The ABC Song

"The A.B.C." redirects here. For other similarly named songs, see ABC song (disambiguation). For the U.S. television channel, see American Broadcasting Company. For the Australian television broadcaster, see Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

An alphabet song is any of various songs used to teach children an alphabet, used in kindergartens, pre-schools and homes around the world. Alphabet songs typically follow the alphabetic principle (though the phonics method offers variants). In languages such as English with morphophonemic variation, an alphabet song usually chooses a particular pronunciation for each letter in the alphabet (i.e. "cake" is /ˈkeɪk/, not [ˈkaːkɛ]) and also typically for some words in the song.

The A.B.C.

"The A.B.C." (/ˌeɪˌbiːˈsiː/) or "A.B.C's" (/ˌeɪˌbiːˈsiːz/) is one of the best-known English language alphabet songs, and perhaps the one most frequently referred to as "the alphabet song", especially in the United States.

Music for the alphabet song including some common variations on the lyrics

The song was first copyrighted in 1835 by the Boston-based music publisher Charles Bradlee, and given the title "The A.B.C., a German air with variations for the flute with an easy accompaniment for the piano forte". The musical arrangement was attributed to Louis Le Maire (sometimes Lemaire), an 18th century composer. This was "Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1835, by C. Bradlee, in the clerk's office of the District Court of Massachusetts", according to the Newberry Library, which also says, "The theme is that used by Mozart for his piano variations, Ah, vous dirai-je, maman." This tune is more commonly recognizable as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".

Lyrics: (each line represents two measures, or eight beats)

a-b-c-d-e-f-g, (/eɪ biː siː diː iː ɛf dʒiː,/)

h-i-j-k-lmnop, (/eɪtʃ aɪ dʒeɪ keɪ ɛlɛmɛnoʊ piː,/ l-m-n-o spoken twice as quickly as rest of rhyme)

q-r-s, t-u-v, (/kjuː ɑr ɛs, tiː juː viː,/ pause between s and t)

w, x, y and z! (/dʌbɨjuː ɛks, waɪ ænd ziː,/ pause between x and y, w and x last for two beats)

Now I know my ABCs; (/naʊ aɪ noʊ maɪ eɪ biː siːz,/)

next time won't you sing with me? (/nɛkst taɪm woʊnt juː sɪŋ wɪθ miː/).

Zed for Zee

In the United States, Z is pronounced zee; in most other English-speaking countries it is pronounced zed. Generally the absent zee-rhyme is not missed, although some children use a zee pronunciation in the rhyme which they would not use elsewhere. Variants of the song exist to accommodate the zed pronunciation. One variation shortens the second line and lengthens the last, to form a near-rhyme between N and zed:

a-b-c-d-e-f-g

h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p

q-r-s

t-u-v

w-x

y and z

Now I know my "ABCs",

Next time won't you sing with me

In UK (Nursery Rhymes):

a-b-c-d-e-f-g

h-i-j-k-lmnop

q-r-s

t-u-v"

w and x

y and zee

Now I know my "ABCs",

Next time won't you sing with me

Other variants make significantly more changes in order to rhyme with zed, and even alter the rest of the song to fit a new rhythm. For example:

a-b-c-d-e-f-g

h-i-j-k-lmnop

lmnop-q-r-s-t

u-v-w-x-y-zed

x-y-zed

Sugar on your bread

Eat it all up

Before you are dead.

Phonics

This alphabet song, sung to a different melody from that of the previous, is taught by some pre-schools that use the phonics method.

What does the A say? Ay Aa Ah (the vowels are sounded completely)

What does the B say? B* B* B* (only the leading sound of consonants are sung in the response part)

What does the C say? S* and K*

What does the D say? D* D* D*

What does the E say? Ee and Eh

. . .

(continue for each letter with several slightly different melodies)

. . .

What does the X say? Ks Ks Ks

What does the Y say? Yuh* Ee* Eye*

What does the Z say? Zzz Zzz Zzz

What do you call these phones and sounds?

English alphabet letters.

Yeah!

This song teaches children that each letter has a name and sounds. Just like a dog says "woof" and a cat says "meow", the "I" says "eye" and "ee".

Acrostic songs

There are also songs that go through the alphabet, making each letter stand for something in the process. One example was recorded in 1948, by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise, Sidney Lippman, and later Perry Como, called A, You're Adorable:

A, you're adorable

B, you're so beautiful

C, you're a cutie full of charms

D, you're a darling

And E, you're exciting

And F, you're a feather in my arms

G, you look good to me

H, you're so heavenly

I, you're the one I idolize

J, we're like Jack and Jill

K, you're so kissable

L, is the love light in your eyes

M, N, O, P

I could go on all day

Q, R, S, T

Alphabetically speaking: "You're OK"

U, made my life complete

V, means you're very sweet

W, X, Y, Z

It's fun to wander through the alphabet with you to tell you what you mean to me

Backwards song

The group Wee Sing released an alphabet song with the letters in reverse order. It is called ZYXs. It goes as follows:

Z-Y-X-W-V-and-U--

T-and-S-and-R-and-Q--

P-O-N-M-L-K-J--,

I-H-G-F-EDCBA-- (EDCBA said like LMNOP in alphabet song)

Now I know my CBAs

Next time won't you lead the way

Another version ends with "Now I know my ZYXs, lets all go and walk to Texas

The Canadian children's TV series The Big Comfy Couch used a version of the song in the episode "Backwards".

Comedian Soupy Sales released a song in 1966 called "Backwards Alphabet" which contained the reverse alphabet in lyrical style.

See also

• "ABC–DEF–GHI", a song sung by Big Bird of Sesame Street
• "The Elements", a mnemonic song of the periodic table by Tom Lehrer
• The song "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music, which is used to learn the order of the notes in the Solfege scale, just like the alphabet song is used to learn the order of the letters in the alphabetical order.
• Al'z A-B-Cee'z, an alphabet song by hip hop group 3rd Bass, on their 1991 album Derelicts of Dialect.
• The Alphabet Song recorded in 1987 for the Kidsongs music video collection "What I Want To Be".

Traditional alphabet songs in other languages

• Iroha, Japanese
• Shiva Sutra, Sanskrit
• Thousand Character Classic, Chinese and Korean
• Alif Ba Ta Tsa, Arabic