Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning
Al Jolson & Bing Crosby Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

"Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning,
Oh! How I'd love to remain in bed
For the hardest blow of all is to hear the bugler call:
'You've got to get up, you've got to get up,
You've got to get up this morning!'"

Someday I'm going to murder the bugler
Someday they're going to find him dead
I'll amputate his reveille and stomp upon it heavily
And spend the rest of my life in bed!

A bugler in the army is the luckiest of men
He wakes the boys at five and then goes back to bed again
He doesn't have to blow again until the afternoon
If ev'rything goes well with me I'll be a bugler soon!

"Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning,
Oh! How I'd love to remain in bed
For the hardest blow of all is to hear the bugler call:
'You've got to get up, you've got to get up,
You've got to get up this morning!'"

Oh, boy! The minute the battle is over
Oh, boy! The minute the foe is dead




I'll put my uniform away and move to Philadelphia
And spend the rest of my life in bed!

Overall Meaning

The song "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" by Al Jolson and Bing Crosby is a comical take on the classic army wake-up call. The lyrics talk about the struggle of getting up in the morning and the desire to stay snuggled up in bed. The song starts with a sarcastically cheerful melody, but quickly turns into a song of frustration with snarky comments about the bugler.


The lyrics mention the desire to murder the bugler for waking them up every morning. The lines "Someday I'm going to murder the bugler, Someday they're going to find him dead" demonstrate the frustration and anger over being forced awake early in the morning. They go on to explain how they would stomp on the reveille (the bugle call), and how they would rather spend their life in bed than wake up early every day.


The third verse paints a picture of the life of a bugler in the army, who is portrayed as the luckiest man in the army. The lines "He wakes the boys at five and then goes back to bed again, He doesn't have to blow again until the afternoon" describe the duties of the bugler, and highlight the difference in treatment between the bugler and the rest of the soldiers.


The song ends with a resolution to move away to Philadelphia and escape the army life. The verses "Oh, boy! The minute the battle is over, Oh, boy! The minute the foe is dead" lampoon the false bravado of soldiers, with the desire to escape the front line at the earliest opportunity.


Overall, the song is a humorous take on the difficulties and frustrations of army life, and the desire to escape it.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning,
I really detest waking up in the morning


Oh! How I'd love to remain in bed
I'd much rather stay in bed


For the hardest blow of all is to hear the bugler call: 'You've got to get up, you've got to get up, You've got to get up this morning!'
The most terrible thing is hearing the bugler call to wake up in the morning


Someday I'm going to murder the bugler
I have fantasies of killing the bugler who wakes us up with his call


Someday they're going to find him dead
I imagine him dead as a result of my actions


I'll amputate his reveille and stomp upon it heavily
I'll cut off the bugler's morning call and crush it underfoot


And spend the rest of my life in bed!
Then I'll never have to get up in the morning again


A bugler in the army is the luckiest of men
The bugler has it easy in the army


He wakes the boys at five and then goes back to bed again
He wakes us up early, but then gets to go back to sleep


He doesn't have to blow again until the afternoon
He doesn't have any other duties until later in the day


If ev'rything goes well with me I'll be a bugler soon!
I aspire to become a bugler myself, so I can have an easy job


Oh, boy! The minute the battle is over
I'll be overjoyed when the fighting is done


Oh, boy! The minute the foe is dead
I'll be thrilled when our enemies are defeated


I'll put my uniform away and move to Philadelphia
I'll retire from the army and relocate to Philadelphia


And spend the rest of my life in bed!
Where I can enjoy a life of laziness and sleep




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found