"Willie Can" Is a popular hit song written in 1955 by the American country and western songwriter Boudleaux Bryant and his wife Felice Bryant.[1] [2] [3] It reached the charts in 1956 in the US with the Mitch Miller version (#30)[4] and in the UK with Alma Cogan's (#13).[5]
The song, in a lighthearted vein, gives a list of activities and kindnesses the woman singer would wish to have in a lover and husband.
It was recorded by:
The song lists the things the female singer requires of her suitor. These vary between versions but in full are:
To cook, save a dollar bill, sew, give a girl a thrill, ride a black-eyed stallion, fight a bear, love, braid her hair, do the things she asks him, dance, prance, take her to the fair, say he cares, dig a hole to China, climb a tree, kiss and kiss her, do the things she asks him (and do them true), run, catch a honey bee, sing and sing to her, try to swim the Channel, fly a kite, be bold, hold her, squeeze her tight, run, sing, sing to her.
The Beverley Sisters version adds:- crossing a burning desert and crossing the sea.
The list is broken up by a chorus which runs:
Willie can, Willie can, Willie can, fair ladyIf Willie takes a shine to you