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Put Down the Duckie (song)

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Written by 
Music by  Christopher Cerf
Lyrics by  Norman Stiles
Date  1986
Source 
Publisher  Splotched Animal Music, BMI/Sesame Street, Inc., ASCAP

"Put Down the Duckie", performed by Hoots the Owl and Ernie, encourages one not to let possessions get in the way of other activities. Ernie wants to play the saxophone, but due to the presence of Rubber Duckie in his hand, he can only produce a squeak.[1]

Bob sang a portion of the song in Episode 3085.

In a segment from the 1990s, Ellen DeGeneres listened to this song on a Walkman, explaining to Elmo how portable music players work. (EKA: Episode 3795) This segment led into the "Put Down the Duckie" sketch (starting with the music playing, cutting out the intro).

In German, the song is known as "Weg mit dem Entchen!"

Contents

Celebrity Version

During the season that this song premiered, every time a celebrity appeared on the show, the producers would tape a special verse to be sung by that celebrity, and these verses were then edited into the song for later re-airing.[2] Celebrities included:

Aside from the added celebrities, another alteration occurred during a sequence where Hoots mentions alternatives to holding the Rubber Duckie while playing the saxophone, such as putting the duck in a drawer or sticking it out the door. In the celebrity version, footage of Rubber Duckie in these situations were shown along with Hoots singing.

Releases

Audio
Video
Online

Trivia

The idea behind this song has been borrowed by the Institute for Health Realities research organization of Colorado, as the title for its lifelong health newsletter:

The Duckie represents our old habits—which have become habits because they're what make us comfortable. To move forward in life, we have to put down our Duckies -- or lay aside our old habits. Ernie learns it's the first step for him, and it is as well for the rest of us.
- PutDownTheDuckie.com

Sources

  1. New York Social Diary: Christopher Cerf
  2. Cerf, Christopher Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music booklet, page 12

See also

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