Parodies of the 1890s tune "Ta rah ra boom de ay" come in two distinct versions: one about a dead teacher, and one about sex. If there's one about bodily functions out there, it'd be a regular trifecta!
I don't know the REAL "Ta ra ra boom de ay" song at all, but I do know the dead teacher version. It's because of this that I thought sauerkraut was a type of fish for years:
Ta ra ra boom de ay
we had no school today
our teacher passed away
we threw her in the bay
she scared the fish away
she won't come out
she smells like sauerkraut
ta ra ra boom de ay.
I first heard this the same day I heard "Joy To The World The Teacher's Dead." They were sung in a medly by a kid who sat behind me in first grade. Sherman (book at right) collected versions dating it back to at least the 1960s.
Other versions from around the same time (dated to at least the 70s, and probably going back at least 20 years before that) feature variations like:
Ta ra ra boom de ay
how did I get this way?
Was it the boy next door?
He pushed me on the floor
He lifed up my skirt
he said it wouldn't hurt
and now before my eyes
I see my tummy rise
Kay Shapero collected this one from Brent B:
Ta rah rah boom de ay
I met a girl today
I paid her fifty cents
To go behind the fence
Her mother was surprised
To see her tummy rise
Her father jumped for joy
It was a baby boy
From Southern California, '70s
Meanwhile, across the pond, Iona Opie collected this on in the 70s:
Ta ra ra boom de ay
my knickers flew away
they had a holiday
they came back yesterday
I learned one from my dad, who probably learned it in Toronto, circa 1958.
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom de yay
Did you have yours today?
I had mine yesterday
That's why I walk this way!
I always thought it was supposed to be about inoculations, but I never actually asked my dad.
Ta ra ra boom de ay;
ReplyDeleteI'll take your pants away,
And while you're standing there
I'll take your underwear.
Seattle, 1970s
Haven't thought about these in ages. Great website by the way.
that's the one my mom taught me. remembered it while doing laundry today, looked it up and this is what I found. Awesome.
DeleteTa ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeleteThere's no more school today
Our teacher flew away
She landed in the bay
Ta ra ra boom de ay
Tah rah rah boom-de-ay,
ReplyDeleteI met a girl today,
I gave her fifty cents,
to go behind the fence
I pulled her panties down
and laid her on the ground,
it was such a surprise
to see her belly rise....
SW Mo, 6th grade classoom, around, 1977...
This is very close to a previous posting, but I think it's pithier, terser, and closer to the sparest poetry and gets to the point in nothing flat, containing a whole series of ideas in just a few words. I first heard this in Omaha in the early 50's, maybe in 1934.
ReplyDeleteTa Ra Ra Boom De Ay,
How Did I Get this way,
It was the boy next door,
He laid me on the floor,
My mommy was surprised,
To see my tummy rise,
And now my baby cries,
Ra Ra Ra Boom
Chicago, early 90's:
ReplyDeleteTa ra ra boom de ay
I stole your pants away
and left you standing there
In day-old underwear (or dirty underwear)
Mom used to have a little diddy from her school years (Seattle, early 1950's) but cannot remember the last verse... it was:
ReplyDeleteTra la la la boom de ay
Have you had yours today?
I had mine yesterday
Thats why I walk this way
He laid me on the couch
All I said was ouch......
Then there were two more lines but she cannot remember them!!! Anyone else know this version?
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
DeleteHave you had yours today?
I had mine yesterday
A girl upon the way
I laid her on the couch
And all she said was ouch!
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
Ta ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeletewe had no school today
our teacher passed away
we threw her in the bay
she scared the fish away
and when we pulled her out
she smelled like sauerkraut
USA 1970s
My cousin sings this version:
ReplyDeleteta la la boom de-ay
I lost my pants today
I found them yesterday
ta la la boom de-ay
Cincinnati, 2010
San Joaquin Valley, Ca - Late 70's elementary school..we had the long version.
ReplyDeleteTra ra ra boom de ay
I met a boy today
He gave me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He pulled my panties down
Then pushed me on the ground
He lifted up my skirt
And said it wouldn't hurt
My mommy was surprised
To see my belly rise
My daddy jumped for joy
It was a baby boy!
My wife and I read thru all of these and be it coincidental we are from the San Juaquin Valley and this was the exact song as we remember....
DeleteBakersfield, CA 1957
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom de ay
have you had yours today
I had mine yesterday
that's why I feel this way
he laid me on the couch
and all I said was ouch
now junior's on the way
tra la la boom de ay
Tra la la boom de ay,
ReplyDeleteI'll take your pants away,
And while your standing there,
I'll take your underwear!
Tra la la boom dee day my knickers flew away, they went on holiday,
ReplyDeleteThey came back yesterday.
They said they had some fun,
they found another bum.
.....
My father knows the rest but wont tell me.
My mom told this is what she learned when she was in fifth grade:
ReplyDeleteTra ra ra boom de ay
How did I get this way
It was the neighbor boy
He laid me on the floor
He stuck it into me
Then took it out again.....
I don't know the rest.
Tra la la boom de ay
ReplyDeleteDid you get yours today?
I got mine yesterday
From the boy across the way
He gave me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He pulled my panties down
And threw me on the ground
My mommy was surprised
To see my belly rise.
I can't go out to play
'Cause Junior's on the way.
Maumee, OH around 1970
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom deay
ReplyDeletemy teacher died today
we threw her in the bay
to scare the sharks away
Eugene Oregon 1960's
DeleteTra la la boom see ay
Deletethey took my pants away
they made me sit there
without my underwear.
St Louis 60s
Tra la la boom see ay
ReplyDeletethey took my pants away
they made me sit there
without my underwear.
St Louis 60s
My grandfather used to sing it Tra La La Boom De A
ReplyDeleteThey took my pants away
They threw me in the air
Without any underwear.
My mom in the 80's taught me it this way:
ReplyDeleteBa da ba boom she ay
She took my clothes away
And left me standing there
In just my underwear!
But my mother is also known for making up lyrics when she can't remember the real ones!
Ta ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeleteI pooped my pants today
De de de de dede
I have to go peepee
I herd one, something about gay rape
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom de ay
ReplyDeleteI met a boy today
He gave me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He counted 1 2 3
And stuck it in to me
He counted 4 and 5
I forgot the rest. Oakland, ca 1977 or so
I learned almost exactly this one in Vancouver BC but second half goes:
DeleteHe stuck a thing in me
and counted 1-2-3
He pulled it out again
and counted up to 10!
... then there was more but I can't remember it at all.
late 70s, early 80s
DeleteI know a similar one, but it goes like this:
DeleteTra la la boom de ay
I met a boy today
He paid me 50 cents
We went behind the fence
He pulled my pants down
And knocked me to the ground
He shouted 1, 2, 3
Then shoved it into me
I feel like there is another verse, but I can't remember!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete"Ta ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeleteta ra ra boom de ay
I had my lunch today
with the boy across the way
he threw me on the couch
and all I said was ouch
my mother wss suprised to see my stomach out!"
Btw I learned this on the playground in the 70's while in grammar school. ahh recess.
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom be yay, have you had your's today? I got mine yesterday, from the girl across the way. Heard on playground in the early 60's. San Fernando Valley
ReplyDeleteI heard this version in Elmhurst, Queens, circa 1946. I learned it from a friend and sang it to my mother, who was not amused.
ReplyDeleteTa-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Did you get yours today?
I got mine yesterday,
from a boy across the way.
My mother was surprised
to see my stomach rise.
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay, Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.”
Maybe its just my way of thinking but if you sbile from rigeing it slow it sounds like la dona mobile from rigeletto.
ReplyDeleteYES!! you just answered the question I've been racking my brains for: what famous opera aria is this based on??
DeleteMusic hall Verdi.
DeleteIf you sing it slow ... and i rememtber the chrus from the sixties in nj
ReplyDeleteMaybe its just my way of thinking but if you sbile from rigeing it slow it sounds like la dona mobile from rigeletto.
ReplyDeleteta ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeletewhat shall i wear today
when you come up to play
ta ra ra boom de ay
I remember this version from the early 1970's Philadelphia area...
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom de ay
We have no school today
Our teacher passed away
We shot her yesterday.
As for the principal
he's in the hospital,
As for the secretary
She's in the cemetery.
As for the janitor
He ran off to Canad(er)
Tra la la boom de ay
We have no school today.
from late 50s early 60s MT
ReplyDeleteta da da boom de eh
how did I get this way
it was the boy next door
he laid me on the floor
then to my surprise
my tummy began to rise
I remember still how hard
how hard my mommy cried
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTa ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeleteMy wife had twins today
She has them every day
Except for Saturday!
My dad made up his own words I think! I still sing this 20 years on!
When I was a kid in the the town of Poplar Bluff in Southeast Missouri (early 1960's), we sang it as:
ReplyDeleteTa-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
My cat had pups today.
She laid them yesterday.
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Tra la la boom de ay
ReplyDeleteWe have no school today
Our teacher passed away
She died of tooth decay
We threw her in the bay
She scared the fish away
And when we took her out
She smelled like sauerkraut!
We are the Can Can girls
ReplyDeleteWe wear our hair in curls
We wear our [can't remember what this word was]
Way up above our knees
We wear our father's shirts
We are a bunch of flirts
We are the Can Can girls
Hip hip hooray!
1960 Kankakee, Illinois (yes the same Kankakee mentioned in "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" by Groucho Marx) I would love to know if anyone else ever heard this version and knows what that missing word is. It's bugged me for years.
dungarees??
Delete1970s-early 80s metro Boston area:
ReplyDeleteTra la la boom de ay
How did I get this way?
It was the boy next door
He pushed me on the floor
He shouted 1 2 3
He stuck it into me
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise
My father jumped for joy
It was a baby boy!
The baby boy part was always said with a sweet little, cutesy turn of voice. Children celebrating rape - what a world...
1969 in St. Paul, Mn.
ReplyDeleteTra ra ra boom de ay
They took my pants away
And threw me in the air
Then I lost my underwear
And when I hit the street
I skinned up both my knees
And what was left of me
Was nothing for you to see
Ta Ra Ra Boom De ay
ReplyDeleteI'll take your pants away
ZIP!
Ta Ra Ra BOOM de ay
ReplyDeleteI met a boy today
He paid me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He stuck a thing in me
and counted 1-2-3
He pulled it out again
and counted up to 10
After this I'm not sure but I think it went:
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise
My father _?_ _?_ _?_
And threw me out the door!
This was Victoria, BC, very late 70s or early 80s.
Possibly "My father hit the floor/Then threw me out the door" ??
DeleteHa, this is awesome. I looked this is up remembering the "our teacher passed away" version and was reminded of the dirty version. I learned it in mid 1970's Cleveland Ohio as
ReplyDeleteTarara Boom De Ay
I met a boy today
He gave me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He pushed me to the ground
He pulled my panties down
He stuck it into me
Oh gosh oh golly gee
My mommy was surprised
to see my belly rise
My father jumped for joy
It was a baby boy
There was one I vaguely remember, El Paso TX early to mid 70's
ReplyDelete"Tar ra ra boom de ay/they took my pants away/they threw me in a ditch" and that's all I remember! Anyone??
We used to say it this way in Maryland in the early 80s:
ReplyDeleteTa ra da boom de ay
I can't come out to play because of yesterday
Two boys around my way
They gave me 50 cents to lay across the bench
They said it wouldn't hurt to stick it up my skirt
My father was surprised to see my belly rise
My mother was disgust to see my belly bust
Ta ra ra boom de ay
ReplyDeleteThere is no school today
Our teacher passed away
We killed her yesterday
We threw her in the bay
She scared the sharks away
And when we pulled her out
She smelled like sauerkraut
Matt Groening's "Life in Hell" comics, 1983
My friends and I grew up outside of Chicago in the early 1960's and we would sing it with these lyrics:
ReplyDeleteTa-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Did you do yours today?
I did mine yesterday
I paid her fifty cents
To walk across the fence
She laid down on the couch
I shoved mine up her pouch
Her mother was surprised
To see her belly rise
Her dad was overjoyed
It was a baby boy
I have to admit that back then and at that age, the song didn't make much sense to me, but we boys all sang it anyway. It's interesting how many similar yet different versions there are... all local colloquialisms, I suppose. I wonder where the original "got her pregnant" version was started.