# From Here To Eternity: Ernest Borgnine's piano tune **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506 "2006-05-28T00:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/1 "2006-05-28T00:40:46Z")
About a half hour into _From Here To Eternity_ Frank Sinatra is trying to get Ernest Borgnine to stop playing piano and they have an altercation. When the impending fight is stopped Borgnine returns to the piano and plays a tune and Sinatra leaves with a woman. What is the tune? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/2 "2006-05-28T01:14:25Z")
I’m watching this too. The tune wasn’t recognizable to me. I wondered if Borgnine was just plunkin’. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/3 "2006-05-28T03:02:04Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I’m watching this too. The tune wasn’t recognizable to me. I wondered if Borgnine was just plunkin’. I’ve heard it in other films. And with words of a sort. The only thing is that I only remember nonsense. Sort of ‘roo-roo-ree ree ree rilly-op doo-doo dow-dup, dow-dup, dow-dup…’ I think they were actual words, only I didn’t make them out in the other films so I can’t search for them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/4 "2006-05-29T00:20:31Z")
Bump? Not knowing what this tune is frustrates me every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/5 "2006-05-29T02:40:41Z")
The Internet Movie Database lists the [songs](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0045793/soundtrack) in the movie. Was it the [_The Hut Sut Song_](http://www.archive.org/details/soundie_1) that was driving you crazy? That seems to be a common reaction, judging by the music video. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/6 "2006-05-29T03:04:00Z")
I just happen to have _From Here to Eternity_ on tape, and watched the scene (about 32 minutes into the movie). Yes, it is definitely _The Hut Sut Song_. [Let’s all sing along!](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/the-king-sisters-hut-sut-song-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/7 "2006-05-29T03:23:53Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > [Let’s all sing along!](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/the-king-sisters-hut-sut-song-lyrics.html) _Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla, brawla sooit…_ And here, I thought I was hearing nonsense! Thanks for the links. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/8 "2006-05-29T03:51:20Z")
_The Hut Sut Song_ is also heard in the movie _A Christmas Story_. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/9 "2006-05-29T03:53:26Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > _The Hut Sut Song_ is also heard in the movie _A Christmas Story_. Horton the Elephant also sings a misheard version in the Warner Bros. short based on the Dr. Seuss book _Horton Hatches the Egg._ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-here-to-eternity-ernest-borgnines-piano-tune/358506/10 "2006-05-29T13:48:15Z")
Another song that’s a bit catchy is one that I heard twice in the last couple of days. Both times were in John Wayne films: _Donovan’s Reef_, and _Flying Leathernecks_. _Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga Oh, the monkeys have no tails They were bitten off by whales Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga_ I wonder if there’s a recording of it online?