Parodies of the song that ended Barney and Friends became a big hit in the 90s, enough so that Sherman's book has a whole section on The Death of Barney.
I always assumed that the following was a Barney parody:
I love you, you love me,
homosexuality
people think that we're just friends
but we're really lesbians
The thing is, though, this was current on playgrounds in the 1950s along with "You Don't Go Out With Boys Anymore/You don't like Elvis Presley." and a couple of others. Believe it or not, the 1950s were a boom time for playground songs about lesbians.
Most of the variations on this song, though, do seem to be much more violent, and generally do involve various ways to murder Barney the Dinosaur. Such as:
I hate you, you hate me
together we can kill Barney
one big shot and Barney's on the floor
no more purple dinosaur!
Many of these songs went from playground to playground at roughly the speed of light in the 1990s, and have outlived Barney's popularity. They're connected to a long tradition of kids too old for a certain show slagging it off through song parody (see also: Howdy Doody)
Add the versions you heard in the comments!
Overheard from a kid in a New York City McDonald's, early 90's:
ReplyDeleteI love you
You love me
Barney gave me H.I.V.
Cause he was down with O.P.P.
The gritty urban version, complete with reference to the rap hit from Naughty by Nature.
i love you you love me let's go out and kill barney with a big shotgun and bang bang in the floor no more stupid dnosaur
ReplyDeletehehe so fun
ReplyDeleteI love you,
ReplyDeleteYou love me,
Let's gang up and kill Barney,
With a 4X4 we'll chase him out the door,
No more purple dinosaur
BC in the late 1990's
I hate you.
ReplyDeleteYou hate me.
Let's get together and kill Barney
with an axe to the neck
and a bullet to the head.
We're so glad that Barney's dead.
I hate you
ReplyDeleteYou hate me
We're a happy family
With a great big punch
and a kick from me to you.
Won't you say you hate me too?
(Palo Alto, 2000s)
LETS GET PHYSICAL!
ReplyDeleteBristol, England in the late nineties.
ReplyDeleteI hate you, you hate me
Barney's watching MTV
With the shot of a gun and a bullet in his head
Sorry children Barney's dead
I hate you, You hate me
ReplyDeleteLets go out and kill Barney,
With a baseball bat and a 2 by 4,
No more purple (or stupid) dinosaur!
In the 1990's in Newfoundland Canada :)
I hate you, you hate me
ReplyDeleteBarney gave me HIV
It started with a hug, but Barney wanted more
I got raped by a dinosaur
I hate you
ReplyDeleteYou hate me
We went out and killed Barney
And we kicked his butt and we punched him in the head
Sorry, kids, but Barney's dead
(I made that one up)
I love u
ReplyDeleteu love me
let's chase Barney up a tree!
With a knife in my hand
I stab him in the head!
Sorry, kids, but Barney' s dead!
I love you, you love me, let's get together and kill Barney, with a bomb in his bed and a sword in his head, sorry kid's, but Barney's dead.
ReplyDeleteI hate you, you hate me, let's get together and lynch Barney. With a great big noose we will hang him from a tree. Sorry kids no more Barney
ReplyDelete(Texas, early 1990s)
i love booze
ReplyDeletebooze loves me
holy sh!t i have to pee
i'm so smashed im falling on the floor
alcoholic dinosaur
I hate you
ReplyDeleteYou Hate Me
Lets gang up and kill barney
I'll get the fire
You get the gas
Lets blow barneys big fat ass
I hate you
ReplyDeleteYou hate me
Let's gang up and kill Barney
With a kick and a punch and a bullet in the head
Look now kids, poor Barney's dead!
NY early 90's
Northern Kentucky, 1990s
ReplyDeleteI love you, you love me,
ReplyDeleteLet's get together and kill Barney.
I'll get the lighter and you get the gas,
Let's all kill Barney's purple ass!
-Texas, early 2000's
I hate you, you hate me,
ReplyDeleteLet's chase Barney up a tree,
With a .44 caliber, shoot him through the head,
Now that purple freak is dead.
-Indiana, mid-1990s