# Whence came this chant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018 "2007-07-24T22:39:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neorxnawange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f4b2a3/32.png) [@neorxnawange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neorxnawange)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/1 "2007-07-24T22:39:27Z")
oh-EEE-oh, OHHHHHH-oh as featured in LL Cool J’s \*I’m That Type of Guy \* and more recently in \*O, Brother Where Art Thou? \* Where did it originate and what meaning might it have had? ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/2 "2007-07-24T22:44:31Z")
_The Wizard of Oz_, when the guards are marching into the Wicked Witch’s castle. > [@](#): > > What do the witch’s guards chant? > > From the trivia page: There are many alleged lyrics to the “Winkie Chant” performed by the Witch’s guards, including “All we own, we owe her”, “Oh we love the old one”, and “Oh we loathe the old one”. However, the correct version, seen in the film’s screenplay, is “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” and any other interpretations are simply the result of the listener’s mind treating the chant as an audio ink blot. From the [IMDB](http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:Vndnv72mp_IJ:www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/faq+wizard+of+oz+chant&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us) . ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/3 "2007-07-24T22:44:57Z")
The witch’s guards in _The Wizard of Oz_? I always heard it as “Oh, we love no one.” ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/4 "2007-07-24T22:45:13Z")
The Wizard of Oz? More recently on LEXX. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/5 "2007-07-25T04:49:12Z")
We did it at a school I attended: Fre-EE-beer FREE beer ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/6 "2007-07-25T06:48:04Z")
They were called “Winkies,” and I can’t believe there are people who don’t know where that’s from. ---
**Author:** ![neorxnawange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f4b2a3/32.png) [@neorxnawange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neorxnawange)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-came-this-chant/413018/7 "2007-07-25T12:53:48Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] They were called “Winkies,” and I can’t believe there are people who don’t know where that’s from. [/QUOTE] Well believe it. I haven’t seen the \*Wizard of Oz \* since I was a kid, I hated it, and while I can appreciate its innovations and its historical importance I personally dislike the film, mostly because I think Garland to be perhaps the most unlikable and awkward person ever to play on the big screen. That and the monkeys and midgets scared the crap out of me. I have no desire to ever see it again in spite of its iconic status.