Animal Fair is a traditional

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

and children's song. It was sung by minstrels and sailors as early as 1898. The song was referred to in '' Life'' magazine in 1941 as a cadence of soft shoe tap dancing.

Lyrics

The 1898 version has the following lyrics: :I went to the animal fair, :The birds and the beasts were there; :The little raccoon by the light of the moon :Was combing his auburn hair. :The monkey he got drunk, :And sat on the elephant's trunk, :The elephant sneezed and went down on his knees :And what became of the monkey? Other versions substituted "the old raccoon" (1915) for "the little raccoon", while modern recordings use "the big baboon". "The monkey he got drunk" may be changed to "The monkey fell out of his bunk", "The monkey bumped the skunk", "You ought to have seen the monk" or "You should have seen the monk". The '' Barney & Friends'' and the Captain Kangaroo versions changed other lyrics as well. The song may be sung as a round with the last word "monkey, monkey" repeated until the song finishes or the group repeats.

Recordings

* Sung by Woody Woodpecker in '' The Dizzy Acrobat'' (1943) * Recorded and sung by Tex Ritter as part of ''Children's Songs and Stories'' (1948) * Captain Kangaroo with Mitch Miller orchestra & The Sandpipers (1958) * Sung by Richard Dreyfuss's character Moses Wine to his sons in the film '' The Big Fix'' (1978) * Sung by

Laurie Berkner Laurissa Ann "Laurie" Berkner (born March 15, 1969) is a French-born American musician and singer best known for her work as a children's musical artist. She plays guitar and sings lead vocals in The Laurie Berkner Band, along with pianist Susie ...

in 1997 * Sung in Kidsongs: A Day at Camp (1989) * Used as Elmyra's theme in '' Tiny Toon Adventures'' * Sung in Barney & Friends episodes ''The Dentist Makes Me Smile'' (1993) and ''Barney's Super Singing Circus'' (2000) * Used in Animaniacs several times

References

{{authority control American folk songs English children's songs Songs about animals Traditional children's songs