The Japanese Sandman

The Japanese Sandman is a song from 1920, composed by Richard A. Whiting and with lyrics by Raymond B. Egan.

Content
The song is about a sandman from Japan, who exchanges yesterdays for tomorrows. The number has a very Oriental atmosphere, and is similar to many other songs from the interbellum who sing about a dreamy, exotic setting.

The song was Paul Whiteman's first record and sold over two million copies. It has been subsequently performed by several musical artists like Benny Goodman, Bix Beiderbecke, Artie Shaw, Earl Hines, Paul Young, Django Reinhardt, The Andrews Sisters, and Freddy Sunder.

Additionally, the song was recorded by the Nazi-German propaganda band Charlie and his Orchestra. For propaganda reasons, the lyrics were changed through references to the Japanese Empire.

In popular culture
It's also often used in cartoons from the 1930s and 1940s, like The Ducktators (1942), usually to mock Japanese characters (because of World War II).

The Japanese boxer Harold Hoshino was nicknamed "The Japanese Sandman" in the 1930s.

Hoagy Carmichael performed the song on ukulele in the 1952 film Belles on Their Toes.

Whiteman's original can also be heard in the film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film) (1969) and on The Masked Marauders album from the same year.

Frank Zappa quotes the song on the final track of his album Joe's Garage (1979): "Little Green Rosetta". Since Zappa was a doowop fan, he probably references the cover by The Cellos.

Saint Etienne (band) make a reference to this in their song B92 in their 2002 album Finisterre (Saint Etienne).