Notable recordings when the song was new were made by such artists as Marion Harris, Van & Schenck, Paul Whiteman and the American Quartet.

Among the more colorful renditions of this song was in the Warner Bros. cartoon Book Revue (1946) in which Daffy Duck sings a Russian-accented version, imitating a then famous Danny Kaye characterization, saying "feener", "Caroleena", etc., while wearing a zoot suit.

Moreover, Warner Brothers utilized the song as part of the musical score of many of their Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons.

In 1951, Alfred Hitchcock chose a mechanical-orchestra version to play at an amusement park as a prelude to Miriam's murder in Strangers on a Train.

The opening line of the song was spoofed in the 1997 film Con Air when Cyrus "the Virus" Grissom sings, "Oh, nothing makes me sadder than the agent lost his bladder in the airplane!"