# Have any of you ever sung the whole of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 18, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806 "2013-07-18T01:59:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/1 "2013-07-18T01:59:01Z")
Have any of you Dopers ever sung all of the verses to “99 Bottles of Beer On the Wall” at one time? Also, which version do you know? “99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. You take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.” or “99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. If one of those bottles happens to fall, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.” or “99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. If one fell, what the hell, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/2 "2013-07-18T02:09:16Z")
I first learned the first of the three versions you cited. I learned of the second version much later in life. I’d never heard the third version! Something new today! Back in my youth, when we were in a big phase of live-action role-playing-games, we’d use “99 Bottles” as the background chant when a bunch of NPCs were trying to raise Great Cthulhu. So, if you’re crawling around in a weird abandoned temple and see a group of hooded acolytes chanting “Seven Bottles of Beer on the Wall,” slowly, in a weird minor key, act fast. Either mow 'em down, or run like blazes! ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/3 "2013-07-18T02:14:17Z")
A friend and I did when we were around age 10 and bored one day. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/4 "2013-07-18T02:17:38Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > 99 bottles of beer on the wall > 99 bottles of beer. > If one of those bottles happens to fall, > 98 bottles of beer on the wall. 98 bottles of beer. If one of those bottles happens to fall, 97 bottles of beer on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/5 "2013-07-18T02:25:47Z")
I’ve heard a variant that counts up: One bottle of beer on the wall, One bottle of beer, Go to the store, Steal some more, Two bottles of beer on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/6 "2013-07-18T02:31:48Z")
Infinite bottles of beer on the wall, Infinite bottles of beer. You take one down and pass it around, Infinite bottles of beer on the wall… (That one gets tedious.) ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/7 "2013-07-18T02:34:58Z")
We did the\* happen to fall\* version. We made it all the way through on the drive to our vacation. Along with multiple versions of _She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain, On Top of Old Smokey, Oh Susanna_ and probably lots of other forgotten songs. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/8 "2013-07-18T03:20:39Z")
Our whole fifth grade (3 classes) did one day on the bus trip back from a field trip. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/9 "2013-07-18T03:31:09Z")
Unfortunately my daughter and I were able to sing it all while looking for parking one Sunday evening. Maybe it was buckets of slime instead of bottles of beer or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/10 "2013-07-18T03:34:08Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Have any of you Dopers ever sung all of the verses to “99 Bottles of Beer On the Wall” at one time? Ain’t nobody got time for that! (Or, when there is time, patience and sanity to spare.) > [@](#): > > Also, which version do you know? > > “99 bottles of beer on the wall, > 99 bottles of beer. > You take one down and pass it around, > 98 bottles of beer on the wall.” > > or > > “99 bottles of beer on the wall, > 99 bottles of beer. > If one of those bottles happens to fall, > 98 bottles of beer on the wall.” I was taught both of these. Sorta. It’s ‘If one of those bottles should happen to fall’ - the meter’s not right on ‘happens to fall’. Never heard your third version until this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/11 "2013-07-18T04:02:54Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Have any of you Dopers ever sung all of the verses to “99 Bottles of Beer On the Wall” at one time? Good lord, no. My family knows enough real songs, we never had to kill time with that bs. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/12 "2013-07-18T07:56:15Z")
We Brits have an equivalent of the song, but – feeble bunch that we are – it involves only ten bottles and ten verses. Clearly, you Americans think much bigger… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/13 "2013-07-18T08:11:45Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > We Brits have an equivalent of the song, but – feeble bunch that we are – it involves only ten bottles and ten verses. Clearly, you Americans think much bigger… What ours lacks in volume, it more than makes up for in melody. _Ten Green Bottles_ is a pretty little nursery rhyme. _99 Bottles Of Beer_ is a slightly raucous drinking song. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/14 "2013-07-18T09:33:01Z")
Concur: “Ten Green Bottles” is pretty-much kid-ish and insipid. I prefer the “horrid” version of it: One bluebottle, crawling on the meat; [repeat] And if one bluebottle should wipe its dirty feet, That’s Sunday’s dinner not fit to eat. [Proceed through the days of the week in sequence, adding another bluebottle with each verse.] ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/15 "2013-07-18T10:18:50Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > What ours lacks in volume, it more than makes up for in melody. _Ten Green Bottles_ is a pretty little nursery rhyme. _99 Bottles Of Beer_ is a slightly raucous drinking song. Ten green bottles sitting on a wall ten green bottles sitting on a wall and if one green bottle should accidentally fall there’ll be nine green bottles sitting on a wall. That’s the version I know. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/16 "2013-07-18T11:55:52Z")
It was sung on a few bus road trips when in school. Versions 1 and 2 all the way through. I never heard 3. No personal electronics on bus back then, only books. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/17 "2013-07-18T11:57:23Z")
School bus trips, often. Always “happen to fall”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/18 "2013-07-18T12:21:02Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > “99 bottles of beer on the wall, > 99 bottles of beer. > You take one down and pass it around, > 98 bottles of beer on the wall.” What I learned was closest to this version, but with some words left out. Instead of “You take one down and pass it around,” it was just “Take one down, pass it around.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/19 "2013-07-18T12:56:37Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Ten green bottles sitting on a wall > ten green bottles sitting on a wall > and if one green bottle should accidentally fall > there’ll be nine green bottles sitting on a wall. > That’s the version I know. Me too. I quite like it - it’s good for preschoolers learning to count (and is one of many such songs that proceed sometimes incrementally, sometimes - as here - counting down) ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806/20 "2013-07-18T14:19:10Z")
Here in the Great Midwest, we took one down and passed it around. Jeez, bottles falling off the wall would be tragic. Who wants to get bummed out on a school field trip? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-of-you-ever-sung-the-whole-of-99-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall/663806.md?page=2)