# What's the ice cream truck playing where you are? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389 "2010-07-20T20:42:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/41 "2010-07-21T15:38:30Z")
It plays a different song for each day of the week. I’m not usually home when it comes during the weekdays but Saturday is “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and Sunday is “Turkey in the Straw”. The other five are well worn classics but I can’t remember what they are. I’d never heard of “Turkey in the Straw” until I asked someone what that noise was coming from the truck. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/42 "2010-07-21T15:55:32Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > a variation of “She’ll Be Coming 'Rond the Mountain” with whistles, car horns and a girl’s voice saying “Hello.” Yep – same one here. And now it’s stuck in my head again. I’ve very sorry, but I have no choice but to have you beaten for that. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/43 "2010-07-21T15:59:41Z")
Two ice cream trucks roam my neighborhood every night. One is a traditional Mister Softee truck. The other is a special ed short bus, repainted white, with “Mr. Cool” painted on the side in fluorescent green, of course in the region’s favorite typeface, Brush Script. It would take some serious trust for me to run out and buy a custard from the Mr. Cool bus. Anyhow, Mister Softee plays the traditional [Mister Softee jingle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Softee). Mr. Cool plays _The Entertainer_. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/44 "2010-07-21T16:02:43Z")
“The Entertainer”… by Billy Joel 😃 Actually it’s some discordant collection of notes randomly punctuated by a loud computerized-girl voice saying “ **HELLO!** ” I have no idea what in the hell that’s all about. It’s like the ice cream truck of the damned. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/45 "2010-07-21T16:05:18Z")
Music Box Dancer. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/46 "2010-07-21T16:14:54Z")
Around here, the ice cream truck is called The Ding-Ding Man. They don’t play music, they have bells they ring as they drive through your neighborhood. Dingding!.. Dingding!!..Dingding!! ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/47 "2010-07-21T16:21:45Z")
Same as the OP, but I think the recording they use is old because it sounds slow and surreal. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/48 "2010-07-21T16:36:54Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > a variation of “She’ll Be Coming 'Rond the Mountain” with whistles, car horns and a girl’s voice saying “Hello.” > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Same as the OP, but I think the recording they use is old because it sounds slow and surreal. See, I should have read the OP because this is probably the case with mine as well. It doesn’t _sound_ like “She’ll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain” but the tape might just be worn out or something. I can’t imagine there’s that many ice cream truck mix tapes with the strange girl voice. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/49 "2010-07-21T16:38:39Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Actually it’s some discordant collection of notes randomly punctuated by a loud computerized-girl voice saying “ **HELLO!** ” I have no idea what in the hell that’s all about. It’s like the ice cream truck of the damned. I’m glad to see you and the OP both mention this “HELLO!” thing. The truck that came around my apartment complex for the last few years did this, too… a brief bit of some warped music, an exaggerated “Boing!” cartoon sound effect, then a really loud computerized girl screaming “HELLO!” Luckily, that truck, or at least its sound system, has been replaced, and we’re back to actual music. The current truck seems to cycle through several songs, as I’ve heard several in the last few days: Alouette, Pop Goes the Weasel (what a strange title, now that I type that name out), Itsy Bitsy Spider, and others. There’s also one which plays mariachi music. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/50 "2010-07-21T16:48:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I hardly ever encounter ice cream trucks around here, but in the neighborhood where I grew up, it would be “Pop Goes the Weasel”, “Turkey in the Straw”, or “The Entertainer”. These are what our ice cream trucks play. Mostly “Turkey in the Straw” though. It is also what they played when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/51 "2010-07-21T16:49:55Z")
I forgot: when I lived in Denver, there were no ice cream trucks that went down my street. Instead, there were ice cream carts pushed by old Mexican men. I saw the carts in the strangest places; industrial parks on weekends, alleys, streets with few houses, empty parks, and the like. The carts had jingling bells, and ever so often the men pushing them let out a loud groan. I _never_ saw anyone buy ice cream from these guys. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/52 "2010-07-21T18:43:28Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > When our kids were younger (toddlers) we told them that it was the Music Truck. “Look! The Music Truck!” Then we would dance as it passed by. > > Worked like a charm until their meddling cousins told them the truth. Now that was creative. The usual truck plays Turkey In The Straw. For the record, I’ve never had an urge to grab a missle. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/53 "2010-07-23T04:36:55Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > _Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini_ > > No jury in the land would convict me. LOL! Every time I see/hear one, I say that, and I never have to explain what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/54 "2010-07-23T04:55:43Z")
“Red Wing” (or “Union Maid” if that’s your bent). Denver. The ones in my youth I remember as playing a discordant little polka, which turned up, years later, as the hold music at a newspaper where I worked. Another reporter called it “Music for the Deaf.” ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/55 "2010-07-23T05:15:32Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Beethoven’s _Für Elise_. same ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/56 "2010-07-23T05:38:29Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > “Red Wing” (or “Union Maid” if that’s your bent). Denver. Damn, really? That’s pretty cool. _Oh, you can’t scare me…_ I think the ice cream trucks around here play a proprietary jingle (Hemglass, for those who know what I’m talking about). The ice cream truck over here runs things a little differently; they don’t sell individual treats, they sell in bulk and only come by once a week or so (more frequently in the summer, less frequently in the winter). Nonetheless the jingle is familiar enough to everyone that it sets the kids off when they hear it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/57 "2010-07-23T07:34:15Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > [“Music Box Dancer”](http://www.mightymidi.com/music/elsong4.mid) Is that what that tune is called? Yeah, that’s the one here, too - although the tricycle lolly vendors are much more common than soft serve vans. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/58 "2010-07-23T12:55:47Z")
We don’t have any ice cream trucks in East Buttcrack. Thank Og. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/59 "2010-07-23T13:12:20Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Actually it’s some discordant collection of notes randomly punctuated by a loud computerized-girl voice saying “ **HELLO!** ” I have no idea what in the hell that’s all about. It’s like the ice cream truck of the damned. I heard this for the first time yesterday! It was so meta! ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389/60 "2010-07-23T15:24:43Z")
Funny, an ice cream truck came down the street 3 days ago… can’t remember the last time I saw or heard one before that, must have been years. It was playing, of all things, “Korobeiniki” aka the “Tetris Song”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-ice-cream-truck-playing-where-you-are/547389.md?page=4)