In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the brothers frequently appeared on television variety shows and issued several popular record albums of their stage performances. Their own television variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, became one of the most controversial American TV programs of the Vietnam War era. Despite popular success, the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture led to their firing by the CBS network in 1969. One episode was left unaired.
The brothers continued to work, both independently and as a team, on stage and television, and in films during subsequent decades.
Chocolate
The Smothers Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I fell in a vat of chocolate
What'd you do when you fell in the chocolate?
Lolly doo-dum, lolly doo-dum-day
Well, I fell in a vat of chocolate
Wait a minute, wait a minute
You just said you fell in the vat of chocolate
I know, I just fell right in this vat of chocolate
I know, and I asked you a question
I said, "What did you do when you fell in the chocolate?"
I swam a lot, there's uh
There's uh thirty-foot vat
It was just full of chocolate
Thirty foot across?
No, deep, was thirty feet deep
Full of chocolate
And I fell right into it
And I, I uh
Well what'd ya, what happened?
What did you do after you fell in?
Well, I uh, …
I even hate to think about it because it was, uh it was a
No, I'm serious
Terrible experience
What did you do?
What did you do to get out?
I was just uh walkin' down this, uh
Down by my house there, and there's uh
There was this, uh, vat of chocolate over …
No, no, what did you do?
There had to
First of all,
there had to be a restraining rail on the vat of chocolate
Well, I, uh, used to kind of balance on that rail
I used to walk on that rail
And someone evidently put something slippery on there
‘Cause I fell right in there
Okay, then what happened, Tom?
What did you do after you fell? Did…
Well, I, I … yelled "fire," uh
I yelled "fire" when I fell into the chocolate
I yelled "fire" when I fell into the chocolate
Tom, why'd you yell "fire" when you fell into the chocolate?
Lolly doo-dum, lolly doo-dum-day
Well…
Now I want you to think about it, Tom
It must have been a very traumatic experience
Oh, it's just a horrible experience
I had chocolate all over me
I was swimming around like that, yelling "fire"
Well, what possessed you to yell "fire"
when you fell into this vat of liquid chocolate?
Well, I
There was no fire
You were in the chocolate and you yelled "fire"
That's pretty, uh, ridiculous if you ask me
It certainly is, uh, when I …
I just yelled "fire" when I fell into the chocolate
No, Tom, why'd you yell "fire" when you fell into the chocolate?
Well, I yelled "fire" because no one
would save me if I yelled, "CHOCOLATE!"
Haha, no one would save me if I yelled, "chocolate," haha
Lolly doo-dum, lolly doo-dum-day-ay-ay
The Smothers Brothers' song "Chocolate" tells the story of a man who fell into a vat of chocolate. The song starts with the repetition of the line "I fell in a vat of chocolate," emphasizing the absurdity of the situation. When asked what he did when he fell in, the singer responds with "Lolly doo-dum, lolly doo-dum-day," suggesting that he was in a state of shock or perhaps even found the experience enjoyable.
As the conversation between the two brothers continues, it becomes clear that the man fell into a deep vat of chocolate and had trouble getting out. He swam around and yelled "fire" instead of "chocolate" because he believed that no one would save him if he yelled the latter. This adds a touch of irony to the story, as yelling "fire" likely caused even more commotion than yelling "chocolate" would have.
Overall, the song is a humorous and lighthearted look at a bizarre situation. The repetition of certain phrases and the use of nonsensical language adds to the whimsical tone of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I fell in a vat of chocolate
I accidentally fell into a large container that was full of liquid chocolate
What'd you do when you fell in the chocolate?
What actions did you take after you fell into the vat of chocolate?
Wait a minute, wait a minute
Please hold on for a moment
Well, I fell in a vat of chocolate
To reiterate, I fell into a large container full of liquid chocolate
I swam a lot, there's uh
I had to swim a lot as the container was very deep
There's uh thirty-foot vat
The vat was thirty feet deep
It was just full of chocolate
The container was completely filled with liquid chocolate
And I fell right into it
I fell directly into the container without any hesitation
Well, what'd ya, what happened?
What occurred after you fell into the vat of chocolate?
Well, I even hate to think about it because it was, uh it was a
I am hesitant to talk about it as it was a traumatizing experience
No, I'm serious
I am being earnest and truthful
What did you do to get out?
How did you get out of the vat of chocolate?
There had to be a restraining rail on the vat of chocolate
There should have been a barrier to prevent individuals from falling into the vat
Well, I, uh, used to kind of balance on that rail
I would often walk and balance myself on the barrier surrounding the vat
Someone evidently put something slippery on there
It seems someone intentionally made the barrier slippery, causing me to fall into the vat
Okay, then what happened, Tom?
Please continue recounting what occurred, Tom
I, I … yelled "fire," uh
Upon falling into the vat, I panicked and yelled "fire"
Tom, why'd you yell "fire" when you fell into the chocolate?
What prompted you to yell "fire" when you fell into the vat?
Now I want you to think about it, Tom
I want you to contemplate and reflect on the situation, Tom
It must have been a very traumatic experience
I can imagine that what occurred was very distressing and traumatizing
Oh, it's just a horrible experience
It was a terrible ordeal
I had chocolate all over me
The liquid chocolate covered my entire body
Well, what possessed you to yell "fire"
What inspired you to shout "fire" as opposed to other phrases?
There was no fire
There was no actual fire, hence the yell was not a legitimate emergency call
You were in the chocolate and you yelled "fire"
You were submerged in the chocolate, yet shouted 'fire'
That's pretty, uh, ridiculous if you ask me
In my opinion, that decision was quite absurd and illogical
Well, I yelled "fire" because no one
I proclaimed "fire" because I believed that individuals would be more inclined to help me than if I exclaimed "chocolate"
No one would save me if I yelled, "CHOCOLATE!"
I assumed that if I had shouted "chocolate", no one would have believed me or taken the situation seriously
Contributed by Jayce T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@arseejee
Nearly 60 years later, life has imitated art. Two people fell into a tank of chocolate at a Mars / M&M candy factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania today. The fire department was called for assistance.
@scottstalcup6980
Oh, I'm so glad someone else saw that news story. It brought me here.
@kellyblackledge104
I'm so happy to see that I'm not the only one watching this after the incident today. I'm only 40 so I'd never seen it, but my 70 year old father mentioned it, so here I am. Thankfully both people were rescued and are going to survive.
@kevinwhitmore9582
Yeah, I sent the news clip to my brother, with the message "Why'd you fell fire when you fell into the chocolate?"
@catatfeline
This is why I'm here 😀
@betsykeller9096
This was my Dad's favorite routine. The minute I saw the news article (happened near me), I emailed my siblings with the article attached, and said, "Dad's favorite routine became real!!!"
@damiancazares7994
Happy Heavenly 87th Birthday Tommy Smothers 1937-2023
@gauchemurleau
RIP Tommy Smothers
@user-hi9ww4qw8w
So long,Tommy. Thanks for fighting for us all.
@reednewell2164
It’s June, 2022… 2 people actually fell into a tank of chocolate at the M&M/Mars factory in Pennsylvania this week. I’ve been waiting almost 60 years for this song to come true and it finally did!