Editing If You're Happy and You Know It

{{Short description|Children's song}}

"'''If You're Happy and You Know It'''" is a popular traditional [[repetitive song|repetitive]] [[children's song]], [[Folk music|folksong]], and [[drinking song]]. The song has been noted for its similarities to "Molodejnaya", a song appearing in the 1938 Soviet musical film ''[[Volga-Volga]]''.<ref>[http://groovekidnation.com/resources/top_rhymes/ifyourhappy.html "If You're Happy and You Know It"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218204554/http://groovekidnation.com/resources/top_rhymes/ifyourhappy.html |date=2015-02-18 }}, Groove Kid Nation</ref>

==History==
The origin of the melody is not known, but numerous sources trace it back to Spain, Latin America, Latvia or the United States of America.

The song was published in various places through the decades following the late 1960s, including a volume of "constructive recreational activities" for children (1957),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kraus|first1=Richard G.|title=Play Activities for Boys and Girls, Six Through Twelve: A Guide for Teachers, Parents|date=1957|publisher=McGraw-Hill|page=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhAXAAAAIAAJ&q=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411110039/https://books.google.ca/books?id=vhAXAAAAIAAJ&q=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22&dq=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UeceVYCZLMadygSGw4GYCg&redir_esc=y|archive-date=2015-04-11|url-status=live}}</ref> a book of drama projects for disabled children (1967),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schattner|first1=Regina|title=Creative Dramatics for Handicapped Children|date=1967|publisher=John Day Company|page=75|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-cPAAAAMAAJ&q=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304141720/https://books.google.ca/books?ei=UeceVYCZLMadygSGw4GYCg&id=N-cPAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=live}}</ref> and a nursing home manual (1966).<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Jacobs|editor1-first=H. Lee|editor2-last=Morris|editor2-first=Woodrow Wilbert|title=Nursing and retirement home administration|date=1966|publisher=Iowa State University Press|page=153|isbn=9780813811758|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-l5rAAAAMAAJ&q=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411112510/https://books.google.ca/books?id=-l5rAAAAMAAJ&q=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22&dq=%22happy+and+you+know+it%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UeceVYCZLMadygSGw4GYCg&redir_esc=y|archive-date=2015-04-11|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1971, Jonico Music filed for copyright on the song, crediting it to [[Joe Raposo]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Music: current and renewal registrations, January-June 1971|journal=Catalog of Copyright Entries|date=1972|volume=3rd Series, Volume 25, Part 5, Sections 1-2|page=348|url=https://archive.org/details/catalogofco1971325512li|publisher=Copyright Office, The Library of Congress|location=Washington DC|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313053836/https://archive.org/details/catalogofco1971325512li|archive-date=2016-03-13|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the early part of the 2000s, the music [[Recording Industry Association of America]] sued individuals for downloading music using file-sharing services. Widespread media attention was paid to one 12-year-old, whose downloads included "If You're Happy and You Know It" from [[Kazaa]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Music firms target 12-year-old|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3096340.stm|access-date=3 April 2015|work=BBC News|date=10 September 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407225529/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3096340.stm|archive-date=7 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Barrow|first1=Becky|title=Girl, 12, sued for download of tunes|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3317993/Girl-12-sued-for-download-of-tunes.html|access-date=3 April 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=10 September 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408150124/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3317993/Girl-12-sued-for-download-of-tunes.html|archive-date=8 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Palfrey|first1=John|last2=Gasser|first2=Urs|title=Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives|date=25 November 2013|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0465013838|page=141|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LlFNT1ER4scC&q=lahara+happy+and+you+know+it&pg=PA141|access-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411112619/https://books.google.ca/books?id=LlFNT1ER4scC&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=lahara+happy+and+you+know+it&source=bl&ots=XGEuf-jXE9&sig=_IFIoLt4Rm4tpg166JZl7xYb3ik&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mfIeVeq_JpGsyAT-nYBw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lahara%20happy%20and%20you%20know%20it&f=false|archive-date=11 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sparrow|first1=Andrew Peter|title=Music Distribution and the Internet: A Legal Guide for the Music Business|date=2006|publisher=Gower Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=056608709X|page=40|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdGvh8FKwG8C&q=lahara+happy+and+you+know+it&pg=PA40|chapter=Protecting and exploiting IPR|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411102937/https://books.google.ca/books?id=JdGvh8FKwG8C&pg=PA40&dq=lahara+happy+and+you+know+it&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ffQeVfCGIc-NyAT51oKQAg&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lahara%20happy%20and%20you%20know%20it&f=false|archive-date=2015-04-11|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2007, the song was included as part of the [[Nihon no Uta Hyakusen]], a list of the 100 most well-known folk songs in Japan. It is one of nine songs from foreign countries included on the list. It was selected by the [[Agency of Cultural Affairs]] and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers Associations of Japan.

In 2020, [[Granger Smith]] recorded a version that relied on alcohol drinking called "Country and Ya Know It".<ref>[https://www.countrynow.com/granger-smiths-country-ya-know-it-is-a-play-on-a-popular-childrens-song/ "Granger Smith's 'Country & Ya Know It' Is a Play on a Popular Children's Song"] by Lauren Jo Black, ''Country Now'', 2 September 2020</ref>

==Lyric variations==
Like many children's songs, there are many versions of the lyrics. A popular version goes as follows:
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!
If you're happy and you know it, and you really want to show it;
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!</poem>

This verse is usually followed by more which follow the same pattern but say: "If you're happy and you know it, stomp/stamp your feet!", "If you're happy and you know it, shout/say 'hooray'!" or "shout/say 'amen'!", "If you're happy and you know it, do all three!", "If you're happy and you know it, do all four!". Other versions of the song tend to say, "then your face will surely show it" in place of "and you really want to show it"; the form "then you really ought to show it" has also been used. Many variations on the substance of the first three verses exist, including:<ref>{{YouTube|title=If You're Happy and You Know It|id=0TBn8u-T1EY}}</ref>
:"... stomp/stamp your feet!"
:"... wave your arms!"
:"... say, "hooray!", "amen!", "we are!""
:"... do all three, four, five, etc.!"

===Oh Be Careful Little Eyes===
'''Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes''' is a very popular [[Christian]] children's song. It is sung to the tune of If You're Happy and You Know It,<ref>{{Cite web |title=OH, BE CAREFUL |url=https://digitalsongsandhymns.com/songs/7900 |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Digital Songs & Hymns |language=en}}</ref> and it teaches children to be careful about what they see, hear, say, and do. This song is about living a life that pleases God. The song is rooted in the biblical principle of living a life pleasing to God, particularly in line with verses such as Proverbs 4:23, which encourages guarding the heart, and Psalm 101:3, which advises not to set wicked things before people's eyes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proverbs 4:23 |url=https://www.esv.org/Proverbs+4:23/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=ESV Bible |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Psalm 101:3 |url=https://www.esv.org/Psalm+101:3/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=ESV Bible |language=en}}</ref>  

====Lyrics====
Each verse of the song addresses a different part of the body with a [[sense]], to encourage children to be careful with what they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, trust with their mind, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hymn: Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see |url=https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/c/157 |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.hymnal.net |language=en}}</ref>

====Meaning====
"Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes" is a reminder to children that God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, so to be mindful. It is satisfying for children and adults alike.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-17 |title=Luke 11: O Be Careful Little Eyes What You See |url=https://burlesonchurchofchrist.com/luke-11-o-be-careful-little-eyes-what-you-see/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Burleson Church of Christ |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Category:Christian hymns]]  
[[Category:Children's songs]]

==Melody==
<score vorbis="1">\transpose c, f {
\key c \major \time 6/8 \tempo "Moderato" \tempo 4. = 110
\set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \partial 4. g,4 g,8 | c4 c8 c4 c8 | c4 c8 b,4 c8 | d4.
\set Staff.midiInstrument = #"woodblock" \xNotesOn f4. | f4. \xNotesOff \bar "" \break
\set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" g,4 g,8 | d4 d8 d4 d8 | d4 d8 c4 d8 | e4. 
\set Staff.midiInstrument = #"woodblock" \xNotesOn f4. | f4. \xNotesOff \bar "" \break
\set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano"  e4 e8 | f4 f8 f4 f8 | a,4 a,8
f4 f8 | e4 e8 e4 d8 | c4 c8 \bar "" \break
e4 e8 | d4 d8 d4 c8 | b,4 b,8 a,4 b,8 | c4.
\set Staff.midiInstrument = #"woodblock" \xNotesOn f4. | f4. \xNotesOff \bar "|." }
\addlyrics {
If you’re hap -- py and you know it, clap your hands (clap) (clap)
If you’re hap -- py and you know it, clap your hands (clap) (clap)
If you’re hap -- py and you know it, and you real -- ly want to show it,
If you’re hap -- py and you know it, clap your hands (clap) (clap)
}
</score>

In the Japanese version as popularized by [[Kyu Sakamoto]] and included as the 11th track of ''[[Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Best]]'', the third line has a different melody to fit the Japanese lyrics.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.partitions-domaine-public.fr/pdf/8831/Traditionnel-If-you-re-happy-and-you-know-it.html Sheet music]
* {{YouTube|P4f410gVNiE|"Molodejnaya"}}, from ''Volga-Volga'' by [[Isaak Dunayevsky]]
* {{MusicBrainz work|MBID=0987f5c9-74a0-4998-95bf-56970b9fe729|title=If You're Happy and You Know It}}

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[[Category:American children's songs]]
[[Category:Traditional children's songs]]
[[Category:American folk songs]]
[[Category:Drinking songs]]