Frank Gallop was on an album with that title. But I don’t get it. What does that mean? I’ve been in love (still am;)) and I’m pretty sure not everyone was Jewish.
No no no, you misheard him.
It’s “When you’re a sub, the whole world is bluish”
;j
Actually, I’d like to know too, 'cause I’m in love again, and…
Hey…I got it! It means that everything is kosher! Everything is alright!
That’s a WAG out of right field, but that was a great position to play in little league
Remember, of course, that the album was aimed primarily at a Jewish audience - think Adam Sandler’s Hannukah Song (or whatever the right spelling is) for the late fifties, early sixties. I used to own this album - and actually may still, I gotta go look now.
Yeah, I remember it.
IIRC the album was actually the soundtrack from an off-Broadway comedy review. Frank Gallup did a number called “The Ballad of Iriving.”
The song you’re thinking of was done by another performer and the lyrics mentioned a while bunch of people who you wouldn’t have guessed were Jewish (Sammy Davis Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, etc.)
If I could remember the name of the show I might be able to get some more information. Failing that, you might want to call Dr. Demento.
Big Irving.
Big short Irving.
Big short fat Irving.
The 142nd fastest gun… in the West.
141 were faster than he
But Irving was looking for 143
He always followed his mother’s wishes
even on the range he kept to sets of dishes
The James Boys were coming on the train at first sun,
And the town said “Irving, we need your gun.”
When that train pulled in at the break of dawn,
Irving’s gun was there, but Irving was gone.
BTW: I’ve heard two versions of this. One of the lines in the first verse changes.
The first time I heard it:
He came from the old Barmitsvah Spread,
Slepping of salamie and pumpernickle bread.
Then it was changed to:
He came from the old Barmitsvah Spread,
With a 10-gallon yamaka on his head.
What gives? (I apologize for the spelling. When it comes to Yiddish, I’m a :wally
Yippee aye oh khhhhaiay!
Sounds to me like another conspiracy for Sweet Willy to tackle. 
Drollman:
Just a guess here- at first, Frank Gallop probably did the Irving routine for an all-Jewish or ALMOST completely Jewish audience, all of whom got the cultural/religious references. And he probably recorded the bit with a wholly Jewish audience in mind.
Presumably, once the novelty record become a semi-hit, he found that Gentiles were liking it and laughing at it, but didn’t get some of the jokes (“What’s a yarmulke?” “I dunno.”). To widen the appeal, he replaced the skullcap joke with a deli food joke.
On the CD of “When You’re In Love The Whole World Is Jewish”, the title song is sung by Lou Jacobi. It appears at the end of the CD, and doesn’t mention different people who might be Jewish. The title of the song that you’re thinking of is “Would You Believe it?” It’s sung by Phil Leeds.
“The Ballad of Irving” is credited to Frank Peppiatt/John Aylesworth/Dick Williams.
The CD I have is from Rhino, and it also includes the album “You Don’t Have To Be Jewish.” The liner notes say that both albums were recorded in the studio with a live audience. Bob Booker was one of the writers/producers. Booker also produced the #1 comedy album about the Kennedys, “The First Family”. The notes say he wanted to do something very different from that. There’s no mention of a stage revue.
Booker is also quoted as saying “We put jokes on the album that I found in some Yiddish material more than a thousand years old. Then I’d hear Myron Cohen had done an updated version of the same joke on television a week ago.”
The CD is still in print. You can hear excerpts of the above songs and other tracks at Tower Records’ page for the album.
LBJ was Disciples of Christ, not Jewish.
Songs aren’t good sources of fact, I guess, or I got the wrong Lyndon Johnson.
How I could have gotten the wrong Lyndon Johnson is beyond me, though.
I believe that was a Whooosh.
OK whoa! Back up! Even if it was for a Jewish audience, that still doesn’t give the line “When you’re in love the whole world is Jewish” any sense, or does it. Please, someone who is Jewish, explain why that is funny or whatever. Was it just a name to tell people that the album was full of Jewish jokes, or is it particularly funny in some way?
Well, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Sean Connery weren’t Jewish either. I’ve never heard this song, but that would seem to be too many mistakes to be coincidental, so I assume the song purposely listed people who weren’t Jewish, for whatever reason. I suppose it must be part of the joke, but from just the snippet provided, I have to say I don’t get it.
My WAG: At that time, being Jewish in the US meant living with constant reminders that you were Not Quite Like Us, Dear. But when you’re in love, very happy, looking through the world with proverbial rose-colored glasses, and all that, you can forget that sense of “otherness”.
And Irving’s accessory changed from the salami on pumpernickel to a ten-gallon yarmulke - from the familiar to the less familiar for most potential listeners. Maybe someone figured that a deli sandwich wasn’t “Jewish enough”, since Gentiles eat at delis too?
Your WAG and my WAG could get together and actually come up with some smart shit. I guess now it makes sense. I just don’t have the right perspective. Too Aryan I guess