"Apples and Bananas" or "Oopples and Boo-noo-noos" is a traditional

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

children's song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studie ...

that plays with the

vowel A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...

s of words. The first

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

usually begins unaltered:

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas. I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas.

The following verses replace most or all vowels with one given

sound (the letters A, E, I, O, and U, except for "Y" (which is sometimes a

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...

). It is usually each of the long vowels sounds of ⟨a⟩ (), ⟨e⟩ (), ⟨i⟩ (), ⟨o⟩ (), and ⟨u⟩ (), although potentially any English vowel can be used. For example:

Ay lake tay ate, ate, ate ayples aind bah-nay-nays. Ay lake tay ate, ate, ate ayples aind bah-nay-nays.

Scottish musicians Cilla Fisher & Artie Trezise included the song on their 1982 album and book ''The Singing Kettle''. Canadian musician

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most p ...

released a version of the song on his album ''

One Light, One Sun Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most popu ...

'' (1985). This version only changed the stressed vowels; that is, the vowels in "eat", "apples", and the last two syllables of "bananas". The song was described as one of several "old favourites" performed by

Sandra Beech Sandra Beech (born Sandra Millar 1942 Indicated age 48. in Ballymena, Northern Ireland) is an Irish-Canadian children's musician. She was a member of the family music group The Musical Millars after relocating to Canada in 1953. After her 1964 m ...

from her 1982 album ''Inch by Inch'' in 1984 in the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

''. The song was also sung on three early episodes of the children's television program ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...

'', as well as on '' Rock with Barney'', the final video in the predecessor series '' Barney & the Backyard Gang''. As with Raffi, Barney's version also only changed the stressed vowels.

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...

sang a version of the song on their 2014 album, and it's now one of their most popular songs. ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' released an animated version in 2019 featuring

Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

Abby Cadabby Abby Cadabby is a Muppet character on the PBS children's television show ''Sesame Street'', performed by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. On August 14, 2006, Abby made her debut in the first episode of ''Sesame Street''’s 37th season, when she moved ...

, and

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute, and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originally perfo ...

singing the song.YouTube.com/Sesame Street
Jul 31, 2019

Sources

American folk songs Songs about plants Songs with unknown songwriters Year of song unknown Canadian folk songs Singing games Traditional children's songs {{song-stub American children's songs Canadian children's songs

See also

Sources