I'm Henry The VIII, I Am

it's my opinion that almost ever punk song is based off of this song.

This is so fun live. At the Summer Oldies concert in PA awhile ago I heard this on the radio on the way and then it was performed there and it got the whole crowd going. :)

This song really touches a special place in my heart, I am just overcome with emotion, these lyrics really speak to me.

This is a fun song. Fun to sing along to. Henry the VIII did have a lot of wives...

I have always found this song deeply disturbing. The key word to unlock the meaning of this song is "widow". She's been married seven times, and widowed. Is that not suspicious?

And she refuses to marry anyone but a Henry - why? She's clearly obsessive, but when that lines up with "widow"...

My interpretation is that this woman is psychopathic and sociopathic. She sees Henry VIII as an oppressor of women (due to his 6 wives, 2 of whom were beheaded) and is taking her own revenge by killing 8 Henrys.

And frighteningly, the narrator has no concept of the ghastly fate that awaits him. Brrrrr.

could henry be herion? and eigth of herion, married (addiction) to the widow next door. her problems result in her being married to a drug. I don't enjoy relating songs to drugs, but it's one of those silly happy songs that sometimes carry a disturbing undertone.

I don't find the song disturbing, I find it comical. I believe it is intended as a parody, primarily on marriages and failing relationships.

I find it ironic that the singer claims to be Henry VIII simply because he is the 8th husband of the widow next door, not because he is Henry the king of an 8th generation. I'm not fully versed on the English history, though a simple Google search informed me that Henry VIII had trouble getting an heir to the throne because none of his sons and daughters would have kids, though Edward did take the throne at early age. Thus comes the idea of "failure." In the song, the woman had 7 Henrys of failed marriages, no William or Sam, so the singer is destined to be the 8th failure, similar to King Henry the 8th struggling to get an heir.

The fact that the singer sings this as a nursery rhyme brings to light it's comedic heritage, considering how such a lovely tune ironically symbolizes the failure of marriage. Although he seems happily married to the widow next door, the allusion to the king emphasizes this upcoming failure.