Johnny Johnny Yes Papa
{{short description|Nursery rhyme}}
{{For|the 2018 film|Johnny Johnny Yes Papa (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2018}}
"Johnny Johnny Yes Papa" is an English-language children's poem. The song is about a child, Johnny, who is caught by his father eating sugar when he is not supposed to. Versions of this song comprising more than one verse usually continue with variations on this theme.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/1/17806772/johny-johny-telling-lies-yes-papa-refrigerator-meme-viral-video |title=The viral 'Johnny, Johnny' kids' videos are a godforsaken nightmare |last=Hagi |first=Sarah |date=1 September 2018 |work=The Verge |access-date=2 September 2018 |publisher=Vox Media |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902072956/https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/1/17806772/johny-johny-telling-lies-yes-papa-refrigerator-meme-viral-video |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/johny-johny-yes-papa-memes/ |title='Johnny Johnny Yes Papa' is a terrifyingly catchy YouTube kids' abomination |last=Vincent |first=Brittany |date=28 August 2018 |work=The Daily Dot |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903114745/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/johny-johny-yes-papa-memes/ |url-status=live }}
History
A 1989 book by the American scholar and professor Francelia Butler records the poem being told in Kenya in 1980.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/skippingaroundwo00butl |url-access=registration |title=Skipping around the World: The Ritual Nature of Folk Rhymes |last=Butler |first=Francelia |date=1989 |publisher=Library Professional Publications |isbn=978-0-208-02194-6 |location=University of Michigan |pages=[https://archive.org/details/skippingaroundwo00butl/page/165 165]–166 |access-date=2 September 2018}} According to Vinoth Chandar, the CEO of ChuChu TV, it was already old enough to have been in the public domain in India by 2018, indicating that it would have been at least 60 years old (per Indian copyright law); Chandar wrote in 2018 that he "used to hear it" as a child, and that elderly people would also have listened to it as children.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thisisinsider.com/johny-johny-yes-papa-meme-everything-you-need-to-know-2018-8 |title=The bizarrely catchy 'Johny Johny Yes Papa' meme is freaking people out |last=Shamsian |first=Jacob |date=September 27, 2018 |website=Insider |publisher=Insider Inc. |access-date=September 27, 2018 |archive-date=28 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928003320/https://www.thisisinsider.com/johny-johny-yes-papa-meme-everything-you-need-to-know-2018-8 |url-status=live }}
Lyrics
The lyrics to the song are in a call and response format, and typically sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". The original and most well-known version of the song is:{{blockquote|
Johnny, Johnny.
Yes, Papa.
Eating sugar?
No, Papa.
Telling lies?
No, Papa.
Open your mouth
Ha-ha-ha!
|sign=|source=}}
YouTube videos
Johnny Johnny Yes Papa has been featured on YouTube since at least 2007, where it was used in an Indian commercial for the 5 Star chocolate brand. It later appeared as a nursery rhyme in 2009 by the channel Shemrock Nursery Rhymes.{{Cite news |url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/30/17795476/johnny-johnny-yes-papa-meme-youtube-twitter-facebook-reddit-4chan |title='Johnny Johnny Yes Papa': Top memesters try to understand the bizarre video's rise |last=Alexander |first=Julia |date=30 August 2018 |work=Polygon |access-date=2 September 2018 |publisher=Vox Media |archive-date=1 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901171805/https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/30/17795476/johnny-johnny-yes-papa-meme-youtube-twitter-facebook-reddit-4chan |url-status=live }} The nursery rhyme has since been recreated by many other edutainment YouTube channels targeting young children.{{Cite news |url=https://mashable.com/article/johny-johny-yes-papa-youtube-kids-videos |title='Johny Johny Yes Papa' is just one of many terrifying YouTube videos made for kids |last=Sung |first=Morgan |date=28 August 2018 |work=Mashable |access-date=2 September 2018 |archive-date=6 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906080612/https://mashable.com/article/johny-johny-yes-papa-youtube-kids-videos/ |url-status=live }} The song became an internet meme in August 2018, with one version by the Indian channel Billion Surprise Toys—a company with 56.6 million subscribers to its YouTube channel—{{Cite web |title=BillionSurpriseToys - Nursery Rhymes & Cartoons |url=https://www.youtube.com/@BillionSurpriseToys/featured |website=YouTube |access-date=18 May 2024 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213142521/https://www.youtube.com/@BillionSurpriseToys/featured |url-status=live }}going particularly viral on Twitter.{{Cite news |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/8/31/17799244/johny-johny-yes-papa-video-meme-youtube-kids-videos |title="Johny Johny Yes Papa": the meme born from YouTube's myriad of kids' videos, explained |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=31 August 2018 |work=Vox |access-date=3 September 2018 |publisher=Vox Media |archive-date=31 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831200438/https://www.vox.com/2018/8/31/17799244/johny-johny-yes-papa-video-meme-youtube-kids-videos |url-status=live }} This version prominently features Johny and his father doing popular dance moves such as the "Gangnam Style" dance, and intertwines the original lyrics with a repeated "doo-doo-doo-da-doo" to the melody of "Baby Shark". A parody of the nursery rhyme was uploaded by the user EdukayFUN on October 9, 2014. It uses intentionally uncanny CGI animation and ends with Johnny being eaten by his father. The channel was terminated in 2018, but still uploads videos as EdukayFUN 2.0. The original parody video was reuploaded in June 2020 in 4K HD.{{Citation |title=Johnny Johnny Yes Papa - Remastered in 4K HD - EdukayFUN |date=16 June 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCwycn8jLIk |language=en |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829221031/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCwycn8jLIk |url-status=live }}
Shortly after the song went viral, Billion Surprise Toys began to issue aggressive DMCA takedown requests for videos and images derived from its own videos published on social media. This move was considered controversial for various reasons. Firstly, because of the unclear copyright status of the song itself, secondly because American copyright law permits parodies as a form of fair use, and thirdly, because the UAE (Billion Surprise Toys' native country{{Cite web |url=http://billionsurprisetoys.com/contact-us/ |title=Billion Surprise Toys {{!}} Nursery Rhymes and Kids Apps |website=Billion Surprise Toys |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922181627/http://billionsurprisetoys.com/contact-us/ |url-status=dead }}) allows for "The reproduction of the work for the purpose of personal, non-profit and non-professional use" under their fair use laws.{{Cite news |url=http://dubailawyers.ae/alena-parker/fair-use-exception-copyright/720/ |title=Fair Use – An Exception to Copyright |date=5 October 2014 |work=Dubailawyers.ae |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922213357/http://dubailawyers.ae/alena-parker/fair-use-exception-copyright/720/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news |url=https://mashable.com/article/twitter-removing-johny-johny-yes-papa-memes/ |title=Someone is trying to stop Johny Johny Yes Papa memes |last=Sung |first=Morgan |date=30 August 2018 |work=Mashable |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903183016/https://mashable.com/article/twitter-removing-johny-johny-yes-papa-memes/ |url-status=live }}
Reception
The various videos by edutainment channels on YouTube were subsequently described as "terrifying", "disturbing", "nonsensical" and "a godforsaken nightmare". The song's popularity has been attributed to the Elsagate phenomenon of potentially disturbing or absurd YouTube videos being algorithmically shown to children through the YouTube website and the YouTube Kids app.{{Cite news |url=http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/08/what-is-the-baby-meme-about-eating-sugar-and-telling-lies.html |title=The New Meme Is Eating Sugar and Telling Lies |last=Feldman |first=Brian |date=28 August 2018 |work=New York |access-date=2 September 2018 |publisher=New York Media, LLC |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902151935/http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/08/what-is-the-baby-meme-about-eating-sugar-and-telling-lies.html |url-status=live }} The Verge, Mashable and New York Magazine found "remixes" by Billion Surprise Toys, one featuring an anthropomorphic refrigerator (as the liar), to be particularly absurd, even when compared to other "Johny Johny Yes Papa" videos. The Verge went on further to explain that "Each video features a child and their family lying to one another as a form of affection." The song has also been mentioned by The Daily Dot as one of eleven "unintentionally disturbing" YouTube videos for children.{{Cite news |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/11-unintentionally-disturbing-youtube-kids-videos/ |title=The 11 most unintentionally disturbing YouTube videos for kids |last=Crede |first=Phaea |date=7 April 2015 |work=The Daily Dot |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903045814/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/11-unintentionally-disturbing-youtube-kids-videos/ |url-status=live }}