Itsy Bitsy Spider

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"Itsy Bitsy Spider" (also known as "Incy Wincy" or "Eency Weency Spider") is a popular nursery rhyme that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends and reascends the downspout or "waterspout" of a gutter system (or, alternatively, the spout of a teapot). It is usually accompanied by a sequence of gestures that mimic the words of the song. The most commonly referenced first published version was in 1962. [1]. However, numerous earlier references can be found by searching full text book search in Google; for example, in Western Folklore, by the California Folklore Society, 1947., and The Growing Family - A Guide for Parents by Maxwell Slutz Stewart, 1955, Harper .

1 Lyrics
2 Movie
3 In Popular Culture
4 References
5 Links

[edit] Lyrics

The lyrics come in various versions:

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain

So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

(Some versions have went instead of climbed.)

Another version:

Incy wincy spider climbing up the spout.

Down came the rain, and washed poor Incy out.

Out came the sunshine, and dried up all the rain

So Incy wincy spider climbs up the spout again.

This version is less well-known:

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the tree.

Down came the snow and made poor Incy freeze.

Out came the sunshine, and melted all the snow

So Incy Wincy Spider had another go.

Recitation of the rhyme is often combined with actions representing the words. For the first (and last) line, alternately touch the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other. For "Down came the rain" hold both hands up and wiggle the fingers as you lower the hands. For "washed the spider out" sweep the hands to the side. For the third line bring both hands up and then to the sides to sweep out a semi-circle (the sun).

[edit] Movie

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider is also the title of an animated short (later made into a full series) released in 1992 with the movie Bebe's Kids. It featured Frank Welker as the title character, and Jim Carrey as the Exterminator.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Loosely based on the rhyme, the spider in question is the friend of a young girl who's taking piano lessons from a very strict Instructor (incidentially, she's learning to play the actual rhyme). When the Instructor is frightened by itsy, she calls an Exterminator, which uses more and more extreme measures to try to kill Itsy, most of which end up causing pain and destruction to the Instructor's home, cat, and the Exterminator himself, which turns out to be a heavily-armed android. The Exterminator's methods begin to get even more extreme, escalating from poison and vacuums to guns and explosives, until the Instructor's house is eventually blown up. Itsy is finally reunited with the girl (who had the sense to get out of the house before the flamethrowers came out), and they go home.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider was eventually made into an animated series on the USA Network. "Itsy-Bitsy" is the name of a character on the Thumb Wrestling Federation.

[edit] In Popular Culture

The original of "Itsy Bitsy spider" is credited in 1962.
California Folklore Society sang it for Western Folklore in 1947.
Bart Simpson sings it to Patty and Selma in The Simpsons season 4 episode "Lisa's First Word" (December 3, 1992).
Nicole Kidman's character in the movie Dead Calm sings it to her son at the beginning of the film.
Dora the Explorer covered a small version (1:36) of "Itsy Bitsy spider".
Ariel Gade's character Cecilia sings it in the movie Dark Water.
Carly Simon made a cross-over song between "Itsy Bitsy spider" and her own "Coming Around Again" for her album Coming Around Again in 1987 and on the soundtrack Heartburn in 2986.
Ike sings this song for an audition in the episode "Something You Can Do with Your Finger" on South Park.
Ben Vereen sang it in the 1990 movie Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme.
M usician Ralph Covert recorded the song for his children's band Ralph's World. The song includes additional verses about the "great big hairy spider" and the "teensy weensy spider".
The lyrics to "Itsy Bitsy spider" are thrown in backwards at the end of The Mars Volta's song "Eunuch Provocateur".
A macabre version of the song is performed by Joey DeLuxe for the soundtrack of Eight Legged Freaks in 2002.
Maxwell Slutz Stewart covered it for "The Growing Family" and "A Guide for Parents" in 1955.
Detlef Cordes covered a small version (0:56) of "Itsy Bitsy spider".
Elize covered the refrain of "Itsy Bitsy spider" for her 3:11 same-named song for the album In Control.
Raffi & Barney covered Itsy Bitsy in a small version of 1:03.
Aqua covered the song titled with Z, "Itzy Bitzy Spider", in 1995 as a single in Scandinavia.