Sesame Street Theme, a Singable Poem

Posted by: Sing Books with Emily on: May 10, 2010

• In: Heartfelt Musings | Lyrics | Poetry | Sing Along Tracks | Singable Book Title | Singable Poem | Singable Poetry | Vocal Tracks
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The end papers of this book are the perfect spot for the “Sesame Street Theme,” which I cannot wait to sing with a gathering of kids!

The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures
Words (and Music) by Various Artists
Illustrated by Normand Chartier

Printed music for “Sesame Street Theme,” (Words by Bruce Hart, Jon Stone, and Joe Raposo, Music by Joe Raposo) is on pages 4-6.

The Sesame Street Songbook –
64 Favorite Songs
Featuring Songs and Arrangements by Various Artists
Illustrated by David Prebenna

While looking around for a karaoke sing-along to go with this song, I serendipitously found an instrumental performance of  the “Sesame Street Theme,” played by the Boston Pops (conducted by Arthur Fiedler) that is the perfect sing-along:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YAC62Q/ref=dm_dp_trk22?ie=UTF8&qid=1273187262&sr=1-28

Just hearing the opening rhythm of this song brings joy to my heart. 

You will love singing along with a fabulous full orchestra.  So Fancy!

An interesting article about the writing and use of “Sesame Street Theme” in Sesame Street episodes here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street_Theme

I am particularly interested to learn that the harmonica version of the song and all the harmonica intros and outros used for segment segues during the show are played by Toots Thielemans, the incredible harmonica virtuoso. 

A super fun video of Gladys Knight at the Pips singing the Sesame Street Theme:

Sesame Street Theme
Words by Bruce Hart, Jon Stone, and Joe Raposo
Music by Joe Raposo

Sunny Day
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That’s where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It’s a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To Happy people like you–
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame street…

How to get to Sesame Street

How to get to…

This song was published again in 1997 as part of,

The Sesame Street Treasury of Words, Numbers, and Poems (Three Books in One)

Tags: Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops, Bruce Hart, David Prebenna, Joe Raposo, Jon Stone, Normand Chartier, Sesame Street