"If You Knew Susie" is the title of a popular song written by
Buddy DeSylva[1] and
Joseph Meyer.[2] It was published by
Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. in 1925. The sheet music included ukulele tabs by
Richard Konter.[3] In the largely comic song, a man sings that he knows a certain woman named Susie to be much wilder and more passionate than most people realize.
The song, which was originally written for
Al Jolson, became
Eddie Cantor's best-known success of the 1920s, recorded on April 6, 1925[4] and the bestseller for five weeks during the year.[5] Years later, Jolson told Cantor "If I knew it was that good, you dog, I'd never have given it to you!".[6]
The song is sung as "If You Knew Susie As We Know Susie" by
Frank Sinatra and
Gene Kelly in the film Anchors Aweigh (1945), with more suggestive lyrics, such as "She's not choosy".
The song was used in the 1966 film The Silencers, the first of several spy thriller/spoof films starring
Dean Martin as Secret Agent Matt Helm. In the opening scenes of the movie, Martin's character "thinks" an altered version of the lyrics, as he imagines romancing one of the film's several lovely ladies. Martin's rendition of the song (with the accurate lyrics) also appeared on the movie's soundtrack album.
In the film Arthur, Dudley Moore sings the trope "If you knew Susan like I know Susan...". Susan was Moore's character's unfated bride.