NFN Ng

Posted 9:47 PM by Danielle
One of the photographers I contacted about shooting my wedding sent me a video of his work. At the end of the tape was a Seseame Street video called "Put Down the Duckie" starring Ernie, a Muppet jazz band and a host of cameos from the likes of Rhea Pearlman and Danny DeVito, John Candy, Itzak Pearlman, Paul Simon, Madeline Kahn, Pee Wee Herman, Jeremy Irons, Andrea Martin (who we just saw in Oklahoma! on Broadway), Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Wynton Marsalis, some Mets, some football guys and other people I didn't recognize. I had never seen it before but it was SO catchy and Josh and I can't stop singing it.

The song is about how Ernie can't play the saxophone because he wants to hold his Rubber Duckie so he keeps squeaking while he's playing. Hoots, the owl, convinces him that doesn't have to get rid of the duck, just put it aside while he plays the sax.

It's hysterical. I need to find an MP3 and a video clip. Here's ten seconds of the song in wav format. In the meantime, you can buy it for $10 at Amazon. It would make a great gift.

Here are the lyrics.

Put Down The Duckie
Words by Norman Stiles
Music by Christopher Cerf
sung by Ernie (Jim Henson) and Hoots the Owl (Kevin Clash)

Ernie: Excuse me, Mr. Hoots
I hate to bug a busy bird
But I want to learn the sax
And I need a helpful word
I always get a silly squeak
When I play the blues

Hoots: Ernie, keep your cool
I'll teach ya how to blow the sax
I think I dig your problem
It's rubber, and it quacks
You'll never find the skill you seek
Till you pay your dues

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

You didn't hear a word I said
You gotta get it through your head
Don't be a stubborn cluck
Ernie, lay aside the duck!
I've learned a thing or two
From years of playing in a band
It's hard to play a saxophone
With something in your hand
To be a fine musician
You're gonna have to face the facts

Though you're blessed with flying fingers
When you wanna wail, you're stuck
What good are flying fingers
If they're wrapped around a duck?
Change the toy's position
If you wanna ace the sax!

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

Don't have to put it on a train
Don't have to wash it down the drain
Don't have to lock it in a drawer
Don't have to shove it out the door
Don't have to stuff it in your pocket
Or send it flyin' in a rocket!
Don't have to get it out of town!
Ernie, put the quacker down!

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Yeah, you gotta leave the duck alone
You gotta put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
Put down the duckie
If you wanna play the saxophone!

Transcribed by Julie Ann Swindell