"Show Me the Way to Go Home" is a popular song written in 1925 by the English songwriting team Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly, using the pseudonym "Irving King". The song is said to have been written on a train journey from London by Campbell and Connelly. They were tired from the traveling and had a few alcoholic drinks during the journey, hence the lyrics. The song is in common use in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and North America.

Publication

The music and lyrics were written in 1925 by Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly. They self-published the sheet music and it became their first big success, selling 2 million copies and providing the financial basis of their publishing firm, Campbell, Connelly & Co. Campbell and Connelly published the sheet music and recorded the song under the pseudonym "Irving King". The song was recorded by several artists in the 1920s. The first recordings, in 1925, were by Hal Swain's New Princes' Toronto Band – a group of Canadian musicians working in London – and by American-born male impersonator Ella Shields, in both cases for the Columbia label in London. Other recordings were made by radio personalities The Happiness Boys, Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra, and the California Ramblers. Throughout the twentieth into the twenty-first century it has been recorded by numerous artists.

Lyrics

Show me the way to go home, I'm tired and I want to go to bed, I had a little drink about an hour ago, And it's gone right to my head, Wherever I may roam, On land or sea a-foam, You will always hear me singing this song, Show me the way to go home.

Parodies

Parodies popular on Midwest American campuses in the 1950s went: Indicate the way to my abode I'm fatigued and I want to retire I imbibed a few about sixty minutes ago And it percolated right through my cerebellum Wherever I may perambulate O'er land or sea or atmospheric vapor You will always hear me rendering this melody Indicate the way to my abode or Indicate the way to my abode I'm fatigued and I wish to retire I had a spot of beverage sixty minutes ago And its risen right up to my cranium No matter wherever I may perambulate On land or sea or atmospheric vapour You can always hear me chanting the melody Indicate the way to my abode Some similar versions substitute "terra firma" for land and/or "aqueous precipitate" for foam.

Literature

Film

Television

Football

Supporters of Wimbledon F.C. / AFC Wimbledon have sung an adapted version reflecting their team spending 25 years away from their Plough Lane home stadium: "Show Me The Way To Plough Lane". Supporters of Liverpool FC sing a version "Show them the way to go home" to mock the away team and away fans that are visiting Anfield stadium: Show them the way to home They're tired and they want to go to bed (for a wank) Cos they're only half a football team Compared to the boys in red

Theme parks

At Universal Studios Florida, in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley, there is a window of animated shrunken heads. They banter with each other and often break into "Show Me The Way To Go Home". It is also one of the spots where one can use an interactive wand and use the Silencio wand movement to make them stop singing and make muffled sounds as if they suddenly can't move their lips. It is located across from Borgin & Burke's gift shop and next to the Dystal Phaelanges skeleton display. This along with several other design details throughout the Harry Potter themed section are a tribute to the former Jaws attraction, which closed on January 2, 2012 and was replaced by Diagon Alley in 2014.

Recordings