From “ Sing ” to “ Put Down the Duckie ” and beyond , Sesame Streethas churned out so many hits over the last half century that even the Count would have trouble keeping track of them all . In accession to new Song script for the series , the Greco-Roman youngster ’s programme has also generated an impressive phone number of songparodies , often performed by the original artists themselves . Here are 13 of the greatest and goofiest of all fourth dimension .
1. “My Triangle”
James Blunt bewitch melancholic adolescent and mainstream radio receiver interview around the human beings with his breathy lay “ You ’re Beautiful ” in 2005 , complete with amusic videoin which he strip down on a snowy cliff and plunk into the frigid waters below ( presumably to his demise ) . While originally a small too morbid for preschooler , Sesame Street ’s version — about a long - miss triangle — replacesangelwithanglesand feature an anthropomorphous trilateral that appears after Blunt has given up Leslie Townes Hope of ever fancy his acquaintance again . Blunthelpedwrite the tune , lift a snatch of cheeky geometric jargon into the Song dynasty with this line : “ It must be those angles / That put a smile on your fount / Not to mention the hypotenuse . ”
2. “Hey Food”
With some help from The Beetles , Cookie Monster metamorphose The Beatles ’s “ Hey Jude ” into an lovely ode to food that might just have you relating to the frenzied - eyed goliath more than you ever have before . Main themes of the caterpillar tread let in not being able-bodied to take which food you desire , not being able to stop snacking , and acknowledging that food — be it “ ironical pledge or something wetter”—always makes us feel dependable .
3. “Hello, Sammy!”
Carol Channingcommits to this continuant spoof with such flair that you ’d think she advance aTony Awardfor originating the role of Dolly in Broadway’sHello , Dolly!(she did ) . With draw of draw - outSsounds and a cuddlyMuppetsnake named “ Sammy , ” the song functions as both a direction to learn youngsters how to enunciate theirS ’s and a publicity campaign to combat the culturally prevalent idea thatsnakesare just plain wickedness .
4. “Born to Add”
“ bear to Add , ” perform by Bruce Stringbean and the S. Street Band , somehow handle to appropriate all the tilt ‘ n ’ coil energy of heroic , workings - year spring chicken fromBruce Springsteen ’s “ Born to Run ” and make it about unsubdivided arithmetic . The leather - clad lead vocaliser and his cohorts saunter around the neighborhood enumeration cars , trash cans , and constabulary officers , and the trail culminate with a commove sax alone by Clarice and a dance party that even the cops touch in . Stringbean also does “ Barn in the U.S.A. , ” which sport an onomatopoetic consort of backup singers .
5. “Slimey to the Moon”
Tony Bennett ’s spoof of crooner classic “ pilot Me to the Moon ” chronicles Slimey the insect ’s astronaut training and subsequent place launch , explaining that a louse “ needs to be nervy / He needs guts , and stickability / When things go topsy - turvy . ” Though “ Let him crawl through clay and muck / On Jupiter or Mars ” might not be scientifically exact , the idea of direct a worm into blank space is n’t so far out — scientists havestudiedthem on the International Space Station to clear insight into how microgravity involve muscle anatomy .
6. “It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Feather”
No matter what version of “ He Ai n’t wakeless , He ’s My blood brother ” you ’re listening to — the Hollies’s , Neil Diamond ’s , or someone else’s — it ’s in all likelihood slow , somber , and saturate with emotion . The diametrical is genuine ofSesame Street ’s rendition , an upbeat country ditty sung by an quicken Gallus gallus who looks and sound suspiciously likeDolly Parton . In it , she lists a bunch of whimsical , heavy objects she does n’t bring on tour with her ( ground tackle , anvils , hippopotamuses , chests of drawers , etc . ) and discusses the deservingness of packing her feather , which — you imagine it — ain’t heavy .
7. “U Really Got a Hold on Me”
Smokey Robinson spends a good three moment trying to wield equanimity while a googly - eyed letterUwith an brassbound grip and no concept of boundaries sample to embrace him . In increase to swapping outYou’vein the original song forU , songwriter Christopher Cerf added a few fittingUwords to illustrate the situation , let in “ Ustands foruptight/ That ’s how I ’m feel / Being grabbed by a missive is unappealing . ”
8. “Eighteen Sandwiches”
While you need to have undergone puberty to truly identify with Alice Cooper ’s angsty anthem “ I ’m Eighteen,”Sesame Street ’s parody is something even bambino can understand . In the animate video recording , a girl tries to decide what type of sandwich to choose for luncheon , dither over “ tuna , turkey , Arachis hypogaea butter , grilled cheese , or salami / Ham or jelly , chicken salad , chopped liver , pastrami , ” and more . As our piteous , conflicted heroine runs through her list of 18 choice , you might ascertain yourself wondering “ What kind of house kitchen is stockpile with all these ingredients ? ” or “ I wish I could get my kid to wish even two unlike types of sandwich . ” In the end , she forgoes the full conundrum by choosing pizza pie , which , calculate on who you ask , is really just an exposed - facedsandwich .
9. “Me Want It (But Me Wait)”
If any Muppet was yield to personify the mosh - Inferno sprightliness of Icona Pop ’s chart - top collaborationism with Charli XCX , “ I make out It , ” it was Cookie Monster . His disorderly nature sets the perfect tone of voice for “ Me Want It ( But Me Wait ) , ” a attention-getting number about the importance of delay gratification . TheSesame Streetmusic video peer theoriginalone almost scene - for - vista , sport graffitied alleyways , mental block - letter lyrics shoot on the CRT screen , and Ne - dismount dancing parties . “ Me need It ( But Me hold back ) " culminates with Cookie Monster devouring a well - take in biscuit , and it ’s probably good to assume that the partygoer in Icona Pop ’s video end their all - night revel with a snack , too .
10. “Don’t Take Your Ones to Town”
“ Do n’t Take Your Guns to Town ” tell the very Johnny Cash - ian tale of a new cowherd constitute Billy Joe who ignores his female parent ’s pleas to pull up stakes his guns at home and ends up dying in a brief streak conflict after his first taste of John Barleycorn . TheSesame Streetparody , on the other hand , features Big Bird as “ Birdie Big , ” a “ cowbird ” who heads to townsfolk counting quantities of one and gets a wake - up call when Count von Count and the Countess head out that he does n’t know how to bet in high spirits than one . Instead of shoot him on sight or something , they pop the question to be his supporter and instruct him how to count , making this spoof number one on the short lean of happyJohnny Cashsongs .
11. “Kids Just Love to Brush”
All it ingest to sell a skeptic on the hypothesis that daughter just want to have fun is one earful of Cyndi Lauper ’s novel wave classical about the subject . In the ’ 90s , Sesame Streettried to rein the power of the infectious dad song and use it to betray kids on something that scarcely has a reputation for being fun : brush your teeth . “ youngster Just Love to Brush ” boast a Lauper - inspired Muppet bouncing around with her friend and belting out words like “ It ’s a party every clock time we brush . ”
12. “It’s Hip To Be a Square”
Whereas get to “ My Triangle ” from “ You ’re Beautiful ” may have taken an extra saltation of imagination , making Huey Lewis and the News ’ “ Hip To Be Square ” about a literal square toes seems too heavy an opportunity to pass up . In the animated video , a smile cerise square sings briefly about have four equal side of meat before dashing off to trip the light fantastic and play with triangles , rope , and other classical build to drive home the point that it ’s articulatio coxae to be just about anything . Lewis after told a fan that the band was happy to letSesame Streetuse the song . “ I intend it ’s sweet , ” hesaid .
13. “What Makes U So Useful”
The hopeful - eyed , heartfelt faces of Harry , Liam , Louis , Niall , and Zayn circa 2014 scene so well into the landscape painting of aSesame Streetmusic video that it almost pretend you wish they were regular cast extremity . With goofy lyrics like “ atomic number 92 , check it out , Elmo ’s upside down / U , there ’s a unicorn dressed as a clown ” and “ U , there are udders under that moo-cow / U , check it out , it ’s Bert ’s unibrow , ” this useful travesty of “ What Makes You Beautiful ” is just as criminally catchy as the original .
