The Song That Never Ends

"The Song That Never Ends" (originally, The Song That Doesn't End) is a self-referential and infinitely iterative children's song. The song appears in the album Lamb Chop's Sing-Along, Play-Along by puppeteer Shari Lewis. It is a single verse long song, 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 still a very popular tune, typically sung during long car journeys. The song was written by writer/composer Norman Martin in 1988. [1][2][3]

Lyrics

Original

This is the song that doesn't end
Yes it goes on and on my friends
Some people started singing it not knowing what it was
And they'll continue singing it forever just because...

Classical Variation

This is the song that never ends
It just goes on and on my friends
Some people started singing it not knowing what it was
And they'll continue singing it forever just because...

The Song that Gets on Everybody's Nerves

This song, very similar to "The Song that Doesn't End", is often sung by children trying to annoy an adult or another child who is present at the time.

Sung to the tune of either "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"

I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
Everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves,
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
and this is how it goes.

Or:

I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
and this is how it goes.

Other versions

I know a song that gets on your nerves,
gets on your nerves, gets on your nerves.
I know a song that gets on your nerves
and this is how it goes.
I know a song that will get on your nerves,
get on your nerves, get on your nerves.
I know a song that will get on your nerves,
and this is how it goes.
I know a song that's very annoying,
very annoying, very annoying.
I know a song that's very annoying,
and this is how it goes.

A different variation of this song is:

I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves
and it pisses people off but its really quite absurd
how this song gets on everybody's nerves
and this is how it goes

Variants of ``And this is how it goes`` include ``I'll show you how it goes`` and ``I will never shut up``.

Yet another variation is 'I know a song that'll get on your nerves.'

I know a song that'll get on your nerves,
Get on your nerves, Get on your nerves
I know a song that'll get on your nerves,
Get, get get on your nerves

This variation is also commonly sung with And this is how it goes replacing Get, get on your nerves.

Another is

This is the song that goes on forever
Cause it never, ever ends
Come on everybody
We're going to sing it again
(Repeat)

Another variant: sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic

I know a song that's really really annoying
I know a song that's really really annoying
I know a song that's really really annoying, and it goes a little like this 2,3,4, (repeat)

Bob The Goldfish

There is another repetitive "never ending" song, although it is not sung to the same tune as the others, and is possibly not as well known. It is called 'Bob the Goldfish', and is used by children to emphasize the short memory span of the goldfish. Its lyrics are:

Hey! I'm Bob! I'm a goldfish. And a goldfish has a memory span of -

This one line is repeated throughout the song. It is popular mainly among young school age children in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Notable appearances and recordings

The most notable appearance of the song in the US was as the closing theme of Lamb Chop's Play-Along, a 1992 televised puppet show on PBS, though with slightly different lyrics and a slightly different title (known as "The Song That Doesn't End"). At the end of each episode, the puppets and children would sing several verses of the song while hostess Shari Lewis would try in vain to stop them. They would eventually leave (on her urging), even while beginning a sixth verse (which eventually fades out). Then, the puppet character Charlie Horse would return and try to get to sing the song again, but Shari successfully stops him by grabbing his mouth and persuading him to "go away." So Charlie leaves and slams the door (before Shari could even tell him not to slam the door).

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 doesn't end." 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.

It was also the subject of a single strip in Dave Kellett's Sheldon webcomic.

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.

Shane Dawson also uses "The Song That Doesn't End" in some of his videos such as his "saw" parody because the puppet he uses is a Lamb Chop puppet.

In the Smart Guy episode "Love Bug", Mo and Yvette (Omar Gooding and Essence Atkins) perform "The Song That Never Ends" variant in order to annoy a fellow contestant to see if he will exit the car they are supposed to stay in for an entire weekend in order to win it. The two eventually (and suddenly) stop singing, driving the man crazy as to whether they will start singing the song once again, leading to him escaping the car and automatically eliminating himself from the contest.

See also

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Discogs "Discogs' Entry for Lamb Chop's Sing-Along, Play-Along". Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ AllMusic"AllMusic's Entry for Lamb Chop's Sing-Along, Play-Along". Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ Shari Lewis (Author), Marty Gold (Author, Editor), Debbie Cavalier (Editor) Lamb Chop's Play-Along: Piano/Vocal/Chords. Warner Brothers Publications, 1996, p. 108. ISBN 1576233545
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