"A Gal in Calico" is a song by American composer Arthur Schwartz introduced in the 1946 film The Time, the Place and the Girl. The words were written by Leo Robin. In the film, it was performed by Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Martha Vickers (dubbed by Sally Sweetland) and chorus. It was nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song of 1948 but lost out to "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".
There were four versions in the Billboard charts: Johnny Mercer (reached No. 5 in 1946); Tex Beneke (No. 6 in 1947); Benny Goodman (No. 6 in 1947) and Bing Crosby (No. 8 in 1947).
The song has also been recorded by Steve Lawrence (in his 1963 "Swinging West" album), Tony Martin, Vic Damone and by jazz icons Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis. In the 1970s it appeared on the album Pastiche by The Manhattan Transfer.
The song is whistled briefly early in the film "The Story of Seabiscuit" (1949) by Lon McCallister.