Ticklish Reuben

"Ticklish Reuben" is a folk song written by Cal Stewart in 1900. Released on the Victor Label, the song is a prime example of the "laughing song" genre. Initially, the tune starts off normally, then descends into jolly, rhythmic laughing.

Lyrics as follows
Oh, My name is Ticklish Reuben  From way down in old Vermont  And ev'rything seems ticklish to me 

I've been tickled by a feather  I've been tickled by a wasp  I've been tickled by a yellow bumblebee 

I have always got a tickled sort of way about my clothes  It doesn't really matter where I be  I am tickled in the morning and I'm tickled in the night  Something's always sure to tickle me 

hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah  hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah

(repeat x12)

Once I put some pepper into Dad's snuffbox  And the way he acted was a sight to see  Well he coughed and he sneezed till I thought he'd have a fit  And then he took me out to tickle me 

I was always getting tickled by someone about the house  So why they take to ticklin' I could never see  And the apple-butter paddle it is all in splinters now  Daddy wore it out a-ticklin' me 

Other versions
The song became popular among hillbilly artists in the 1920s. Among the most influential was the version by Uncle Dave Macon as "Something's Always Sure to Tickle Me" on Vocalion Records, changing the lyrics of the first verse to name himself "little Davie" and the home state to "Tennessee". It was recorded as part of the Bristol Sessions by the Smyth County Ramberlers on October 27, 1927 and released on Victor 40144. The song was performed by brothers Alfalfa and Harold Switzer in the Our Gang short film Teacher's Beau (1935).

It was included on the Cathedral Quartet's 1970 album It's Music time as "Laughing Song".