| "Ying Tong Song" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Goons with Maurice Ponke and His Orchestre Fromage | |
| A-side | "Bloodnok's Rock 'n' Roll Call" |
| Released | 20 September 1956 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:29 |
| Label | Decca |
| Songwriter(s) | Spike Milligan |
| Producer(s) | Marcel Stellman |
The "Ying Tong Song" (also known by its refrain, which is variously either "Ying tong diddle I po" or "Ying tong yiddle I po" rather than the oft-quoted but apparently absent "Ying tong iddle I po") is a novelty song written by Spike Milligan and performed by the Goons, usually led by Harry Secombe. It is a nonsense song, consisting of small verses interspersed by a completely nonsensical chorus. The origin of the title is said to have come from Harry Secombe's mispronunciation of the name of Milligan's war-time friend and fellow jazz musician, Harry Edgington. When Secombe repeatedly called him "Edgerton", Milligan replied, "it's Edgington, Edgington" and emphasized the point by saying "Yington, Yingtang".[1]