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"On A Slow Boat to China"
"On A Slow Boat to China"
Song
Published	1948
Genre	Traditional pop
Songwriter(s)	Frank Loesser

"On A Slow Boat to China" is a popular song by Frank Loesser published in 1948.

The song is a well-known pop standard, recorded by many artists, including a duet between Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby (for their album Fancy Meeting You Here (1958)), Ella Fitzgerald, Joni James, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Buffett, Fats Domino and Liza Minnelli.

In the UK, the biggest hit version was recorded in 1959 by Emile Ford and the Checkmates, which peaked at #3 in the official singles chart.

Ronnie Dove recorded the song for his 1966 album Ronnie Dove Sings the Hits for You.

Bette Midler and Barry Manilow recorded the song for Midler's album Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook (2003).

Miss Piggy performed the song with actor Roger Moore in an episode of The Muppet Show.

Paul McCartney sang this song to honor Frank Loesser.

Hit recordings

Recorded by	Released by	Catalog number	Date first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart	Weeks on chart	Peak	Notes
Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (Vocal: Harry Babbitt & Gloria Wood)	Columbia Records	38301	October 15, 1948	19	#2	^[1]^[2] This version was a #1 hit in Australia in 1949 as well.
Freddy Martin and His Orchestra (Vocal: Glenn Hughes and The Martin Men)	RCA Victor Records	20-3123	October 29, 1948	17	#5	^[1]
Benny Goodman	Capitol Records	15208	November 12, 1948	12	#10	^[1]
Art Lund	MGM Records	10269	November 5, 1948	9	#13	^[1]
Larry Clinton	Decca Records	24482	November 26, 1948	1	#27	^[1]

Idiom

Frank Loesser's daughter, Susan Loesser, authored a biography of her father, A Most Remarkable Fella (1993), in which she writes:

"I'd like to get you on a slow boat to China" was a well-known phrase among poker players, referring to a person who lost steadily and handsomely. My father turned it into a romantic song, placing the title in the mainstream of catch-phrases in 1947.

The idea is that a slow boat to China was the longest trip one could imagine. Loesser moved the phrase to a more romantic setting, yet it eventually entered general parlance to mean anything that takes an extremely long time.^[3]^[4]

Media

In film and television

Featured prominently in 8+1⁄2 Women
Featured prominently in Woody Allen's movie September, performed by Bernie Leighton
Featured in A Rather English Marriage
Featured in The Master
Featured briefly in the Adventure Time episode "Bad Timing", sung by Tree Trunks.
Briefly sung by "Mother" (played by June Whitfield) in an episode of the long running BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous called "Fish Farm."
Appears in Eat a Bowl of Tea, a 1989 film by Wayne Wang.
Appears at the end of the Only Fools and Horses 1988 special, "Dates", sung by Tessa Peake-Jones. Also played on the piano by Albert Trotter (Buster Merryfield) in the episode "Stage Fright".

The phrase "a slow boat to China" (or a snowclone thereof) features

The title of Gavin Young's break-through book, recounting a journey from Piraeus to Canton.
The title of a novel by Chen Danyan in Shanghai, China.
The title of a short story by Haruki Murakami, translated into English in the collection The Elephant Vanishes.
Played on in the title of the song "Slow Hole to China" on the 2003 compilation album Slow Hole to China: Rare and Unreleased by the band Clutch.
Referenced within the film ‘The Apartment’ with the innuendo “Boy I’d like to get her on a slow boat to China”
Played on in the title of the song "Slowcar to China" on the Gary Numan album Dance.
Referred to elsewhere in Only Fools and Horses; an episode is called "Slow Bus to Chingford".
Description of "girls [...] Stepping on that slow boat to China" in the Sailor song "Girls Girls Girls"
Used as a pun in a lyric for the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? theme song by Rockapella.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940–1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
^ Gilliland, John. (197X). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #22 - All Tracks". UNT Digital Library. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
^ Loesser, Susan (1993). A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life, A Portrait by His Daughter. Donald I. Fine.
^ Allan, William (December 11, 1977). "Jazz is back...big...on Records". The Pittsburgh Press.