"Yon Yonson" or "Jan Jansen" is an infinitely recursive folk song, most popular in the midwestern United States. The song being set in Wisconsin is a satirical reference to Wisconsin's Scandinavian-American culture and heritage. It is also well-known for its use in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

Origins of the song

The song is often sung in a Scandinavian accent (e.g. j pronounced as y, w pronounced as v). This accent is revealed by the name "Yon Yonson", which when recited in American English is usually rendered "Jan Jansen" or "John Johnson". The Swedish pronunciation "Yon Yonson" probably dates the origin of the song to soon after the Swedes' arrival in the United States. A possible origin of the song is the dialect stage comedy Yon Yonson by Gus Heege and W. D. Coxey (1890). The play's setting included a Minnesota lumber camp. Despite no evidence showing that the song was actually performed as part of the play, it gave birth to 'Yon Yonson' as a stock character in Scandanavian-American pop culture.

Lyrics

Numerous versions of the song exist, but all are similar to the following:

Other occurrences of the song