(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China
1948 popular song by Frank Loesser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China", often shortened to "On a Slow Boat to China" or simply "Slow Boat to China", is a popular song by American songwriter Frank Loesser, published in 1948.
| "(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | 1948 |
| Genre | Traditional pop |
| Songwriter | Frank Loesser |
It is a well-known pop standard, recorded by many artists, including a duet between Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby (for their 1958 album Fancy Meeting You Here), Ella Fitzgerald, Joni James, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Buffett, Fats Domino, and Liza Minnelli.
In the UK, the biggest hit version was recorded in 1959 by Emile Ford and the Checkmates, which peaked at No. 3 on the UK singles chart.
Paul McCartney sang this song[when?] to honor Frank Loesser.[citation needed]
Hit recordings
| Recorded by | Label | Catalog number | Date first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart | Weeks on chart | Peak | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (vocals: Harry Babbitt & Gloria Wood) | Columbia Records | 38301 | October 15, 1948 | 19 | #2 | [1][2] This version was a #1 hit in Australia in 1949 as well. |
| Freddy Martin and His Orchestra (vocals: Glenn Hughes and The Martin Men) | RCA Victor Records | 20-3123 | October 29, 1948 | 17 | #5 | [1] |
| Benny Goodman | Capitol Records | 15208 | November 12, 1948 | 12 | #10 | [1] |
| Art Lund | MGM Records | 10269 | November 5, 1948 | 9 | #13 | [1] |
| Larry Clinton | Decca Records | 24482 | November 26, 1948 | 1 | #27 | [1] |
Idiom
Frank Loesser's daughter, Susan Loesser, authored a biography of her father, A Most Remarkable Fella (1993), in which she writes,
"I'd like to get you on a slow boat to China" was a well-known phrase among poker players, referring to a person who lost steadily and handsomely. My father turned it into a romantic song, placing the title in the mainstream of catch-phrases in 1947.
The idea is that "a slow boat to China" was the longest trip one could imagine. Loesser shifted the phrase to a more romantic setting, yet it eventually entered general parlance to mean anything that takes an extremely long time.[3][4]
Media
The phrase "a slow boat to China" (or a snowclone thereof) features
- The title of Gavin Young's break-through book, recounting a journey from Piraeus to Canton.
- The title of a novel by Chen Danyan in Shanghai, China.
- The title of a short story by Haruki Murakami, translated into English in the collection The Elephant Vanishes.
- Played on in the title of the song "Slow Hole to China" on the 2003 compilation album Slow Hole to China: Rare and Unreleased by the band Clutch.
- Referenced within the film 'The Apartment' with the innuendo "Boy I'd like to get her on a slow boat to China"
- Played on in the title of the song "Slowcar to China" on the Gary Numan album Dance.
- Referred to elsewhere in Only Fools and Horses; an episode is called "Slow Bus to Chingford".
- Description of "girls [...] Stepping on that slow boat to China" in the Sailor song "Girls Girls Girls"
- Used as a pun in a lyric for the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? theme song by Rockapella.
- Sung by Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) in Paul Thomas Anderson's 2012 film *The Master.[5]