"Skidamarink" or "Skinnamarink" is a popular preschool sing-along song from North America. Originally titled "Skid-dy-mer-rink-adink-aboomp" or "Skiddy-Mer-Rink-A-Doo",
the initial version of the song was written by
Felix F. Feist (lyrics) and
Al Piantadosi
Al Piantadosi (born John Alberto Joseph Piantadosi; August 18, 1882 in New York City – April 8, 1955 in Encino, California) was an American composer of popular music during the of Tin Pan Alley. He started out as a saloon and vaudeville piani ...
(music) for the 1910
Charles Dillingham
Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway shows.
Biography
Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868 in Hartford, Connecticut to Edmund Bancroft ...
Broadway production ''The Echo''.
Since the title is
gibberish
Gibberish, also called jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense. It may include speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, or language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to ou ...
, it has had various spellings over the years.
In Canada, the song was popularised by the
children's music
Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...
band
Sharon, Lois & Bram
Sharon, Lois & Bram (also known as Sharon, Bram & Friends, Sharon & Bram or Sharon & Randi) are a Canadian children's music group founded in Toronto, Ontario, 1978. The group's original lineup consisted of Sharon (née Trostin) Hampson, Lo ...
, who first released it on their debut album ''
One Elephant, Deux Elephants'', and then sang it on ''
The Elephant Show
''The Elephant Show'' (from the second season onward, ''Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show'') is a Canadian preschool television show. The series premiered on CBC on October 8, 1984, and ended on February 26, 1989, after 65 episodes over five s ...
''. "Skinnamarink" became their signature song, and their next television show was named ''
Skinnamarink TV
''Skinnamarink TV'' is a children's television show created by Richard Mortimer. The series originally aired on The Learning Channel programming block on Ready Set Learn in the United States and CBC Television in Canada. It was created by Lynn Harv ...
'' after it.
A natural ice rink at the Sharon, Lois & Bram Playground in
Davisville,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
has been named the "Skinnama-rink" in honour of the song.
Lois Lilienstein heard the song when she asked her cousin's daughter if she knew any good songs and the girl sang "Skinnamarink", which she had just heard at camp. None of the band members knew the origins of the song, and the track was attributed to "Traditional".
In popular culture
* A version recorded by
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer.
Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and oth ...
(entitled ''Tiddley Winkie Woo'') charted in ''Billboard'' magazine in May 1950.
* The 1955 UK Christmas hit ''
Christmas Alphabet
"Christmas Alphabet" is a Christmas song written by Buddy Kaye and Jules Loman, first released in 1954 by The McGuire Sisters. The melody is taken from Skidamarink
"Skidamarink" or "Skinnamarink" is a popular preschool sing-along song from Nort ...
'' is based upon the melody of the chorus.
* The song began appearing on many song collections for children's shows in the 1980s. One version appeared on the Australian show ''
Bananas in Pyjamas
''Bananas in Pyjamas'' is an Australian children's television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since been syndicated in many countries and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the " Pyjamas" in the title wa ...
'' and ''
Play School''.
* The song is sung by
D.W. Read in ''
Arthur It's Only Rock 'n' Roll''.
* Children can be heard singing the song in the background of ''
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...
''.
* The song is used at the beginning of the 1985
Wee Sing
Wee or WEE may refer to:
* Wee, a slang term for urine (see also wee-wee)
* Wee, short stature, or otherwise small
Anthroponym
* Wee (surname), Chinese surname and name
* Wee Willie Harris, singer
* Wee Willie Webber, Philadelphia TV and ra ...
video
Wee Sing Together.
* On July 27, 1993, Cedarmont Kids sang the song.
*It appeared in a 2015 advertisement for Bose music systems.
* "Skidamarink" appears in an advertisement for the
Chevrolet Cruze
The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, an ...
in the United States.
* Otto Brandenburg's Danish Christmas song
Søren Banjomus is based on "Skidamarink", with accompanying "danglified" versions of the gibberish.
* The song is sung in the 2012 film ''
Ruby Sparks
''Ruby Sparks'' is a 2012 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film written by Zoe Kazan and directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton. It stars Paul Dano as an anxious novelist whose fictional character, Ruby Sparks, played by Kazan, c ...
''.
* A phrase from the song is sung by
Daymon Patterson
Daymon Scott "Daym" Patterson, better known as Daym Drops, (born September 24, 1977) is an American food critic, YouTube celebrity, rapper, and television presenter. He initially gained popularity on the video-sharing site YouTube for his video r ...
in his
viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan ...
entitled ''Five Guys Burgers and Fries Review''. The video was later remixed into "Oh My Dayum", a song by
The Gregory Brothers
The Gregory Brothers are an American musical quartet, specializing in comedy music and pitch correction through their YouTube channel Schmoyoho (). After the success of their songs 'Chrissy Wake Up' and 'It's Corn' in the summer of 2022, NPR r ...
, in which "Skidamarink" also appears.
* The horror film
Skinamarink was named after the song.
Lyrics
ORIGINAL 1910 VERSION:
1. Down on a Boola Boola Isle,
Where the mermaids chant,
Reigns big chief Crocodile
Beneath an oyster plant.
He loved a sea-nymph selfishly,
Queen of the Gay White Wave.
Each night in his shell he'd go to sea
And in tuneful scales he'd rave:
CHORUS: Skiddy-mer-rink-a-dink-a-boomp, skiddy-mer-rink-a-doo,
Means I love you.
Skiddy-mer-rink-a-dink-a-boomp, skiddy-mer-rink-a-doo,
Means I'll be true
Skiddy-mer-rink-a-dink-a-boomp, skiddy-mer-rink-a-doo,
All the time he this rhyme
Skiddy-mer-rink-a-dink-a-boomp, skiddy-mer-rink-a-doo,
Means I love you.
2. But when the midnight moon was pale,
King Fish Kokomo
Came floating over with his tale
To say he loved her so;
But she was true to Crocodile,
Said "Koko-Nut, go 'way;
I know, in a very little while
You will hear my lover say:"
CHORUS
Current version
Skidamarink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo.
I love you!
Skidamarink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo.
I love you!
I love you in the morning,
And in the afternoon.
I love you in the evening,
And underneath the moon.
Oh, skidamarink a dink a dink a dink,
Skidamarink a doo.
I love you!
References
{{reflist
External links
Images of original sheet music*
ttp://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/377-sharon-lois---bram-s-elephant-show/ Retrojunk - The Elephant Show, 1984-88Retrojunk - Skinnamarink TV, 1997-98
Songs from musicals
American children's songs
Songs written by Al Piantadosi
1910 songs