Come Josephine was allegedly based upon Josephine Sarah Magner (April 22, 1883 – July 15, 1966), who was perhaps the first woman parachutist in America with her initial jump in 1905. She was married to early aviation pioneer Leslie Burt Haddock (April 10, 1878 – July 4, 1919), made hundreds of jumps, and assisted Haddock in the building of the first U.S. Army dirigible (Signal Corps Dirigible Number 1) designed by her uncle Thomas Scott Baldwin.[3]
The song tells of a young man bringing his girlfriend along on a flight on his personal airplane. Written in the early days of aviation, it expresses the technological optimism of the era. For example, the song mentions the couple feeling they could "hit the Moon",[4] a feat which was eventually accomplished less than 60 years after the release of the standard.
The song was also recorded by Benay Venuta for the Broadway musical cast recording of Hazel Flagg (1953).
It was sung in a Season 8 episode of The Waltons, "The Silver Wings" (1979).
Fragments of the song are sung a cappella in the movie Titanic (1997), early on by the character Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) to Rose (Kate Winslet) during the "I'm flying" scene, and later, while awaiting rescue, by Rose; it is also featured in the deleted scene where the characters come back from the Irish party in third class.[5]
It was included as a karaoke piece in The Simpsons episode, The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants (2011), when in an attempt to stop his boss, Mr. Montgomery Burns, from ruining his party, Homer asks the DJ to play the oldest song he has.
The lyrics of the song were used as chapter names, and a mantra and common theme in Clive Cussler's novel The Race (2011).
Fragments of the song were used in a cappella form in the television series Peaky Blinders (2013), season one episode two.
In the Disenchantment episode "Freak Out!" (2021), a quartet sings the chorus to Bean.
Episode 4 in Season 3 of I Think You Should Leave (2023) features children in a recital singing the first verse.
