Animal Fair (song)
Animal Fair is a traditional folk song and children's song.
As early as 1898, it is attested as being sung by American sailors.[1]
The song was attested in Life magazine in 1941 as a cadence of soft shoe tap dancing.[2]
Lyrics
The version attested in 1898 has the following lyrics:[1]
- I went to the animal fair,
- The birds and the beasts were there,
- The old baboon by the light of the moon
- Was combing his auburn hair
- The monkey he got drunk
- And fell on the elephant's trunk
- The elephant sneezed and went down on his knees
- And that was the end of the monkey monkey monkey monk...
Other versions substituted "the old baboon" (1915)[3] for "the little baboon", while modern recordings use "the big baboon". The Barney and Captain Kangaroo versions changed other lyrics as well.
Recordings
- Sung in Barney & Friends episodes The Dentist Makes Me Smile (1993) and Barney's Super Singing Circus (2000).
- Captain Kangaroo with Mitch Miller orchestra & The Sandpipers (1958)[4]
- Sung by Richard Dreyfuss's character Moses Wine to his sons in the film The Big Fix (1978)[5]
- Sung in Kidsongs and also used as Elmyra's theme in Tiny Toon Adventures.
References
- ^ a b "The Chicago record's war stories". Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ^ Lincoln Barnett, "Fred Astaire", Life magazine, August 25, 1941
- ^ Frank Hobart Cheley, G. Cornelius Baker, Camp and outing activities
- ^ "Animal Fair" from Captain Kangaroo's Treasure House of Best-Loved Songs
- ^ bmacv (6 October 1978). "The Big Fix (1978)". IMDb. Retrieved 1 January 2016.