Sing Books with Emily, the Blog

It Bares Repeating: A You’re Adorable, A Singable Picture Book

Posted by: on: May 23, 2011

“A-You’re Adorable” is a “Sing Books with Emily” standard and a favorite of kids and grown-ups, too.  It’s such a charming song  that is full of fun and love.

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A-You’re Adorable
Words and Music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman
Illustrated by Martha Alexander

This version, illustrated by Martha Alexander is fun and bright.  I sing along with a karaoke track, found on i-Tunes and Amazon, put out by Sound Choice Karaoke (also called Stingray), Karaoke-Classic Duets, Vol. 2.  In the “Demonstration” track, the singers do make the song a duet, but the instrumental track works just fine for one person.  Put it in your CD player and enjoy singing along with the book.  It is so much fun!!

The perfect sing-along track, here:
http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Adorable-Alphabet-Karaoke-Version/dp/B00147I9M4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1274953523&sr=8-3

Since Martha Alexander’s board book is a little small for a class full of kids to see, I made a book of my own to sing-along with,

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A-You’re Adorable
Words and Music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman
Illustrated by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus

“A-You’re Adorable (The Alphabet Song)” was written by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sydney Lippman.  The song was first recorded, using a slow and drippy arrangement, by Perry Como (with the Fontane Sisters) in 1949.  I enjoy John Lithgow’s 1999 recording, on the album “Singing in the Bathtub.”

The karaoke version seems to take after Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae’s duet version.  The light-hearted and bouncy arrangements are much more enjoyable.  Plus, the music in this karaoke track exactly match the lyric arrangement in the books:
http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Adorable-Alphabet-Karaoke-Version/dp/B00147I9M4/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1271688937&sr=1-9
(Just download the song and sing along!!)

Although I’m not a fan of Mr. Como’s interpretation for the song, his version does include an introduction that would be fun to sing (and that would be a fun to include in a book):

A-You’re Adorable (Introduction as recorded by Perry Como)
Words and Music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman

When Johnny Jones was serenading Mary,
He sure could quote a lot of poetry,
But he’d much rather tell her,
What he learned in his speller,
When they both attended PS 33!

A-You’re Adorable
Words and Music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman

A, you’re adorable,
B, you’re so beautiful,
C, you’re a cutie full of charms.
D, you’re a darling and
E, you’re exciting and
F, you’re a feather in my arms.
G, you look good to me,
H, you’re so heavenly,
I, you’re the one I idolize.
J, we’re like Jack and Jill,
K, you’re so kissable,
L, is the love-light in your eyes.
M, N, O, P, I could go on all day.
Q, R, S, T, alphabetically speaking, you’re OK.
U, made my life complete,
V, means you’re very sweet,
W, X, Y, Z.
It’s fun to wander through the alphabet with you
To tell you what you mean to me.

A, you’re adorable,
B, you’re so beautiful,
C, you’re a cutie full of charms.
D, you’re a darling and
E, you’re exciting and
F, you’re a feather in my arms.
G, you look good to me,
H, you’re so heavenly,
I, you’re the one I idolize.
J, we’re like Jack and Jill,
K, you’re so kissable,
L, is the love-light in your eyes.
M, N, O, P, I could go on all day.
Q, R, S, T, alphabetically speaking, you’re OK.
U, made my life complete,
V, means you’re very sweet,
W, X, Y, Z.
It’s fun to wander through the alphabet with you
Though it seems a silly thing to do
I  L.O.V.E.  Y.O.U.  I R in love with U.

Click this link for the NIH Kid’s page for “A-You’re Adorable,” which includes a sing-along midi player and the song lyrics with the introduction:
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/alphlove.htm

Here is “A-You’re Adorable” from Sesame Street, December 1969:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6QGTKrj97g
Click here for a MuppetWiki article about this episode:
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/A,_You’re_Adorable

Sing along with the song and on screen lyrics:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=szka1ZXCM_U

If you love kitchy things like me, you’ll love this version from the Lawerence Welk show:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkgi0arlSFo

I’m tickled to have found this one, Patrick Stewart sings “A-You’re Adorable” on the set of Star Trek: Next Generation”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjNKyoRudOQ

A Wikipedia article about “A-You’re Adorable,” here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/’A’_You’re_Adorable

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I discovered the wonderful alphabet flash cards:


Alphabeasties (and other Amazing Types),
Alphabet Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles
(Alphabet Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles)
By Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss

I think these cards are so amazing that they inspired me to write new lyrics to the song “A-Youre Adorable” so friends can flash the cards and sing the song!

A-Is an Alligator
Words by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman

A, is an Alligator
B, is a Bat that Bant-ors
C, is a Camel who Chews Cud
D, is a Dog that Dances
E, are the Elephant-ces
F, is a Fish who swims in Floods
G, is a Great Giraffe
H, a Hippopotam-ass
I, is an Ibis made of I’s
J, is a Jag-U-ar
K, a Kangaroo jumps far
L, is a Lion’s yeLLow eyes
M, N, O, P, an Octopus has 8 legs
Q, R, S, T, Quaffed little Quails lay speckled eggs
U, Unicorns Unite
V, a Viper’s Vicious bite
W, X, Y, Z
It’s fun to wander through the Alpha-Zoo with you to see the Zebra made of Zees!

A, is an Alligator
B, is a Bat that Bant-ors
C, is a Camel who Chews Cud
D, is a Dog that Dances
E, are the Elephant-ces
F, is a Fish who swims in Floods
G, is a Great Giraffe
H, a Hippopotam-ass
I, is an Ibis made of I’s
J, is a Jag-U-ar
K, a Kangaroo jumps far
L, is a Lion’s yeLLow eyes
M, N, O, P, an Octopus has 8 legs
Q, R, S, T, Quaffed little Quails lay speckled eggs
U, Unicorns Unite
V, a Viper’s Vicious bite
W, X, Y, Z
It’s fun to wander through the Alpha-Zoo with you to see the Zebra made of Zees.
I love the Penguins made of Pees and the wiener Dog made of Dees!

You can sing the lyrics above with this karaoke sing-along track for “A-You’re Adorable”:
http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Adorable-Alphabet-Karaoke-Version/dp/B00147I9M4/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1271688937&sr=1-9
(Just download the song and sing along!!)

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March 2011

After a conversation with the wonderful teacher Ms. Antil about using the American Sign Language Alphabet to help kids learn their ABCs and using the hand signs as an interesting activity in conjunction with singing the ABCs, ZYXs and A-You’re Adorable, I decided it would be fun to create poster cards to help kids learn their American Sign Language Alphabet with ABC and ZYX poster cards:

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 ZYXs with American Sign Language Alphabet
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Click here to view or print my ZYX card with American Sign Language Alphabet:
ZYX letters caps WITH SIGN
Sing the ZYX’s along with me!  Just click here:
http://soundcloud.com/singbookswithemily/zyxs-eleg-2010

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ABCs with American Sign Language Alphabet
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Click here to view or print my ABC card with American Sign Language Alphabet:
letters caps WITH SIGN

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I’m thrilled to write that “A-You’re Adorable” is one of the songs we selected to be part of
“Oh, What a Beautiful Day: Sing Books with Emily, the Cabaret.”

I make a strong committment to each song I perform and completing my Song Craft Worksheet is part of that process,


Emily’s Song Craft Worksheet

Because the first section of the Song Craft Worksheet involves background research on the song, I’ll share the answers with you so you can know about the song, too.  The more about the song you know (both concrete facts and less tangible artistic choices), the more “authority,” and heart and soul you can put into the singing and sharing of the song with others.  If you are interested in improving your artistic abilities for singing songs in any capacity, just simply filling out the Song Craft Worksheet is a great place to start!  After the background research, the rest of the Song Craft Worksheet gets VERY personal…don’t worry!  I won’t bore you with that.

1 Q: Who wrote the words?
1 A: Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman

2Q: Who wrote the music?
2A: Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman

3Q: When was the song written?
3A: 1949

4Q: At what point in the lyricists’ and composer’s career was the song written?
4A: ?

5Q: What is the song from?
5A: It seems to be a stand along song

6Q: If from a show, what character sang it?
6A: NA

7Q: If from a show, from what situation does the song arise?  Why does the character sing the song?  What function does the song/character play in the story?
7A: NA

8Q:  What other contextual elements of the song are significant?
8A: This charming song has been sung by many people in many different situations.  I think it works easily as well for adults as children.

9Q: Was the song written for a particular singer?  Why?
9A: It may have been written for Perry Como (with the Fontane Sisters).

10Q: If not from a show, why did the songwriter write the song?
10A:

11Q: What do you feel the lyricist is trying to say?
11A:

12Q: Does the song tell a story or just express feelings or ideas?
12A: This song simply expresses one person’s adoration for another.

13Q: Who else has recorded this song:
13A: Perry Como, John Lithgow, Jo Stafford, Gordon MacRae, Dean Martin, The Tokens (and many others)

The rest of the questions require VERY personal answers and I will spare you those!

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