# Sesame Street song question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517 "2006-04-13T13:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/1 "2006-04-13T13:36:12Z")
There is a song they sing on SS, Ernie sings it in the bathtub. Most of the lyrics are just the words “rubber duck” repeated over and over. But it has a really catchy melody. Is this song using the melody from another song, a popular, ‘adult’ song perhaps, so that when I get caught singing it by someone in the grocery store I can tell them it is something other than the ‘Rubber Duck Song?’ Help would be appreciated. -rainy ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/2 "2006-04-13T13:45:06Z")
Rubber duckie, you’re the one! You make bathtime lots of fun! etc. I think this is a song that’s unique to Sesame Street. There’s a Sesame Street songbook (I have one at home), and this song is in it. You can probably get a copy off Amazon or eBay. I think the actual title is “Rubber Duckie.” ---
**Author:** ![ShadiRoxan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ShadiRoxan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadiRoxan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/3 "2006-04-13T13:52:09Z")
I love that song. My son dances to it. There’s also the rub and pat song that Bert and Ernie sing. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/4 "2006-04-13T13:55:41Z")
[Linky](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/rubberduckie.mp3) [Every SS noise and song you’d ever want.](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/index2.html) ---
**Author:** ![ShadiRoxan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ShadiRoxan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadiRoxan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/5 "2006-04-13T14:10:07Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > [Linky](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/rubberduckie.mp3) > > [Every SS noise and song you’d ever want.](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/index2.html) It’s not that one. There’s a new one where half the muppets end up in the bathroom singing with Ernie. ---
**Author:** ![John\_T.Conklin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_t.conklin/32/3307_2.png) [@John\_T.Conklin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_T.Conklin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/6 "2006-04-13T14:15:36Z")
> [@rainy](#): > > There is a song they sing on SS, Ernie sings it in the bathtub. Most of the lyrics are just the words “rubber duck” repeated over and over. But it has a really catchy melody. Is this song using the melody from another song, a popular, ‘adult’ song perhaps, so that when I get caught singing it by someone in the grocery store I can tell them it is something other than the ‘Rubber Duck Song?’ > > Help would be appreciated. > > -rainy Is it “[Do de rubber duck](http://members.tripod.com/tiny_dancer/rubber2.html)”? ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/7 "2006-04-13T15:15:08Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > [Linky](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/rubberduckie.mp3) > > [Every SS noise and song you’d ever want.](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/index2.html) Nope, not that one. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/8 "2006-04-13T15:16:11Z")
> [@ShadiRoxan](#): > > It’s not that one. There’s a new one where half the muppets end up in the bathroom singing with Ernie. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/9 "2006-04-13T15:19:12Z")
> [@John T. Conklin](#): > > Is it “[Do de rubber duck](http://members.tripod.com/tiny_dancer/rubber2.html)”? That’s the one. Is the melody original or borrowed? It sounds so dartned familiar to me…and it is quite a catchy tune. Am I doomed to have “Do the Rubber Duck” hidden on my Ipod somewhere??? Maybe some artist could sample from DtRD for something a little more mainstream. -rainy ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/10 "2006-04-13T15:37:22Z")
Any chance it was “Put _Down_ the Ducky” instead of “Rubber Ducky”? Lots of guest-stars, jazz number, Ernie trying to play the sax and the ducky squeaking and interfering? Mr. Hoots (leader of the band) telling him his problem is that he has to “put down the ducky if you wanna play the saxophone”? ---
**Author:** ![Matthew1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@Matthew1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matthew1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/11 "2006-04-13T15:40:09Z")
I just want to say, my favorite part was “rubber ducky, joy of joys… when I squeeze you, you make noise!” I guess it could be taken into a different context than a squeaking duck ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/12 "2006-04-13T15:55:29Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Any chance it was “Put _Down_ the Ducky” instead of “Rubber Ducky”? Lots of guest-stars, jazz number, Ernie trying to play the sax and the ducky squeaking and interfering? Mr. Hoots (leader of the band) telling him his problem is that he has to “put down the ducky if you wanna play the saxophone”? I love [Put Down the Ducky](http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/duckie.html)! > [@epinions](#): > > Probably the best part of the video is the all-star musical extravaganza , the title track of the video: Put Down the Duckie. This fun song features cameos by such stars as: > > · John Candy > · Jane Curtin > · Madeline Kahn > · PeeWee Herman > · Ladysmith Black Mambazo > · Danny DeVito & Rhea Perlman > · Itzhak Perlman > · Paul Simon > · Jeremy Irons > · Carl Banks > · Keith Hernandez > · Celia Cruz > · Wynton Marsalis > · Mookie Wilson [Linky](http://www.epinions.com/mvie-review-50D1-2707D20-39CD2614-prod1) ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sesame-street-song-question/352517/13 "2006-04-13T17:35:14Z")
Quite often Sesame Street will do songs that are spoofs of real songs, so they sound very similar but are not exactly the same song. So when you hear one it might sound very familiar for that reason. I know the song you are talking about and while I can’t place a specific song it spoofs, it might have a borrowed style or format of another song. For example, other songs like this are “We All Live In A Capital I” Which spoofs “Yellow Submarine” or “C Drives Me Crazy” which spoofs Fine Young Cannibals “She Drives Me Crazy.” So it is probably not just using an existing song but could be very very similar to one.