em
And always out roughs 'em
And some of 'em get nowhere, novide?
If anyone dasses to risk my "Fisk"
It's "Boff" an' it's "Wham" un'erstan'?
Geba, keep "Good Be-hav-or"
That's your one life saver
With Popeye the Sailor Man
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
Oh, he's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's strong to the finish
Because he eats his spinach
Popeye the Sailor Man, yeah!
Ooh! Yeah, yeah! Ooh!
That right!
Yeah, let's have 'em now!
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's Popeye the Sailor Man
He's strong to the finish
'Cause he eats his spinach
He's Popeye the Sailor Man (Sailor Man)
(Popeye scatting)
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man
That right!
He's Popeye the Sailor Man (I need to tell you about it)
He's Popeye the Sailor Man (Whoo, ha, uh-huh)
He's strong to the finish (Ooh)
'Cause he eats his spinach (Ow!)
He's Popeye the Sailor Man (Sailor-)
Go, Popeye!
Go, Popeye!
Whoo! Go, Popeye!
Trivia[]
- The introductory song "Strike Up the Band" originally appeared in the 1930 Fleischer Studios cartoon of the same name.
- The song was performed on a Capitol 45 rpm record in 1952. Singer Candy Candido, known for his low, gravelly voice, performed.[1]
External links[]
- I'm Popeye the Sailor Man on LyricWiki
- I'm Popeye the Sailor Man on Amazon
- I'm Popeye the Sailor Man on Apple Music
- I'm Popeye the Sailor Man on Spotify
Audio[]