"What! No Mickey Mouse (What Kind of a Party is This?)" is a 1932 song about Mickey Mouse composed by Irving Caesar. The titular exclamation was based on a popular catchphrase of the time, which was spoken by moviegoers who were disappointed that a Mickey cartoon wasn't on a theater's program.
A popular recording was created in 1932 by bandleader Ben Bernie. In 1970, Buena Vista Records released a single of the song performed by Phil Harris, with "Minnie's Yoo Hoo" on the B-side. The Bernie recording is briefly featured in the documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse.
Lyrics[]
When Noah planned his famous ark, he knew just what to do
He searched until he found a park and walked off with the zoo
With lions, tigers, monkeys, donkeys, he sailed the ocean wide
And when he lined them up on deck, twas then some cuckoo cried:
What! No Mickey Mouse? What kind of a party is this?
Your lions roar, your tigers snore, I've heard them roar and snore before
I don't see why you make a fuss about the hippopotamus
Your dogs bow-wow, your cats meow, I know that you can milk a cow
But Mickey makes me laugh and howl, and I want Mickey now!
So, where's that tricky mouse?
That slicky, wacky, wicky, Bolshevik-y Mickey Mouse
Vote for Mickey Mouse! Let's make him our next President!
To Congress he is sure to say: "Meow, meow, okay, okay,
Ja, ja, yes, yes, si, si, oui, oui, how dry I am, have one on me,"
And then he'll cry, "Give me the facts, give me my axe, I'll cut your tax"
He'll show us all what can be done when he's in Washington
So, let's give the White House
To slicky, wacky, wicky, Bolshevik-y Mickey Mouse
Trivia[]
- In the 1970 cover, the word "Bolshevik-y" was changed to "tacky, tricky." Also, the line "So, let's give the White House" was changed to "So, let's give Nixon's house."