Run, Rabbit, Run Explained

"Run, Rabbit, Run" is a 1939 song written by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler. The music was by Noel Gay and the song was originally sung by Flanagan and Allen accompanied by the Harry Bidgood orchestra.

Background

This song was written for Noel Gay's show The Little Dog Laughed, which opened on 11 October 1939, at a time when most of the major London theatres were closed. It was a popular song during World War II, especially after Flanagan and Allen changed the lyrics to poke fun at the Germans (e.g. "Run, Adolf, run, Adolf, run, run, run...").^[1] ^[2]

The lyrics were used as a defiant dig at the allegedly ineffectual Luftwaffe. On 13 November 1939, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and also soon after the song was premiered, Germany launched its first air raid on Britain, on flying boats that were sheltering in Sullom Voe, Shetland. Two rabbits were supposedly killed by a bomb drop, although it is suggested that they were in fact procured from a butchers' shop and used for publicity purposes.^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

Walter H. Thompson's TV biography I Was Churchill's Bodyguard rates the song as Winston Churchill's favourite as Prime Minister. Jock Colville, Churchill's private secretary during much of the war, mentions the Prime Minister singing part of the song.^[7]

In popular culture

At the beginning of the 1958 movie Dunkirk, the modified Run, Adolf, Run song is performed with a morale boosting cartoon during newsreels played for British troops stationed in France.
In a 1992 advert for Weetabix, the song is sung by Elmer Fudd as he chases Bugs Bunny.^[8]
In the 2003 movie, House of 1000 Corpses, one of the villains sings this song.
In 2004, the song was used in an advertisement for Tourism Victoria (Australia), which depicted the Yarra Valley.
The 2014 television series opener of “Outlander” used the song.
The book series and 2016 film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children uses this song on a number of occasions.
The 2017 horror film Get Out, written and directed by Jordan Peele, uses the original version in the opening scene and once again near the end.^[9]

Notes and References

Web site: "Run Rabbit Run" by Flanagan and Allen – ENG 410: WWII Literature . https://web.archive.org/web/20240329190736/https://eng410wwiilit.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2017/11/27/run-rabbit-run-by-flanagan-and-allen/ . 2024-03-29 . 2024-03-29.
Web site: RUN ADOLF RUN . https://web.archive.org/web/20240329191111/https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/47184/ . 2024-03-29 . 2024-03-29 . British Pathé.
Web site: Bennett . Daniel . 17 November 2019 . A bomb, a song, a rabbit – the first WW2 bombs to fall on British soil . https://web.archive.org/web/20231218211904/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-50354168 . 18 December 2023 . 4 January 2021 . . The rabbit in the photo is curiously intact," observes Dr Tait. "The fact is a rabbit was killed in the attack, but was eaten. Some people claim this rabbit (in the photo) is a prop – that's an over-rectification of history. The rabbit in the photo isn't the one the bomb killed." Robbie Williamson, a photographer from Lerwick, had a keen eye for a shot. When he heard about the rabbit's death, he went to record the "historic bombing" for the purposes of a postcard. But his camera wasn't the only gear he brought. "He had a good eye for something that would sell. But before going north he went to a butcher's shop to buy a rabbit," explains Dr Tait..
https://web.archive.org/web/20170109021123/http://photos.shetland-museum.org.uk/index.php?a=ViewItem&key=SXsiTiI6MzUsIlAiOnsidmFsdWUiOiJib21iIiwib3BlcmF0b3IiOiIxIiwiZnV6enlQcmVmaXhMZW5ndGgiOiIzIiwiZnV6enlNaW5TaW1pbGFyaXR5IjowLjY1LCJtYXhTdWdnZXN0aW9ucyI6IjUiLCJhbHdheXNTdWdnZXN0IjpudWxsfX0&pg=5&WINID=1483827056459 "The event made headline news across Britain
https://photos.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk/index.php?a=ViewItem&key=SXsiTiI6NSwiUCI6eyJ2YWx1ZSI6InJ1biByYWJiaXQiLCJvcGVyYXRvciI6IjEiLCJmdXp6eVByZWZpeExlbmd0aCI6IjMiLCJmdXp6eU1pblNpbWlsYXJpdHkiOjAuNjUsIm1heFN1Z2dlc3Rpb25zIjoiNSIsImFsd2F5c1N1Z2dlc3QiOm51bGx9fQ&pg=5&WINID=1652955423863#_0oo1QFRnMYAAAGA29EEfg/129694 "The idea that the popular song "Run, Rabbit, Run" commemorated it is nonsense."
Web site: Photo #R01263, 13th Nov 1939 . Ratter . JD . Shetland Museum & Archives . 4 January 2021 . A popular myth in Shetland is that the song "Run, Rabbit, Run" commemorated this event, as a skit on the ineffectiveness of the German air force, but this is wrong – the song was released before the event..
Hickman, Tom: Churchill's Bodyguard: The Authorised Biography of Walter H Thompson. Headline Book Publishing, 2005,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2feED6Bujh0|title=Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd Weetabix advert
News: Edelstein. David. Jordan Peele's Get Out Is Terrifying, Socially Conscious Horror. 27 May 2017. Vulture. 23 February 2017.