This is, quite seriously, and without a bit of condescension, one of my favorite songs of all time:
Three is a magic number,If you get what I love about this song, you should buy this DVD, and go out of your way to check out this way cool web site.
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.It takes three legs to make a tri-pod
Or to make a table stand.
It takes three wheels to make a ve-hicle
Called a tricycle.Every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less.
You don't have to guess.
When it's three you can see
It's a magic number.A man and a woman had a little baby,
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family,
And that's a magic number.3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.
3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.
Multiply backwards from three times ten:Three time ten is (30), three times nine is (27),
Three times eight is (24), three times seven is (21),
Three times six is (18), three times five is (15),
Three times four is twelve,
And three times three is nine, and three times two is six,
And three times one is three of course.Now dig pattern once more:
Three! . . .3-6-9
Twelve! . . .12-15-18
Twenty-one!. . .21-24-27. . .30Now multiply from 10 backwards:
Three time ten is (30 - Keep going), three times nine is (27),
Three times eight is (24), three times seven is (21) (Goin' home...),
Three times six is (18), three times five is (15),
Three times four is twelve,
And three times three is nine, and three times two is six,
And three times one...
What is it?!
Three!
Yeah, That's a magic number.A man and a woman had a little baby.
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family.
That's a magic number....
So there.
By the way: I'm 37 years old, and still when I want to recall how stuff works in Washington, I think of this song.
Go buy the DVD. It's way cool.
"Figure 8
Is double 4.
Figure 4
Is half of eight.
If you could skate,
you would be great
if you could form
a figure 8."
That's my favorite.
D
I liked the one for three, but "Little Twelvetoes" made me think.
Oh, dang! I'm afraid that one came along after my day. Closest I can come to a number song from my childhood is "Six Little Taxis" on Captain Kangaroo. I just loved the weird way the horn sounded on the purple taxi...
Dean,
Does it have the Blind Melon version of "Three is a magic number"?
TMS
I always loved the voice of the guy singing in those songs.
What about "Furry and Blue (and Orange)"? We all know the truly GREAT songs are on Sesame Street! Seriously, one of the most fascinating books of all time is "Sesame Street Unpaved", a kinda behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street.
My Hero, Zero, was my favorite math one, but Conjunction Junction is tops in my book. Bob Dorough is the guy responsible for most of those gems.
Three is a Magic Number is one of the best songs from School House Rock. A sample of the Blind Melon version of Three is a Magic Number that was mentioned previously can be found at Amazon. I have this CD; it is pretty entertaining if you are a big School House Rock fan. Another band that uses the Three is a Magic Number song but with a hip-hop spin is De La Soul with Magic Number, also a great listen.
School House Rock was how I passed the Constitution test in eighth grade. I couldn't have passed it without having the Preamble committed to memory. I still to this day sing the Preamble when I am trying to recite it. We thought we were having fun and watching cartoons but we were actually learning stuff all those Saturday mornings. They tricked us!
My other favorites from School House Rock:
I'm Just A Bill
Interplanet Janet
Speaking of songs from some of our childhood programming, those of you that watched the Muppet Show and Sesame Street religiously should recognize some of the songs off this album. Check out the sample of Mahna Mahna that Cake does, this is a great Muppet Classic. I have only listened to the one song off this album but it looks like a lot of fun.
Joe, you and a person on Blogcritics (where I also posted this) mention Bob Dorough as the guy who wrote "most" of the Schoolhouse Rock stuff, and you're right to mention him, but he only wrote a good chunk of them, not most of them. There were others who did some really great ones.
A guy named George R. Newall wrote and sang many of them, including "Three Is A Magic Number." Also, we would be remiss in not mentioning Lynn Ahrens, who wrote and sang an impressive number of them, and some of my favorites (like "The Preamble," "Sufferin' Until Suffrage," "A Noun Is A Person Place Or Thing," "Interplanet Janet," and quite a few more.
Then of course there's Jack Sheldon, who didn't write any of them, but sang "I'm Just A Bill" and "Conjunction Junction," amongst others.
A funny thing about the Schoolhouse Rock folks: they were done by an advertising agency who mostly did commercials. They did the series mostly on a lark, and in their spare time. At least that's how it started. "Three is a Magic Number" was the first one they did.
I recognized Jack Sheldon's voice in those from having seen him as trumpet player in the band on, I believe, the Merv Griffin show. That guy was funny!
I believe a huge percentage of adults my age (I'm 33) who can recite the preamble to the Constitution misrecite it identically, leaving out the phrase "of these United States" after "We the People." Thus showing that they remember it based on Schoolhouse Rock.