The Song That Never Ends

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"The Song That Never Ends" (variantly known as "The Song That Doesn't End") is a self-referential and infinitely recursive children's song. The song is a single verse long, written in an infinite-loop motif in a march style, such that it naturally flows in a cyclical fashion, repeating the same verse over and over. It is very popular with children, typically sung when doing something repetitive or boring; it's also a favorite of Scouts to sing around campfires. The song was written by writer/composer Norman Martin.

[edit] Lyrics

The lyrics are as follows:

This is the song that doesn't end,

Yes it goes on and on my friend.

Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was,

And they'll continue singing it forever just because —>

The next line is the first line repeated, and the song repeats ad infinitum.

There is some standard variation to the lyrics, as there is with most folk songs.

[edit] Notable appearances and recordings

The most notable appearance of the song was as the closing theme of Lamb Chop's Play-Along, a 1992 televised puppet show. However, the first line was "This is the song that doesn't end". At the end of each episode, the puppets and children would sing several verses of the song as hostess Shari Lewis tried in vain to stop them. They eventually leave (as they begin a sixth verse, which fades out) but when Charlie Horse comes back and tries to get the song going again; Shari successfully stops him by grabbing his mouth with her hand, as shown here.

A short rendition of the song appeared in a skit on the animated TV show Cartoon Planet (the skit is also featured on the companion album, Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que). Brak sings the song until he is asked to stop by Zorak, who finds it annoying. Brak explains that he is unable to because it's the "song that never ends." He attempts to continue until Zorak loses his temper, causing Brak to cease, remarking, "I guess it just ended."

The song has been adopted as an unofficial anthem by disparate groups. The Discordian organization (or disorganization) known as POEE has listed the song in their material with claims that it was written by a member, while fans of the rock band Styx adopted a variation, "The Tour That Never Ends", to describe Styx's 400-plus date tour in the late 1990s in support of their album Brave New World.

A series of Canadian Motrin pain killer ads featured kids singing the song in the back of a car, during a traffic jam, while eating chocolate-covered coffee beans.

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