# What is the ice-cream-truck music in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010 "2007-07-09T02:32:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/21 "2007-07-09T13:30:12Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. **Gfactor** , General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/22 "2007-07-09T13:31:33Z")
[QUOTE=irishgirl] The one that seemed to drive back and forth in front of my house 50,000 times yesterday was doing a medley of “Pop Goes the Weasel”, “London Bridge is Falling Down” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. [/QUOTE] Ooh, that’s quite a mashup. My local one plays nothing but Christmas carols. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/23 "2007-07-09T14:26:58Z")
[QUOTE=si\_blakely] But a lot of vans started playing _Music Box Dancer_ in the 80’s after it’s chart appearance in 1979. Wikipedia notes that it is also popular in North America for this purpose. [/QUOTE] This is the song my ice cream truck usually plays. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/24 "2007-07-09T14:45:16Z")
When I was a kid, the tune was _Greensleeves_. The van that does the same area these days plays _The Teddy Bears’ Picnic_. That’s yer actual dumbing down right there. 😉 I’ve also heard vans playing _The Entertainer_. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/25 "2007-07-09T15:04:36Z")
Ours plays “Greensleeves”, although we don’t see it very often round our way. Too few kids to make it worthwhile, but they probably make a killing every weekend in the park round the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/26 "2007-07-09T15:15:19Z")
I’ve heard ice cream trucks use Greensleeves here in California, too, as well as most of the other tunes mentioned so far, plus “Sailing, Sailing, Over the Bounding Main” (also known as “Sinbad the Sailor”). I no longer get the trucks in my (predominantly hispanic)neighborhood, though–just handcarts with incredibly piercing bells manually tinkled (probably by a guy named Manuel). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/27 "2007-07-09T15:37:25Z")
The few times I’ve seen a mobile ice cream stand in Spain, it was a van that had been planted in place for the duration - it didn’t move. And unless it was part of a fair (in which case it would play whichever songs were competing for the title of “Song of the Summer”) it wouldn’t play music. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Hildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/28 "2007-07-09T17:40:04Z")
[QUOTE=si\_blakely] But a lot of vans started playing _Music Box Dancer_ in the 80’s after it’s chart appearance in 1979. Wikipedia notes that it is also popular in North America for this purpose. [/QUOTE] That’s the only song I can remember my neighborhood ice cream truck playing. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/29 "2007-07-09T17:49:26Z")
When I was a wee lad, ice cream treats were dealt from specialized tricycles with a huge cooler between the front wheels. The popscicle monger dingled a brass bell as he rode. When the trucks took over, the tune was always a calliope rendition of either _Stars and Stripes Forever_ or the circus classic _Over the Waves._ Later, we’d hear _When The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down_ or _Turkey In The Straw_, but still on a calliope. I once asked a driver how he could stand to hear the same tune all day, every day. He said, with all the refrigeration in the truck, he couldn’t hear the music at all. At the State Fair, I heard the calliope wagon from Indiana University. Holy Moo Cow, that’s loud! I mean, it’s Grateful Dead loud. The player, atop the wagon, wore serious protective earmuffs. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/30 "2007-07-09T19:03:24Z")
Ours plays The Entertainer or Did You Ever Know a Lassie (the tune is also known as The More We Get Together). It took me weeks to figure it out–I haven’t heard that lassie song since I was one! (mom was into folk tunes). The Godfather? How twisted is that? I’ve also heard Music Box Dancer–seems a fitting role for a tune that was burned into my brain as a teen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/31 "2007-07-09T19:48:07Z")
I hear the tune from _The Third Man_ quite often. I also hear _You are my Sunshine_ a lot, probably because the tune’s been used for football crowd songs for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/32 "2007-07-09T20:05:11Z")
There’s trucks here in Chicago that use a series of various sound effects, followed by a “Hey!” which-- stupid, stupid me-- always makes me look. I don’t even really hear or pay attention to the sound effects til I hear the person yelling “Hey!” ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/33 "2007-07-09T23:03:40Z")
Round here it’s the nursery rhyme “Girls and boys come out to play” Of course smart parents tell their kids the icecream man only plays the tune to show that he’s run out of icecream ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/34 "2007-07-09T23:46:43Z")
[QUOTE=Capt B. Phart] Of course smart parents tell their kids the icecream man only plays the tune to show that he’s run out of icecream [/QUOTE] Is this followed by a man in a chili truck? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/35 "2007-07-10T00:31:26Z")
When I was a kid, I think it was _London Bridge_. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/36 "2007-07-10T01:54:05Z")
The trucks that go through my neighborhood in Washington State play either _Pop Goes the Weasal_ or _Greensleeves_. And, speaking as a day sleeper, those are both REALLY ANNOYING. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/37 "2007-07-10T19:01:02Z")
Oh, wait, wait! It **was** _Pop Goes the Weasel_. Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/38 "2007-07-11T04:05:49Z")
My neighborhood gets the “Music Box Dancer” truck, the “Sailing, Sailing” truck, 2 “Pop Goes the Weasel” trucks, and one that plays several tunes including “Happy Birthday to You.” In addition, while most of the trucks around here sell Good Humor-type treats as well as chips and canned soda, one of the “Pop Goes the Weasel” trucks sells soft-serve ice cream and small bags of Fritos with a spoonful or two of chili dumped right into the bag. It’s an embarrassment of riches, let me tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/39 "2007-07-11T12:00:31Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Our ice cream van plays “The Entertainer”…Scott Joplin, if ya didn’t know [/QUOTE] Ours does, too. When I first moved to Troy, NY, I went out for a few…okay, WAY too many drinks with my roommate and woke up at noon to the sound of “The Entertainer” _really fucking loud_! I jumped up out of bed and was in a still-drunken stupor, stumbling around the room like a dog looking for his tail. I couldn’t figure out where the music was coming from for a couple of minutes. Then I saw the friggin’ truck and went back to bed. For a couple of minutes, I had never been so confused in my life. Where I’m from, we didn’t have ice cream trucks. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010/40 "2007-07-11T12:53:01Z")
All I’ve ever heard in the southern US (Texas, Georgia, Florida) was \*Pop Goes The Weasel. \* Just what, may I ask, would be wrong with _Freebird_? I’d love to see an ice cream truck drive by with all the kids on the sidewalk holding their lighters in the air. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-ice-cream-truck-music-in-the-uk/411010.md?page=3)