children's song
A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...
, popularized by the characters
Sheldon Sheldon may refer to:
* Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name
Places Australia
* Sheldon, Queensland
*Sheldon Forest, New South Wales
United Kingdom
*Sheldon, Derbyshire, England
*Sheldon, Devon, England
* ...
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...
'', and which elsewhere may be rendered as "Warm Kitty." A 2015 copyright lawsuit alleged the words to "Warm Kitty" were written by Edith Newlin; however, the lawsuit was dismissed because the court found that the plaintiffs failed to show they had a valid claim.
In ''The Big Bang Theory'', the song is described by Sheldon as a song sung by
his mother
''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ir ...
when he is ill. The lyrics on ''The Big Bang Theory'' are: "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur! Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr!" A scene in an episode of ''
Young Sheldon
''Young Sheldon'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro for CBS. The series, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is a spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' and begins with the ...
'', the prequel series to ''The Big Bang Theory'', depicts the origin of the song. This aired on February 1, 2018, and shows Sheldon's mother Mary singing the song to her son, who is suffering with the
flu
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
.
Origin
The song is originally based on a Polish lullaby, Wlazł kotek na płotek ("The kitten climbed the fence"). The lyrics were noted by folklorist
Oskar Kolberg
Henryk Oskar Kolberg (22 February 1814 – 3 June 1890) was a Polish ethnographer, folklorist, and composer active during the foreign Partitions of Poland.Stanisław Moniuszko in 1849, based on a Polish folksong.
Władysław Syrokomla
Ludwik Władysław Franciszek Kondratowicz (29 September 1823 – 15 September 1862), better known as Władysław Syrokomla, was a Polish romantic poet, writer and translator working in Vilnius and Vilna Governorate, then Russian Empire.
Biogr ...
and Wiktor Każyński published a version of this song in 1857, in ''Pieśniach ludu polskiego'' ("Songs of the Polish people").
Versions of the song have been released by Australian children's performer
Patsy Biscoe
Patsy Biscoe (born 21 March 1946) is an Australian children's television personality, singer and guitarist. She regularly appeared on children's national television shows, '' Here's Humphrey'' and ''Fat Cat and Friends''. She has released many ...
, and by the long-running
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
children's program '' Play School''—a recording sung by Philip Quast and Barbara Frawley was released on the show's 1993 album ''The Best of Play School'', which predates ''The Big Bang Theory'' and has the lyrics reversed, instead going: "Warm kitty, soft kitty, little ball of fur. Sleepy kitty, happy kitty, purr purr purr." The song remains part of ''Play School''s catalog of children's songs regularly performed on the program: the show's presenters occasionally perform the song for their young viewers.
Copyright lawsuit
In December 2015, the heirs of Edith Newlin filed a lawsuit against the various companies associated with ''The Big Bang Theory'', claiming that the words and music to the song appeared in the book ''Songs for the Nursery School'' published in 1937 by Willis Music Company, based on a poem by Newlin; the copyright to the book was renewed in 1964.
The website for Willis Music states:
The suit by Newlin's daughters, on the other hand, claimed that they held the copyright. Furthermore, they alleged that they did not authorize the use of the lyrics, that Willis Music did not have permission to authorize others to use the lyrics, and that the lyrics had been used not only in the television series but on various kinds of program-associated merchandise without proper permission.
On March 27, 2017, US District Court Judge
Naomi Reice Buchwald
Naomi Lynn Reice Buchwald (born February 14, 1944) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Personal
Naomi Reice was born in 1944 in Kingston, New York, to Mr. and Mrs. ...
dismissed the suit, holding that the plaintiffs had not shown that they held a copyright on their mother's lyrics: "They have failed to establish that they own a valid copyright as necessary to state a copyright infringement claim."