K-K-K-Katy

"K-K-K-Katy"
"K-K-K-Katy"
	Sheet music cover
Song
Songwriter(s)	Geoffrey O'Hara

"K-K-K-Katy" is a World War I-era song written by Canadian-American composer Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917 and published in 1918. The sheet music advertised it as "The Sensational Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors", as well as "The Sensational New Stammering Song"^[1] The song was first played at a garden party fund-raiser for the Red Cross in Collins Bay on Lake Ontario. O'Hara was from Chatham, Ontario, and taught music at several universities.

The lyrics tell of a brave but stuttering soldier called Jimmy who is lovesick over the beautiful Katy. He buys a wedding ring before going to fight in France. The inspiration for the "Katy" of the song was Katherine Craig Richardson of Kingston, Ontario. She was a friend of O'Hara's sister, and her parents recall O'Hara writing the song in their living room.^[2]^{[dubious – discuss]}

K-K-K-Katy

Performed by Billy Murray recorded in 1918

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^ Pelger, Martin (2014). Soldiers' Songs and Slang of the Great War. New York: Osprey Publishing. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-4728-0415-0.
^ Furia, Philip; Lasser, Michael (2006). America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. New York: Routledge. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-415-97246-8.

[1] Pelger, Martin (2014). Soldiers' Songs and Slang of the Great War. New York: Osprey Publishing. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-4728-0415-0.

[2] Furia, Philip; Lasser, Michael (2006). America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. New York: Routledge. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-415-97246-8.

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