Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 that gives a comic perspective on military life . Berlin composed the song as an expression of protest against the indignities of Army routine shortly after being drafted into the United States Army in 1918 . The song soon made the rounds of camp and became popular with other soldiers , partly because hatred of reveille was universal . The commanding officer of Camp Upton in eastern Long Island took an interest in Berlin ' s talents and assigned him to write and produce a fundraising benefit to raise funds for a new visitors ' center at the base ; the show was entitled " Yip , Yip , Yaphank " after the Camp Upton locale in Yaphank , New York . Although Berlin initially wrote " Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " without commercial intent , it eventually appeared in three different Broadway shows , including " Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 " , and the film " This Is the Army " . More than any other Irving Berlin song , it became the one most associated with Berlin as a performer . Background . Irving Berlin was born in the Russian Empire in 1888 , either in Tolochin or Tyumen , and had moved with his family to New York City in 1893 . He acquired United States citizenship in early 1918 with the expectation that his medical history would exempt him from his final year of draft eligibility . So it came as an unpleasant surprise that within months Berlin was drafted and serving as a private at Camp Upton at a salary of $ 30 a month , far below his usual earnings . Although as a civilian he employed a private valet , as an Army private he was compelled to perform unskilled labor in support of camp operations . " There were a lot of things about army life I didn ' t like " , said Berlin , " and the thing I didn ' t like most of all was reveille . " During World War I , Berlin was drafted into the 152nd Depot Brigade , 20th Infantry Regiment of the U . S . Army shortly after he became a naturalized United States citizen in 1918 . By the time he entered the service the war was in its final months and prospects for victory were steadily improving . He was assigned to a camp on eastern Long Island that was mainly an interim station for infantry troops headed overseas . According to the New York Times , Composition . The incident that inspired Berlin to write " Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " was an occasion when a colonel wanted a group of buglers to play George M . Cohan ' s " Over There " . The buglers were unable to comply because it exceeded the range of their instruments , so the oblivious officer ordered them to practice Cohan ' s song . He wrote it as " a thin little segeant . " Berlin ' s civilian work schedule had been that of a hardworking night owl , generally writing material until two or three in the morning . His efforts to adjust to military life and become a good soldier included springing out of bed obediently each morning , which earned him the resentment of fellow soldiers because he concealed his hatred of reveille too well and appeared eager to wake up in the mornings . So during an era when popular songs about war praised its heroism , Berlin instead gave voice to the subversive impulses shared by ordinary soldiers . The lyrics begin with a mundane recounting of a newly recruited soldier ' s camp life and progress to hyperbole as he describes a series of increasingly absurd plans to escape from morning reveille . Berlin would later describe the song as " a protest written from the heart out , absolutely without the slightest thought that it would ever earn a cent " . He wrote the song before any plans for a larger production were underway and it soon gained popularity around the camp . Production . The camp ' s commanding officer Major General J . Franklin Bell called Berlin into his office and asked the showman to raise funds for a new community house to lodge families of service members who visited the camp . The projected expense of the project was $ 35 , 000 . At first , Berlin called in favors from civilian colleagues to visit and put on local performances to boost morale , but news of a Navy fundraising show on Broadway called " Boom Boom " inspired Berlin to request permission to write and stage a full Broadway production of their own . The songwriter not only obtained permission for the show , but also received General Bell ' s personal permission to return to Berlin ' s normal creative working schedule and a special exemption from reveille . Civilian musician Harry Ruby joined Berlin in camp to transcribe and arrange the music and collaborate on the show . Parodies . Berlin ' s song " inspired a dozen parodies . " An uncredited parody was recounted in the " New York Times " : Performances . The song was performed in soldier revue s including 1918 ' s " Yip Yip Yaphank " , and " Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 " , as well as in 113 Broadway performances of " This Is the Army " in 1942 . It also was part of a performance of " Alexander ' s Ragtime Band " in 1938 at the Roxy Theatre in New York City with Alice Faye and Ethel Merman singing ( it is sung in the movie of the same name as well ) , and was sung at a 1941 war rally against the America First Committee by New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in Philadelphia . " Yip Yip Yaphank " . The song appeared in two shows of 1918 : " Yip Yip Yaphank " and " Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 " . " Yip Yip Yaphank " opened on August 19 and Berlin made his entrance late in the show , being dragged from a pup tent by two other soldiers as he pretended to be asleep on his feet to sing " Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " . The song was a centerpiece of the show ; both it and Berlin ' s performance received favorable reviews . According to reviewers , Berlin ' s voice was thin but his timing was perfect and he presented a hilarious stage persona . 24 years later , the New York Times declared " Yip " " an immediate hit . " The show was extended twice and exceeded its fundraising goal of $ 35 , 000 . Estimates of the proceeds range from $ 83 , 000 to over $ 158 , 000 , but the planned visitor center was never built because the war ended shortly afterward and Berlin was never informed what happened to the money . Berlin received no financial benefit beyond his ordinary sergeant ' s pay , but he was well compensated in publicity . He was recognized as a Broadway star wherever he went after he returned to civilian life . Along with the acclaim , however , he also " received a death threat and a kidnapping threat " , which he took seriously enough to purchase a bulletproof limousine and hire a bodyguard / chauffeur . " This Is the Army " . Berlin also performed " Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " in the 1942 stage play " This Is the Army " , which ran for 113 performances on Broadway and was adapted as a Warner Brothers musical the following year . It was declared the " modern version of " Yip , Yip , Yaphang , " " and contained " all - new music " except for two or three songs . Twenty - five years after the original show , he was still dark haired and wiry , but his face was strained . More importantly , his voice — which had never been strong — was weakened from months of recent stage touring . The number was filmed in late afternoon when he expected his voice to be at its best , but an internal studio memo still reported , " Irving Berlin is no singer . " Berlin wrote about the filming in an April 10 , 1943 letter : Today they finished shooting my portion of the picture and I am certainly glad it ' s over with . All I do is sing " Hate to Get Up in the Morning " as I did in the show , but the camera is a severe judge and I am afraid even with the great amount of care and fuss they can ' t improve what the Fates decreed to be a homely face . As for my voice , I made a recording . When the record was first played on the set , one of the electricians , who didn ' t know whose voice it was , said , " If the guy who wrote that song could hear the record , he would turn over in his grave " - - which gives you a fair idea . However I am hoping it won ' t be too bad . In May 1988 The " Tonight Show " Band honored Irving Berlin ' s one hundredth birthday by playing " Oh ! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning " as part of a medley in tribute to the songwriter at the close of a show .