"The Bus Stop Song" (also known as "A Paper of Pins") is a popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. The title references the film, ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

'', in which it was introduced. A traditional song, it was orchestrated by

Ken Darby Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...

in 1956 but a version (called The Keys of Canterbury) was known in the 19th century and Alan Lomax collected it as "A Paper of Pins" in the 1930s. It is best known in a recording, made on July 17, 1956, by

The Four Lads The Four Lads were a Irish male singing quartet that earned many gold singles and albums in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Their million-selling signature tunes include " Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; " No, Not Much"; " Who Ne ...

and dubbed over the opening credits of the movie, with some of its lyrics also included in early dialogue. This recording was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as catalog number 40736. It first reached the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

on September 15, 1956. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at number 17; on the Best Seller chart, at number 22; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached number 23. The flip side was "

A House with Love in It "A House with Love in It" is a popular song composed by Sidney Lippman with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. The song was published in 1956. The recording by The Four Lads (made July 17, 1956) was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40736. It fir ...

References

19th-century songs The Four Lads songs Burl Ives songs Songs with unknown songwriters Year of song unknown {{1950s-pop-song-stub