Origins: Today is Monday Song

Subject: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: babypix
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 12:48 PM

Greetings, Gentle Colleagues!

I am interested in thoughts about possible origins of the insipid, yet strangely haunting, "TODAY IS MONDAY SONG", which lyrics are often instructive in helping non-native English speakers learn the language.

The lyrics are simple:

Today is Monday
Monday -- string beans
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Tuesday
Tuesday -- spaghetti
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Wednesday
Wednesday -- soup
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Thursday
Thursday -- roast beef
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Friday
Friday -- fresh fish
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Saturday
Saturday -- chicken
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Sunday
Sunday -- ice cream
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

---------

Friends of mine remember hearing this on a Golden Record from the 1940s, but I know others who remember it from the 30s. Some posit that this may have to do with food rationing, and what was available on certain days of the week, others think it was just created to help kids learn the days of the week.

Ideas?

Thanks!

Deborah

Deborah Robins
Nut Hill Productions, Inc.
Executive Producer
THE MUSIC OF AMERICA: History Through Musical Traditions
a WETA-PBS co-production
www.themusicofamerica.org

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: Lighter
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 02:54 PM

See this thread: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=5218

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: GUEST,Eva Moravcik
Date: 09 Nov 12 - 02:03 AM

I remember my grandfather (who was a soldier during world war I saying it was an army song--all you hungry soldiers, come and eat it up.

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 09 Nov 12 - 04:16 AM

As Lighter said, but with a useable link:
Previous discussion

Cheers

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: GUEST,Black Belt Caterpillar Wrestler
Date: 09 Nov 12 - 07:28 AM

Didn't The Skaffold have a hit with this or am I confused?

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Nov 12 - 08:58 AM

Yes indeed they did BBCW and Here it is
Written by McGear, McGough & Gorman.

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: EBarnacle
Date: 09 Nov 12 - 09:27 PM

The version my father used to sing to me was similar to the original post but the ending was "All you hungry soldiers, come and get it." The pronunciation of the food was split into two beats: Su oop, for example, with a rising note on the the second beat.

Also, the song had a more upbeat tempo than the Skaffold version.

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Jul 23 - 04:54 PM

My mother sang this song to us and said it was about food rationing during the war. In her version , after the foodstuff she’d sing “for all you hungry brothers, we wish the same to you.”

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 17 Jan 24 - 10:36 AM

There appears to be many versions of this folk song but only one capitalized on it for profit. I learned this in kindergarten in the 50s and some of the lyrics and the jingle was a bit different. Ours always ended with "all you hungry children sit down and eat" I always thought it came out of the great depression when food was scarce.

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 09 Mar 24 - 10:44 PM

I find all the above interesting and all possible as songs seem to change over the years. I simply thought if was about people eating the same food every week. Like a schedule. I had some friends that had same dinners certain days of the week. There was even a Prince spaghetti commercial about "It's Prince spaghetti day!" Also in some religions, Friday was a non-meat day-thus a fish day. When my kids were little we often did pizza on Fridays since it required no cooking and the chance for me to relax on the last "work" day of the week. Of, course we know moms work everyday regardless. Have a great week!

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 10 Mar 24 - 01:19 AM

When we went on a cruise in the Caribbean, we heard that, by tradition, the wives and mothers would refuse to cook on Fridays. On one island, the guide told us that the local backronym for KFC was "Keep Father Cooking" (I *think*); another island, another guide, it stood for "Kills Fat Children".

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 10 Mar 24 - 02:58 PM

My husband sings it in the car to our grand-daughter(aged 4)but doesn't use the original words - we just make up all sorts of different foods for each successive verse. One of those progressive/cumulative songs where each verse gets longer, as you add in all the various food mentioned in the previous verses (Think "Ratlling Bog").

Subject: RE: Origins: Today is Monday Song
From: and e
Date: 12 Mar 24 - 09:56 AM

Soup Song, All You Little Rookies We Wish the Same to You;
adapted and arr. by John B Archer [of U.S.]
[21200
(c) Nov. 26, 1918; 2 c. Nov 27, 1918; E 437591;
Leo. Feist, inc., New York.

Note that this is an adaptation and arrangement. The song predates 1918.


See the sheet music here:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/music.muswwism-200198170/?sp=3&st=image&r=-0.15,0.011,1.357,0.626,0


Also see this thread for variants.

NOT WORK SAFE: https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=5218