Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
#music #song #rock #rockandroll #rockmusic #alternativemusic #aimusic #theyellowkid #hogansalley #musicgenre #matthawes #matthewhawes #mattshappyshow #thehappyshow #comics #comicstriphistory #comicstrips #cartoon
THE DUGAN KID (Who Lives in Hogan's Alley)
Lyrics by William H. Friday, Jr. (1896, public domain)
Additional lyrical content and assist in new arrangement by Matthew Hawes
New version is copyright 2025 MBH Productions.
Music created with Suno A.I.
Music video edited by Matthew Hawes using public domain footage. Video edit copyright 2025 MBH Productions.
"The Dugan Kid Who Lives in Hogan's Alley" is a song about Richard F. Outcault's comic strip character known as "The Yellow Kid" who debuted in Truth magazine #372 in 1894 and then moved over to "Hogan's Alley" strip, published in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Outcault was hired away by William Randolph Hearst a year later, but Pulitzer retained the rights to Hogan's Alley. Outcault continued drawing the Yellow Kid, though, in comics of various names for Heart's New York Journal American.
The Yellow Kid's real name was Mickey Dugan, a young boy who had a shaved bald head, was snaggle-toothed, barefoot, who wore an oversized yellow nightshirt that was the source of the character's name. He was a resident of Hogan's Alley (later renamed McFadden's Row of Flats), a slum alley typical of the residential areas full of squalor that existed in late 19th-century New York City.
Hogan's Alley/McFadden's Row of Flats was filled with equally odd characters, mostly other children. With a goofy grin, The Yellow Kid habitually spoke in a ragged, peculiar slang, which was printed on his shirt, a device meant to lampoon advertising billboards.
The New York World and New York Journal became known as the Yellow Kid papers. This was contracted to the "yellow papers" and the term "yellow kid journalism" was at eventually shortened to "yellow journalism," describing the two newspapers' editorial practices of sensationalism and scandalous articles.
The character became immensely popular in the late 1890s and is recognized as the first continuing comic strip character in America. The strip was one of the first Sunday supplement comic strips in an American newspaper. Outcault's strip influenced the form of both newspaper comic strips and comic books.
Due to the success of The Yellow Kid strip, there was a huge amount of merchandising using the character, and his image appeared on billboards, buttons, cigarette packs, cigars, cracker tins, ladies' fans, matchbooks, postcards, chewing gum cards, toys, whiskey and more. This also included sheet music based on the character and the comic strip.
In 1896, there was a piece called "The Yellow Kid: The Latest and the Greatest." The music was written and published by Homer Tourjee with words by William H. Friday, Jr. Another piece of sheet music from 1896 was titled "The Dugan Kid Who Lives in Hogan's Alley," and it's the exact same music, with slightly altered lyrics.
Original lyrics to "The Yellow Kid: The Latest and the Greatest":
LYRICS
Who doesn't know the "Dugan Kid"
He is the very latest
You'll find his pictures in the Journal every Sunday morn
He wears a mellow yellow dress
Of kids he is the greatest
Because he is the "slickest kid" that ever yet was born
Although but three or four years old
He's quite well known to fame
E'en though he has a homely face
Likewise a homely name
But he takes in all the picnics
Doesn't miss a baseball game
The "Dugan Kid" the latest up-to-datest
CHORUS
He's a plain little chap
From the heart of New York
Is the gay little Dugan boy
With smiles so sunny and ears so funny
He's New York's joy
When the band starts to play, is he in it?
"Well Say," Dugan's out of sight
For he's a corker a born New Yorker
And he's all right.
Some of his slang expressions
Have completely caught the city
You can hear them if you listen on the street most ev'ry day
Now though young Dugan's but a kid
His talk is often witty
And no matter where this urchin goes he's sure to have his say
When ever he gets rattled
He will holler "Hully Gee
Dere isn't any duck in town can get away wid me
For I'm a holy terror
When my fur is ruffled, see"
Says the "Dugan Kid" the latest up-to-datest
CHORUS
He's a plain little chap
From the heart of New York
Is the gay little Dugan boy
With smiles so sunny and easy so funny
He's New York's joy
When the band starts to play, is he in it?
"Well Say," Dugan's out of sight
For he's a corker a born New Yorker
And he's all right
I decided to take those lyrics and alter them slightly and set the words to a rock and roll melody. The video shared here features the result of those actions.
Enjoy!
#music #song #rock #rockandroll #rockmusic #alternativemusic #aimusic #theyellowkid #hogansalley #musicgenre #matthawes #matthewhawes #mattshappyshow #thehappyshow #comics #comicstriphistory #comicstrips #cartoon
THE DUGAN KID (Who Lives in Hogan's Alley)
Lyrics by William H. Friday, Jr. (1896, public domain)
Additional lyrical content and assist in new arrangement by Matthew Hawes
New version is copyright 2025 MBH Productions.
Music created with Suno A.I.
Music video edited by Matthew Hawes using public domain footage. Video edit copyright 2025 MBH Productions.
"The Dugan Kid Who Lives in Hogan's Alley" is a song about Richard F. Outcault's comic strip character known as "The Yellow Kid" who debuted in Truth magazine #372 in 1894 and then moved over to "Hogan's Alley" strip, published in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Outcault was hired away by William Randolph Hearst a year later, but Pulitzer retained the rights to Hogan's Alley. Outcault continued drawing the Yellow Kid, though, in comics of various names for Heart's New York Journal American.
The Yellow Kid's real name was Mickey Dugan, a young boy who had a shaved bald head, was snaggle-toothed, barefoot, who wore an oversized yellow nightshirt that was the source of the character's name. He was a resident of Hogan's Alley (later renamed McFadden's Row of Flats), a slum alley typical of the residential areas full of squalor that existed in late 19th-century New York City.
Hogan's Alley/McFadden's Row of Flats was filled with equally odd characters, mostly other children. With a goofy grin, The Yellow Kid habitually spoke in a ragged, peculiar slang, which was printed on his shirt, a device meant to lampoon advertising billboards.
The New York World and New York Journal became known as the Yellow Kid papers. This was contracted to the "yellow papers" and the term "yellow kid journalism" was at eventually shortened to "yellow journalism," describing the two newspapers' editorial practices of sensationalism and scandalous articles.
The character became immensely popular in the late 1890s and is recognized as the first continuing comic strip character in America. The strip was one of the first Sunday supplement comic strips in an American newspaper. Outcault's strip influenced the form of both newspaper comic strips and comic books.
Due to the success of The Yellow Kid strip, there was a huge amount of merchandising using the character, and his image appeared on billboards, buttons, cigarette packs, cigars, cracker tins, ladies' fans, matchbooks, postcards, chewing gum cards, toys, whiskey and more. This also included sheet music based on the character and the comic strip.
In 1896, there was a piece called "The Yellow Kid: The Latest and the Greatest." The music was written and published by Homer Tourjee with words by William H. Friday, Jr. Another piece of sheet music from 1896 was titled "The Dugan Kid Who Lives in Hogan's Alley," and it's the exact same music, with slightly altered lyrics.
Original lyrics to "The Yellow Kid: The Latest and the Greatest":
LYRICS
Who doesn't know the "Dugan Kid"
He is the very latest
You'll find his pictures in the Journal every Sunday morn
He wears a mellow yellow dress
Of kids he is the greatest
Because he is the "slickest kid" that ever yet was born
Although but three or four years old
He's quite well known to fame
E'en though he has a homely face
Likewise a homely name
But he takes in all the picnics
Doesn't miss a baseball game
The "Dugan Kid" the latest up-to-datest
CHORUS
He's a plain little chap
From the heart of New York
Is the gay little Dugan boy
With smiles so sunny and ears so funny
He's New York's joy
When the band starts to play, is he in it?
"Well Say," Dugan's out of sight
For he's a corker a born New Yorker
And he's all right.
Some of his slang expressions
Have completely caught the city
You can hear them if you listen on the street most ev'ry day
Now though young Dugan's but a kid
His talk is often witty
And no matter where this urchin goes he's sure to have his say
When ever he gets rattled
He will holler "Hully Gee
Dere isn't any duck in town can get away wid me
For I'm a holy terror
When my fur is ruffled, see"
Says the "Dugan Kid" the latest up-to-datest
CHORUS
He's a plain little chap
From the heart of New York
Is the gay little Dugan boy
With smiles so sunny and easy so funny
He's New York's joy
When the band starts to play, is he in it?
"Well Say," Dugan's out of sight
For he's a corker a born New Yorker
And he's all right
I decided to take those lyrics and alter them slightly and set the words to a rock and roll melody. The video shared here features the result of those actions.
Enjoy!
