"The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody written in 1907 by American composer John Walter Bratton, and lyrics added in 1932 by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy.

Local folklore has it that the small wooded area between the church and Staplegrove Scout Hut was the inspiration for his lyrics.

[3] After Bratton wrote "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", however, many people felt that the composer plagiarized portions of the melody.

Music aficionados pointed out in particular that the refrain echoed the theme from Robert Browne Hall's 1895 "Death or Glory March".

[4][5] Arthur Pryor's Band made the work's first disc recording for the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey, on 14 September 1908.

The song has subsequently been recorded by numerous notable artists, including: Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby (recorded 22 June 1950),[8] Frank DeVol, Michael Feinstein,[9] Jerry Garcia, John Inman, Jessie Matthews, Anne Murray, and Dave Van Ronk.

Notable non-solo artists to record the song include the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bad Manners, Rosenshontz, and Trout Fishing in America.