# They changed the alphabet song! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931 "2004-10-13T01:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/1 "2004-10-13T01:54:23Z")
Teacher friend of mine was telling me today about how she teaches reading to her kindergarten class. We got silly and started singing the alphabet… Until we got out of synch. They sing it differently now! When I was a kid it went like this: A B C D E F G (pause) H I J K ELEMENOP (pause) Q R S (pause) T U V (pause) W X (pause) Y and Z Friend tells me the ELEMENO part is confusing to little kids, so they now sing it like this: A B C D E F G (pause) H I J K ELLL M (pause) N O P Q R S T (pause) U V W X Y Z I’m not sure what this signifies, but it sure sounds fishy and weird. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/2 "2004-10-13T02:01:26Z")
My God, what are they teaching our kids nowadays? (Well…not my kids…your kids…my kids are safely tucked away in my scrotum.) The alphabet song is sung to the tune of ‘twinklw twinklw little star’ (Not exactly the same, but the same rythm, which is the part in question here. ) And don’t get me started on the people who sing it ‘won’t you come and play with me.’ It’s ‘next time won’t you sing with me’, dammit! (That might not be the exact thing they sing, but I do know there’s an (incorrect) version out there that has an ending that is not ‘next time won’t you sing with me.’) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/3 "2004-10-13T02:03:16Z")
I can’t believe I remember this, but it’s “Aren’t you very proud of me?” :o (What can I say-I have a memory for useless shit like this, but in college, I could never remember the stuff I needed for tests) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/4 "2004-10-13T02:03:47Z")
What??? I liked slurring my elomenopee! ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/5 "2004-10-13T02:34:54Z")
Reminds me of Dan Akroyd’s sketch promoting the “Deca-Bet” where, “LMNOP” were concatinated into one letter, making it easier for those who already thought, “LMNOP” was one letter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/6 "2004-10-13T02:45:48Z")
I’m having a hard time singing it the new way. Is it still sung to the same tune? And elemenopy is the coolest part, damn it. ---
**Author:** ![waits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df788c/32.png) [@waits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waits)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/7 "2004-10-13T03:08:57Z")
A friend’s daughter used to sing it “Elmo-n-o-p.” I guess she thought it had something to do with _Sesame Street_. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/8 "2004-10-13T03:12:37Z")
:eek: Christian fundamentalist complains about them taking God out of the classroom, but taking LMNOP out of the classroom is truly wrong. If I have kids they’re definitely going to have to be homeschooled if this kind of nonsense is going on. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/9 "2004-10-13T03:28:43Z")
Is it still to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? OH and I learned it as. Know I know my ABCs, next time won’t you sing with me. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/10 "2004-10-13T03:34:53Z")
Interesting. I (and the husband of a friend of mine) both learned it as “Tell me what you think of me”. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/11 "2004-10-13T03:40:51Z")
Now I know my ABCs, and my pants are full of pee. I had… strange… parents. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/12 "2004-10-13T03:44:40Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I had… strange… parents. Really!?!?! I _never_ would have thought that! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/13 "2004-10-13T03:47:18Z")
A-B-C-D-E-F-G…H-I-J-K-[sub]Ellen-took-a[/sub]-pee…Q-R-S… We were so clever in Kindergarten. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/14 "2004-10-13T03:52:47Z")
This is absolute blasphemy! Treason to the Alphabet Gods, I tell you! Now. Can someone who has heard the new way possibly figure out a way to let us all hear a recording of it? I can’t figure out how it’s supposed to scan. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/15 "2004-10-13T14:23:16Z")
Why, it was only yesterday I heard some of these fabulous endings: …next time won’t you kiss monkeys …next time won’t you bring some cheese …next time won’t you squash some peas Of course, there was the purist in the crowd who got upset with the new endings, but overall they were a creative group. ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/16 "2004-10-13T14:46:15Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > . . . my kids are safely tucked away in my scrotum. . . My god . . . how do you _walk_?!? ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/17 "2004-10-13T15:09:42Z")
How could they change the alphabet song? Mind you **AngelicGemma** learnt the song as so: A - BC - DE - FG - HI - JK - LM [pause] NO - PQ - RS - TU - VW - XYZ But don’t worry. Some electroshock therapy will clear that right up. 😃 As for me I learnt the classic song just fine. I knew elemenopee was more than one letter but for some strange reason U = yoo but W = double me 😕 ---
**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:** [October 13, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/18 "2004-10-13T15:15:46Z")
::comes into thread to see what @#$ order they’ve put them in nowadays:: Oh. Hmm…hadn’t heard that one. OK, which’ve you folks sang “QRS and TUV” and which ones learned “QRSTU and V”? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/19 "2004-10-13T15:32:26Z")
> [@Genghis Bob](#): > > My god . . . how do you _walk_?!? Like Bob from the Enzyte commercial. You know, steppin’ large. \*&^% Taxichusetts democrats taking another cherished cultural icon away from us. Obligatory _The Simpsons_ reference, Homer doing field sobriety test Homer:…Y and Z, Won’t you come and play with me Eddy:We would have also accepted “tell me what you think of me.” ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931/20 "2004-10-13T19:49:51Z")
> [@nocturnal\_tick](#): > > How could they change the alphabet song? Mind you **AngelicGemma** learnt the song as so: > > A - BC - DE - FG - HI - JK - LM [pause] NO - PQ - RS - TU - VW - XYZ > > But don’t worry. Some electroshock therapy will clear that right up. 😃 You’ll never take me alive! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-changed-the-alphabet-song/268931.md?page=2)