Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's "Hot Dog (Hot Diggity Dog)" Song - Its Lyrics & Its Cultural Influences

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the American children's television Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song "Hot Dog (Hot Diggity Dog)".

Two video examples of that song and the song's lyrics are included in this post. Additional videos and comments are included in this post and the Addendum to this post that refer to the cultural influences on the lyrics to that song, the "Hot Dog" dance as performed in these videos, and also to one of the costumes worn in the second video of that song and dance.

This song is a departure from the usual music featured in this blog which showcases Black music in the United States and around the world. While I believe that African American culture influenced some parts of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's "Hot Dog (Hot Diggity Dog)" song, by no means do I think that that African American culture is the only cultural influence on this song.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers of this song. Thanks to all those quoted in this post and to the producers, singers, and musicians in each of these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. Special thanks to my toddler granddaughter for introducing me to lots of creative children's songs and videos, including "Hot Dog (Hot Diggity Dog)".

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INFORMATION ABOUT MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_Clubhouse
"Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is an American animated interactive television series produced from 2006 to Present. The series, Disney Television Animation's first computer animated series, was aimed at preschoolers....

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto star in the series, which focuses on interacting with the viewer to stimulate problem solving."
-snip-
The song "Hot Dog (Hot Diggity Dog)" is sung at the end of every episode of this series.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - 'Hot Dog Dance' - Disney Official



DisneyJuniorUK, Published on Sep 12, 2012

Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggidy Dog! Can you learn all of the moves and sing a long to the Hot Dog dance? Mickey and friends will show you how to do the Hot Dog dance!

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Example #2: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Halloween Hotdog Dance



DisneyJuniorUK, Published on Oct 30, 2013

Join Mickey Mouse and friends as they celebrate Halloween together!

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LYRICS - HOT DOG (HOT DIGGITY DOG) Version #1
(Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog
Now, we've got ears, it's time for cheers
Hot Dog, Hot Dog, the problem's solved...
Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!

[character interruption]

Mickey: What a Hot Dog Day!

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog
It's a brand new day, what'cha waitin' for?
Get up, stretch out, stomp on the floor...
Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog
We're splittin' the scene, we're full of beans
So long for now, from Mickey Mouse...

Mickey: That's me!

And the Mickey Mouse...Club...House!

Source: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Hot_Dog_Dance

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LYRICS - HOT DOG (HOT DIGGITY DOG) Version #2
(Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

Hot dog! (Hot dog) Hot dog!

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
Now we got ears, it's time for cheers

Hot dog, hot dog, the problem's solved
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog

Grab my boots and a sandwich
Let's start a parade
Get the coconut drum kit
For Daisy to play

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
We're taking off, we're dancing now
Hot dog, leapfrog, and holy cow
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
It's a brand new day
Whatcha waiting for?
Get up, stretch out, stomp on the floor

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog
We're splitting the scene
We're full of beans

So long for now from Mickey Mouse
(That's me!)
And the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Source: http://tmbw.net/wiki/Lyrics:Hot_Dog!
-snip-
Both websites indicate that "Hot Dog" (Hot Diggity Dog) is sung by "They Might Be Giants". The song was recorded in 2006. The name of the song's composer isn't given on that website or on any other website about this song that I visted.

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CULTURAL INFLUENCES - THE SONG'S LYRICS [Version #2]
Hot dog
"hot dog - "sausage on a split roll," c.1890, popularized by cartoonist T.A. Dorgan. It is said to echo a 19c. suspicion (occasionally justified) that sausages contained dog meat. Meaning "someone particularly skilled or excellent" (with overtones of showing off) is from 1896. Connection between the two senses, if any, is unclear. Hot dog! as an exclamation of approval was in use by 1906." http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hot+dog
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From http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Hot_Dog_Dance
The song is title[d] "Hot Dog!" and is performed by They Might Be Giants. It echoes Mickey's first spoken words in the 1929 short The Karnival Kid."
-snip-
That cartoon video is found below under my comments about the dance that is performed in that Clubhouse cartoon.

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Hot diggity dog
This phrase is lifted from the 1956 American Pop song "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)". The song was "recorded by Perry Como and went to #1 on the Billboard pop music chart later that year. The song's melody is based on Emmanuel Chabrier's 1883 composition, España...

The phrase "hot diggity dog!" dates to at least 1928, when Al Jolson was recorded saying "Hot diggity dog! Hot kitty! Hot pussycat! Didn't I tell you you'd love it?" after a performance of the tune "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder""... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Diggity_(Dog_Ziggity_Boom).
-snip-
A video of Perry Como singing "Hot Diggity" is included in the Addendum to this post. A video of Emmanuel Chabrier's "España" is also included in the Addendum.

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"it's time for cheers"
it's time for us to cheer; it's time for us to be happy (cheerful)

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"Get the coconut drum kit"
A drum made out of coconut for Daisy [the female duck character in the Clubhouse] to play. A video of a coconut drum is included in the Addendum.

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"Hot dog, leapfrog, and holy cow"
These words all refer to animals and probably have no other meaning in this song beyond that. However, both "hot dog" and "holy cow" are exclamations.

"Holy cow!" (and similar) is an exclamation of surprise used mostly in the United States, Canada, Australia and England. It is a minced oath or euphemism for "Holy Christ!"

Holy Cow! dates to at least 1905.[1]!...The phrase was used by baseball players at least as early as 1913[3] and probably much earlier.[4] The phrase appears to have been adopted as a means to avoid penalties for using obscene or indecent language and may have been based on a general awareness of the holiness of cows in some religious traditions.[5]"From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_cow_(expression)

"Leapfrog is a children's game in which players vault over each other's stooped backs." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leapfrog

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"Stomp on the floor"
means to dance energetically
From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stomp
"Stomp - a jazz composition, especially in early jazz, marked by a driving rhythm and a fast tempo.

a dance to this music, usually marked by heavy stamping of the feet.

Origin 1820-1830"
-snip-
"Stomps" is a referent for music/dance originated in African American culture.

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"We're splitting the scene"
means "We're leaving this place

Definition: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/split
"To split" meaning "to leave, to depart" probably originated in African American slang.

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We're full of beans
In the context of this song, that sentence means "we're full of energy and enthusiasm". http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/be+full+of+beans.

However, saying that a person is full of beans may also be a serious insult since being "full of beans" also can mean being "full of 'crap'".

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THE TUNE USED FOR MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE "HOT DOG" SONG?
The words "hot diggity" in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song evoke the lyrics from the 1956 song "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)". However, the tune of Mickey Mouse song reminds me of an earlier song "Three Little Fishes". Here's a video of that song:

Andrews Sisters - Three Little Fishes



warholsoup100, Uploaded on May 28, 2011
-snip-
Information about The Andrews Sisters and the lyrics to the "Three Little Fishes" song are included in the publisher's statement for this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaJ-Ou5gTdw

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THE "HOT DOG" DANCE
According to http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Hot_Dog_Dance
"The Hot Dog Dance" is the dance Mickey and the gang do at the end of every episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Every character has a different dance move he or she does to the song...

Trivia
How everyone performs the dance:
◾Mickey: Swings his body back and fourth while swaying his arms and kicking his feet out.
◾Minnie: Similar to Mickey, but swings out her arms while kicking her heels.
◾Goofy: Flaps his arms like a bird while squatting up and down and kicking out his legs.
◾Pluto: Squats up and down while leaning from side to side.
◾Donald: Swings his arms back and fourth while hopping on his feet.
◾Daisy: Sways her arms side to side and leans to the opposite side.

◾In Season 1, the dance was referred to as the "Mouskadance"."
-snip-
It seems to me that each Mickey Mouse Clubhouse character is doing his or her own version of the same dance.

I believe that this "Hot Dog" dance is another name for the African American originated "Hootchie Kootchie Dance" ("Shimmy Dance") that Minney Mouse does in Mickey Mouse's first cartoon "The Karnival Kid". (from about 1:05 to 1:29 in that video. After which Mickey Mouse calls out "Hot dogs Hot dogs" that he is selling from a cart. In the back of that cart is a sign "Minnie Shimmy Dancer".

Mickey Mouse The Karnival Kid (1929)



chitchcock92, Published on Jul 21, 2012

Mickey Mouse at age 1, said his first words in this cartoon. Mickey (voiced by Walt Disney) said "Hot dogs! Hot dogs"
-snip-
Here's a video of the Shimmy from the 1920s:

The Roaring Twenties - Dancing The Shimmy



Aaron1912,Published on Mar 10, 2012

Before the Charleston there was the Shimmy. Shake your body all over.
-snip-
The Shimmy dance originated among African Americans.

Characteters in the American children's educational cartoon characters "SuperWhy" do a similar dance while singing the song "Hip Hip Hooray" at the end of each of their cartoons. As is the case with the "Hot Dog" dance, each Super Why character does this dance their own way. Here's a video of that song and dance:


YouTube - SUPER WHY! - -Hip Hip Hooray!- - PBS KIDS.HD



jasnoorvirk noor, Uploaded on Feb 23, 2012
-snip-
The Super Why! cartoon series debuted in 2007. It may be a coincidence that these two cartoon series end each episode in what appears to me to be similar ways. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Why! for information about Super Why! cartoons.

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WASHBOARD INSTRUMENT IN THE VIDEO OF MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE HALLOWEEN VERSION OF THIS SONG
[Example #2 above]
I found it interesting that Goofy [the tall dog character] is wearing a washboard (rubboard/frottoir) as part of his Halloween costume. Here's information about that musical instrument:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washboard
"A washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument...

Washboards with brass ridges are still made, and some who use washboards as musical instruments prefer the sound of the somewhat more expensive brass boards. One of the few musical instruments invented entirely in the United States is the Zydeco Frottoir (Zydeco Rubboard), a distillation of the washboard into essential elements (percussive surface with shoulder straps) designed by Clifton Chenier and built by Willie Landry in 1946."
-snip-
A video of a Zydeco band including a musician playing a frottoir is found in the Addendum below.

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ADDENDUM: VIDEOS
Example #1: Emmanuel Chabrier - España Rhapsody For Orchestra



glagolitic, Published on Sep 10, 2013

The BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin
Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 19th July 2002
-snip-
"España" is the tune used for the 1956 song "Hot Diggity". Emmanuel Chabrier (January 18, 1841 – September 13, 1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist...Gustav Mahler called España "the beginnings of modern music". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Chabrier

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Example #2: Perry Como Live - Hot Diggity - 1956



furn738, Uploaded on Jun 2, 2011

The melody for Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom) is based on Emmanuel Chabrier's 1883 composition, "España."

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Example #3: COCONUT HAND DRUM



Sergi Garcia, Published on May 4, 2014

The drums of coconut are common throughout South-East Asia.
They are used to make rhythms.
Hand covering the opening can get different effects.
Includes stick.

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Example #4: Queen Ida and The Bon Temps Zydeco Band - Rosa Majeur



sexmex5, Uploaded on Apr 6, 2008

Good Zydeco

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