D-U-C-K-I-E: an underrated song

[minor muppetz]

I thought I'd start a thread about the song D-U-C-K-I-E. Here's a youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDXwz-7D6e4

Anyway, the song is a bit catchy, but seems underrated. It's likely the least popular of the Rubber Duckie songs. Unless there's another that we just don't know about, it's the only one of the Rubber Duckie songs that has never been released on video or DVD (the 25th anniversary video doens't even include a clip in the Rubber Duckie medley/montage), and I think it's only been released on one album. The other Rubber Duckie songs have been released on video and DVD multiple times (though there are some unreleased versions of Rubber Duckie). D-U-C-K-I-E is also the only one of the Rubber Duckie songs to not have a version included at sesamestreet.org.

Of course, I wonder how well the kids wathcing liked it. It seems to be the most serious and least fun/gimicky of the Rubber Duckie songs (The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jambouree has the gimmick of also including honkers and a dinger, Do De Rubber Duck has the gimmick of an all-star cast, and Put Down the Duckie has the gimmick of including several celebrities). The music is a bit softer and less upbeat.

One thing I wondered when watching it on youtube. At the beginning, we only see the back of the picture Ernie is looking at, not seeing that it's a picture of Rubber Duckie until after Ernie spells DUCKIE the first time. I wonder... Was anybody surprised by it? At first it looks like he could have been looking at a picture of either Bert or maybe a woman he loves (though we don't know of any specific women that would apply to). Of course anybody who could spell could easily figure out what was in the picture (as could anybody clicking on the youtube link and reading the "D-U-C-K-I-E" title).

 

[D'Snowth]

I think I would have to listen to this song a few more times to full appreciate it, because to be perfectly honest, this was my first time hearing it, and watching the bit, and it didn't really do much for me.

I have to ask though, does anyone know what year this was done? It seems to me that this might have been recorded very shortly before Jim's death.

 

[Muppet Frog]

This skit should have been part of the Journey to Ernie skits.

 

[minor muppetz]

I have to ask though, does anyone know what year this was done? It seems to me that this might have been recorded very shortly before Jim's death.

According to one of the youtube comments, it was copyrighted 1983 on the Sesame Road album. I don't have that album so I can't verify it.

 

[D'Snowth]

Hmm... judging by the Ernie puppet used in the video, I would've guessed maybe 1988 at the earliest.

 

[minor muppetz]

According to Muppet Wiki, the earliest-known appearance is in episode 2059, a season 16 (1985-1986) episode.

 

[ISNorden]

Judging by the melody and lyric structure, "D-U-C-K-I-E" is a parody of Eddy Arnold's "Mother (a Word That Means the World to Me)". That one was indeed less upbeat than the tunes Sesame Street usually chooses for parodies...and familiar mainly to the older adults watching with their kids. (The writers at CTW must have been hard-pressed to find a popular tune that spelled out a 6-letter word! )

Between the musical style, the lack of visual flashiness, and the obscure original used as a base, "D-U-C-K-I-E" is probably not going to attract as many fans as Ernie's other songs about his duck. The spelling lesson is educational enough; the sentiment is heartfelt enough; but CTW's songwriters chose the wrong packaging to sell that combination to preschoolers, in my opinion.

 

[dietrich]

I agree about DUCKIE. One thing about Sesame Street that bugs me s that they ignore good songs like G Why I Love That Letter, Pretty Little Song, It's Funny and Rebel L

 

[minor muppetz]

I guess the songs educational lesson is spelling a word, but it seems like each letter should have appeared on-screen as Ernie sang each letter, spelling out duckie on-screen. Either that, or Ernie should have spelled the whole word straight, as opposed to saying what each letter stands for.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

What educational lesson does "Rubber Duckie" teach? I think both that song and "D-U-C-K-I-E" just talk about Ernie's love for his rubber duckie. And that's a great lesson in itself. And I love both songs!