There are a few childhood songs that never gets old. One of them is the “The Wheels On The Bus.” Well, even though it’s a kids’ song, whenever I hear this “the wheels on the bus” it keeps playing in my head like a sprinter. Thus, I feel this song will still remain charming even after 20 years from today.
Apart from the playfulness of the song, it’s also a great song for the kids to get used to learning. There are so many new words they can learn through rhymes. To tell you the truth, I find it really amazing when I have to babysit my 2-year-old nephew, this song works like magic. He also got to know many new words and apply them when he is on a trip to Hersheypark in NJ.
But, have you ever wondered who is behind this magical song? Well, it’s time to grab some information about the song’s origin and know the unknown facts.
Let’s learn the origin of The Wheels On The Bus
If you know the publishing year of the song, you will be surprised. Yes. the song has been every kid’s favorite since 1939. Even though this song was published in the United States, it’s played in countries like UK, Canada, East Asia, and all over the world through internet. It’s an outstanding song child can easily relate during their trips with their surrounding things. In recent times, this same song is found with videos on different themes.
Who wrote the song?
In our childhood, we listened to such charming songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Itsy Bitsy Spider for years, we never wondered who are the writers. But, when I am an adult pianist and find my nephews loved the song as I used to make me wonder who the magical writer of this song is. Now, I feel at least for giving the credibility and for general knowledge, we and the kids should also know the background of such rhymes.
Having this thought, my curious mind wants to know who wrote this “wheels on the bus”. Thus, I have done the research and found some amazing facts. Here, I tell you the writer of this song is Verna Hills (1898–1990). In the year 1939, he published an album full of rhymes for nursery babies. As soon as the album was launched, it was highly appreciated among the kids at that time. Since then, it has become popular not only among the toddlers but also the educators, parents, and even nannies.
After knowing the author of the song, I was wondering what made him write such amazing lyrics. Did he know that his song would be such famous and would be played like forever! When we wanted to know the reason, I realized since the song was written a long time ago, it’s not possible to discover the intention of writing this song. However, it’s widely known as an American folk song. Basically, it’s an entertaining song for the children to keep them busy when they are on a long ride. Later, this song has been extremely beneficial for all ages of children whenever they are bored.
Why do kids love the song?
It’s pretty evident that the kids love this song because of the charming lyrics. Because it’s very easy to capture the words and memorize them due to its repetitive nature. Since the catchy words are used in a cyclical manner, kids can easily memorize them. For instance, the wheels on the bus go round and round, the wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish with the motion visualized, kids know new vocabularies.
Besides, it’s a great song to perform or act out in a group activity or showcase the talent at the school events. Kids at the school usually act the rhyme moving their arms or hands which also help them to use the learned vocabulary in real life. So, it’s a popular song kids love because it’s a compact song with a good lyric and music filled with lots of new words about their surroundings. Kids also can play the simple melodies on musical instruments, such as piano. Piano is one of the easiest musical instrument to start with, so I often see that children can learn the melody at the first piano lessons.
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Conclusion
Looking at the different videos remade on this ancient song “The Wheels On The Bus” it’s pretty clear that this song will never go old. Rather, with the same tune, people can add new words and teach the children new vocabularies. It’s one complete song that can be remade with a variation of lyrics and visual representation. If you want your toddler to habituate in learning or preparing for school, you can try this song for raising interest.
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Lyrics to “The Wheels on the Bus”
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
round and round;
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
all through the town.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish;
Swish, swish, swish;
Swish, swish, swish.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,
all through the town.
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep;
Beep, beep, beep;
Beep, beep, beep.
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep,
all through the town.
The doors on the bus go open and shut;
Open and shut;
Open and shut.
The doors on the bus go open and shut;
all through the town.
The Driver on the bus says “Move on back,
move on back;
move on back;”
The Driver on the bus says “Move on back”,
all through the town.
The babies on the bus says “Wah, wah, wah;
Wah, wah, wah;
Wah, wah, wah”.
The babies on the bus says “Wah, wah, wah”,
all through the town.
The mommies on the bus says “Shush, shush, shush;
Shush, shush, shush;
Shush, shush, shush.”
The mommies on the bus says “Shush, shush, shush”
all through the town.