There are literally dozens of versions of the popular children’s nursery rhyme, Johny, Johny Yes Papa also called, Is Johny Lying to Papa. The melody sounds familiar to other well-known nursery rhymes entitled, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Ba Ba Black Sheep. The origin and author is unknown but the English language attributes its lyrics to Johny, Johny Yes Papa, consisting of the following words:
Johny, Johny!
What is known about the country/culture of origin and approximately the time period of this rhyme?
The country of India along with many Western cultures have adopted this happy little tune that supposedly teaches a moral lesson in honesty. Although, the origin of the song, Is Johny Lying to Papa is unknown. The earliest time period of this rhyme is the 21st century. Shemrock Nursery Rhymes first presented, Is Johny Lying to Papa in July of 2009 on Youtube. It featured an animated video of a boy eating sugar and lying to his father when caught. The video accumulated over 2.9 million views in the first six years of airing it.Johny johny yes papa continued spreading like wild flowers via the internet and the next Youtube channel to post it was Turtle Interactive in June 2012. Within two to three years of Turtle Interactive posting the video, it gained over 7.4 million views. And on August 2, 2013, India’s ChuChu TV channel premiered the video and it received over 70 million views. CuChu TV uploaded another updated version of, Is Johny Lying to Papa and gained about 283 million views. And in October 2014, a 3D animated version by EdukayFUN was made and it gained 1.7 million viewers.
What examples are there of this rhymes’ use in teaching or learning for kids?
Christianpost.com quotes Teachers and Educators as using this traditional nursery rhyme to teach babies, toddlers, and children life lessons. Some of the lessons they utilize are: effective discipline techniques, teaching honesty, colors, and counting methods.
Numerous Youtube Nursery channels are using, Is Johny Lying to Papa, to younger children how to count. While mimicking the funny little nursery song, Ten Monkeys Jumping on the bed. And if you desire to teach your kids how to play the piano, there are Piano Tutorials on Johny, Johny Yes Papa.
Are there any variations or notable changes that have been identified along with the original form of the rhyme?
There are many variations of the original form of Johny Johny Yes Papa using different characters and prompts to bring forth the moral lesson in telling the truth. The song and tune stays basically the same but the images are always changing.
Are there any interesting facts or footnotes about this rhyme?
One interesting fact is there was a screenplay written and directed by Preetham Gubbi in 2018 of Johny Johny Yes Papa. Which is an Indian Kannada action film made under the Duniya Talkies banner.