Apples and Bananas
Lyrics
The first verse is sung normally, as:
I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas.I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas.
Repeat from the first verse, but replacing vowels with the vowel 'A'
I like to ate, ate, ate, ay-ples and ba-nay-nays.I like to ate, ate, ate, ay-ples and ba-nay-nays.
Repeat from the first verse, but replacing vowels with the vowel 'E'
I like to eat, eat, eat, ee-ples and ba-nee-nees.I like to eat, eat, eat, ee-ples and ba-nee-nees.
Repeat from the first verse, but replacing vowels with the vowel 'I'
I like to ite, ite, ite, i-ples and ba-nigh-nighs.I like to ite, ite, ite, i-ples and ba-nigh-nighs.
Repeat from the first verse, but replacing vowels with the vowel 'O'
I like to ote, ote, ote, oh-ples and ba-no-nos.I like to ote, ote, ote, oh-ples and ba-no-nos.
Repeat from the first verse, but replacing vowels with the vowel 'U'
I like to uute, uute, uute, uw-ples and ba-new-news.I like to uute, uute, uute, uw-ples and ba-new-news.
Finally, repeat the first verse again, without replacing any vowels
I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas.I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas.
History and Meaning
"Apples and Bananas" is a traditional children's song popular in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The song is structured as a vowel-substitution game, where a simple phrase is repeated multiple times while replacing the main vowel sounds.
Primarily used in preschools and kindergartens, the song is an engaging tool for teaching phonics and early language pronunciation.
Origins
The exact author and composition date of "Apples and Bananas" are unknown, as it emerged from the North American oral folk tradition during the mid-twentieth century. Children sang it in school yards and summer camps for decades before it was formally recorded. The song entered mainstream media in the 1980s. Scottish folk duo Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise included it in their Singing Kettle collection in 1982, and Canadian children's performer Raffi popularized it on his 1985 album One Light, One Sun. Its popularity grew further in the 1990s through features on the television show Barney & Friends.
Meaning & Interpretation
The lyrics are simple and focus on the statement "I like to eat apples and bananas." The core function of the song is phonetic education. By systematically replacing all vowel sounds in the sentence with a single long vowel (such as long A, E, I, O, or U), children learn to isolate, identify, and produce these distinct sounds. This play-based approach helps toddlers develop speech articulation and phonics awareness while maintaining their interest through repetition and silliness.
What is the educational purpose of the Apples and Bananas song?
The song is designed to teach children long vowel sounds. By wiggling and changing the vowels in "apples and bananas" to match a single sound like "ay-ples" or "ee-ples," children learn to recognize and pronounce different English vowels.
When was Apples and Bananas popularized?
While it existed for decades as an oral folk song, it was popularized in the 1980s. Key recordings by Raffi in 1985 and its frequent use on the television show Barney & Friends in the 1990s brought the song to a global audience.
Music Video
Lyrics from nurseryrhymes.info