Alphabet song

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the song by Amanda Lear, see Alphabet (Amanda Lear song). For the song by Drake, see Alphabet (Drake song).
"The A.B.C." redirects here. For other similarly named songs, see ABC song (disambiguation). For other uses of "A.B.C.", see ABC (disambiguation).
"ABCs" redirects here. For other uses, see ABCS.

An alphabet song is any of various songs used to teach children the alphabet. Alphabet songs typically recite the names of all letters of the alphabet of a given language in order.

The A.B.C. (Verse 1)[]

"The A.B.C." /ˌeɪ.biːˈsiː/ or "A.B.Cs" /ˌeɪ.biːˈsiːz/ is one of the best-known English language alphabet songs, and perhaps the one most frequently referred to as "the alphabet song", especially in the United States.

Music for the alphabet song including some common variations on the lyrics

The song was first copyrighted in 1835 by the Boston-based music publisher , and given the title "The A.B.C., a German air with variations for the flute with an easy accompaniment for the piano forte". The musical arrangement was attributed to (sometimes Lemaire), an 18th-century composer. This was "Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1835, by C. Bradlee, in the clerk's office of the District Court of Massachusetts", according to the Newberry Library,[1] which also says, "The theme is that used by Mozart for his piano variations, Ah, vous dirai-je, maman."[2] This tune is the same as the tune for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and similar to that of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".

Lyrics: (each line represents two measures, or eight beats)

A, B, C, D, E, F, G... (/eɪ biː siː diː iː ɛf dʒiː/)
H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P... (/eɪtʃ aɪ dʒeɪ keɪ ɛlɛmɛnoʊ piː/; "L, M, N, O" spoken twice as quickly as rest of rhyme)
Q, R, S.../ T, U, V... (/kjuː ɑːr ɛs | tiː juː viː/; pause between S and T, though in some variants, "and" is inserted)
W... X.../ Y and(/&) Z. (/ˈdʌbəl.juː ɛks | waɪ ænd ziː/; pause between X and Y, and W and X last for two beats)
Now, I know my ABCs. (/naʊ aɪ noʊ maɪ eɪ biː siːz/)
Next time, won't you sing with me (/nɛkst taɪm woʊnt juː sɪŋ wɪð miː/)?[3]

Backwards alphabet[]

This is a version that goes Z to A instead of A to Z.

z-y-x, w
v-u-t, s-r-q
p-o-n-m-l-k-j
i-h-g-f-e-d-c-b-a
Now you know your ZYXs
I bet that's not what you expected![4]

The e-d-c-b part is as fast as the l-m-n-o part in the normal alphabet song.

Zed for Zee[]

In the United States, Z is pronounced zee; in most other English-speaking countries (such as the UK, Canada and Australia) it is pronounced zed. Generally, the absent zee-rhyme is not missed, although some children use a zee pronunciation in the rhyme which they would not use elsewhere. Variants of the song exist to accommodate the zed pronunciation. One variation shortens the second line and lengthens the last, to form a near rhyme between N and zed:[5][6]

{ \time 4/4 c'4 c' g' g' | a' a' g'2 | f'4 f' e' e' | d' d' c'2 | g'4 g' f' f' | e' e' d'2 | g'4 \times 2/3 { f'8 f' f' } e'4 d' | c' r r2 | \bar "|." } \addlyrics { A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V dub- a- U X Y "Z(ed)" }
a-b-c-d-e-f-g
h-i-j-k-l-m-n
o-p-q-r-s-t-u
v-w-x-y-z(ed)

Another alternative zed version:[citation needed]

a-b-c, d-e-f
g-h-i-j-k-l-m
n-o-p, q-r-s
t-u-v-w-x-y-z(ed)

French Canadian version[]

A French-language version of the song is also taught in Canada, with generally no alterations to the melody except in the final line that requires adjustment to accommodate the two-syllable pronunciation of the French y.

Phonics songs[]

Because the English language has more than 40 sounds[7] and only 26 letters, children and beginning readers also need to learn the different sounds(or phonemes) associated with each letter. Many songs have been written to teach phonemic awareness and they are usually referred to as alphabet songs.

Acrostic songs[]

There are also songs that go through the alphabet, making some of the letters stand for something in the process. An example, "A, You're Adorable" (also known as "The Alphabet Love Song"), was recorded in 1948, by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise, Sidney Lippman, and later Perry Como.

A newer example of this is from the musical Matilda. "School Song" is an acrostic that spells out the alphabet phonetically.[8]

Backwards song (Verse 2)[]

The group Wee Sing released an alphabet song with the letters in reverse order, called "ZYXs".[9]

The Canadian children's TV series The Big Comfy Couch used a version of the song in the first episode of Season 4, "Backwards".[10]

Comedian Soupy Sales released a song in 1966 called "Backwards Alphabet" which contained the reverse alphabet in lyrical style.[11] The original version of the song was performed by actress Judi Rolin with the Smothers Brothers in the 1966 teleplay adaptation of Alice Through the Looking Glass.[12]

See also[]

Related English language songs[]

  • "ABC–DEF–GHI", an alphabet song sung by Big Bird of Sesame Street
  • "ABC Kids", an alternate song sung by The Wiggles who promoted ABC for Kids (2006)
  • "Elmo's Rap Alphabet", a rap version of the Alphabet Song rapped by Elmo. (1996)
  • "Al'z A-B-Cee'z", an alphabet song by hip hop group 3rd Bass, on their album Derelicts of Dialect (1991)
  • "Crazy ABCs", an alphabet rap song that combines pronunciation and phonetics for each letter by Every Child Wins[13]
  • "Crazy ABC's", an acrostic song listing words beginning with each letter used as a silent letter, by the Barenaked Ladies on their album Snacktime! (2008)
  • "Do-Re-Mi", a show tune from The Sound of Music (1959), used to teach the order of the notes in the Solfege scale
  • "Swinging the Alphabet", a phonetically based novelty song, popularized by The Three Stooges in the film Violent Is the Word for Curly (1938)
  • "ZYX", a backwards alphabet song by They Might Be Giants, on their second children's album Here Come the ABCs (2005)
  • "The Elements", a mnemonic song of the periodic table by Tom Lehrer (1959)
  • "A.B.C. Rock", written by members of Bill Haley and His Comets and recorded by children's entertainer Sally Starr for her 1958 album Our Gal Sal. Aimed at young listeners, the song incorporates a recitation of the alphabet. Haley and the Comets recorded their own version for Decca Records in 1959.

Traditional alphabet songs in other languages[]

  • "A Haka Mana" recites the syllabary of the Māori language to the tune of Stupid Cupid
  • "Alef-Bet" by Debbie Friedman, a song commonly used in American Hebrew school classrooms to teach the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet
  • "Iroha", a recital of the Japanese syllabary
  • "Shiva Sutra", Sanskrit
  • "Thousand Character Classic", Chinese and Korean
  • "Zengő ABC" by Ferenc Móra, Hungarian
  • "Алфавит мы уже знаем", Russian
  • "Adalama" (