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Wheels and bus


Behind the History of the Classic Kids' Song, “The Wheels on the Bus”

Hello, all you back-to-schoolers out there.

We hope you have your apples polished, your pencils sharpened and your backpacks full, because as September sets in soon, that can only mean one thing. It’s time to get back on the big yellow school bus and head to class.

And what better way to mark that occasion than taking a look at the meaning and the history behind everyone’s favorite bus-themed song? Oh, and what does Madonna have to do with it? See below.

Without further ado, let’s drive—er, dive—right in!

Origins

Written by Verna Hills (who, herself, lived to be in her nineties), the earliest known publishing of “The Wheels on the Bus” is from December 1937. Lyrics for the song were published in the outlet, American Childhood.

Originally just called “The Bus,” the verse begins: The wheels of the bus… (“of” not “on”).

The Song Today

Today, the song is popular amongst children in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Italy, and Denmark. As one would expect, the song is often sung by school kids while on bus trips or while heading to school.

It’s an amusing song with parts that change and parts that stay the same (see lyrics below). The rhythm is repetitive, making it easy for people to both sing and remember. Another song that follows a similar format is “99 Bottles of Beer.” Though the song of course has a much different meaning.

The Contemporary Lyrics

Each stanza in the song begins with a different part of the bus, from the wheels to the windshield wipers to the driver, the people on the bus, and more. The meaning, obviously, is to highlight all the fun, noise-making elements of the vehicle.

Another fun aspect is for children (and parents or teachers) to act out the parts. The wipers go swish, swish, swish, and singers can move their extended arms, pointed up, back and forth like actual wipers. Or the horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep, and the singers can extend their arm as if honking a real horn on the steering wheel.

Then each stanza continues with how each of those elements on the bus moves or behaves, with each verse concluding with all through the town, before another stanza begins.

For example:

The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round
Round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town

The wipers on the bus go, Swish, swish, swish
Swish, swish, swish
Swish, swish, swish
The wipers on the bus go, Swish, swish, swish
All through the town

The driver on the bus goes, ‘Move on back’
‘Move on back’
‘Move on back’
The driver on the bus goes, ‘Move on back’
All through the town

The people on the bus go up and down
Up and down
Up and down
The people on the bus go up and down
All through the town

The horn on the bus goes, Beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep
The horn on the bus goes, Beep, beep, beep
All through the town

The baby on the bus goes, ‘Wah, Wah, Wah’
‘Wah, wah, wah’
‘Wah, Wah, Wah’
The baby on the bus goes, ‘Wah, 
Wah, Wah’
All through the town

The mommies on the bus go, ‘Shh, shh, shh’
‘Shh, shh, shh’
‘Shh, shh, shh’
The daddies on the bus go, ‘Shh, shh, shh’
All through the town

Alternative Original Lyrics

The lyrics for the original rhyme, published in December of 1937, in an issue of American Childhood, are written in three stanzas as follows (note the different ending of each section of verse and different actions, though the general meaning is the same):

The wheels of the bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round;
The wheels of the bus go round and round,
Over the city streets.

The horn of the bus goes Too-to-too,
“Too-to-too, too-to-too,
the horn of the bus goes Too-to-too
At the other busses, it meets.

The people in the bus go up and down,
Up and down,
up and down;
The people in the bus go up and down,
Bouncing off their seats.

At the time, no reference was made in the original publication as to the formal melody for the rhyme. That was likely figured out later in the verse’s lifespan.

What Does Madonna Have To Do With This, Exactly?

Well, nothing formally.

But in 2002, a Madonna impersonator named Michelle Chappel, using her stage made “Mad Donna,” released a single that sampled the nursery rhyme that also featured a version of Madonna’s 1998 song, “Ray of Light,” upon which “The Wheels on the Bus” was sung.

That single reached No. 17 in the United Kingdom and made the pop charts in other European countries.

(Check out a live version of that song here. Boy, is it weird.)

Final Thoughts

Driving can be monotonous. Children can have short attention spans. Music is the universal language.

For all these reasons, a song like “The Wheels on the Bus” was born, honed, and perfected over the years, so that children sitting on the big yellow school bus could be entertained while their trip is traveled.

The song teaches observation, communal singing and has a meaning that’s both fun and even a little educational to children. What they took for granted—a silly ol’ bus—has lots of elements to it that have their own little sonic lives.

(Photo by Ron Adar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

‎Wheels on the Bus on the App Store

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Description

Sing along with the childhood classic, Wheels on the Bus! Interact with the creative and lively illustrations to discover hidden surprises on every page!

This award-winning tribute to Wheels on the Bus is a fun, interactive experience encouraging motor, language and cognitive skills through fresh illustrations, creative interaction and music.

AGES: 2-5.

OVERVIEW
- SING along and record your own voice
- PLAY original music performed by a classical piano trio (piano, violin, and cello)
- LISTEN to “Wheels on the Bus” in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian
- LEARN the sounds of different instruments: violin, cello, piano and kazoo
- DISCOVER interactive surprises on every page

CATEGORY: Nursery Rhyme

ACTIVITIES
- SPIN the wheels to make the bus go faster… or slower
- OPEN and close the bus door
- MOVE the bus driver’s arm and sing “move on back!”
- SWISH the wipers and wipe away raindrops
- TAP to make the people go up and down
- HELP the baker serve some cake
- POP the goldfish bubbles

AWARDS
- Parents’ Choice Gold Award - Parents’ Choice Foundation
- "Best Children's App” KAPi Award
- International Consumer Electronic Show
- Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design - Children’s Technology Review

TIP FOR PARENTS
The option to hide buttons and turn pages automatically is in the device settings.

ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE
(A subsidiary of Khan Academy)
Duck Duck Moose, an award-winning creator of educational mobile apps for families, is a passionate team of engineers, artists, designers, and educators. Founded in 2008, the company has created 21 top-selling titles and has received 21 Parents’ Choice Awards, 18 Children’s Technology Review Awards, 12 Tech with Kids’ Best Pick App Awards, and a KAPi award for “Best Children’s App” at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. Like all Khan Academy offerings, all Duck Duck Moose apps are now 100% free, without ads or subscriptions.

For kids ages 2-6, don't miss Khan Academy Kids, our new early learning app to help young children with reading, writing, math and social-emotional development!

We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose. com or drop us a line at [email protected].

Version 2.2.3

Thanks for learning with us! We have some big news!

We’ve launched a new learning app for kids 2–7 called Khan Academy Kids. It’s 100% FREE with no ads or subscriptions needed.

This new version of Wheels on the Bus includes some minor changes. Please update today!

Ratings and Reviews

23 Ratings

Great distraction for toddlers

This is essentially a digital storybook with music for little kids. My 2-year-old daughter enjoys it a lot, and the interactive features (e.g., sliding the bus doors open and shut) are simple enough to pick up quickly. I use this frequently at restaurants and other public places when my daughter gets antsy/bored and I need to settle her down with a distraction. Recommended (along with other apps from Duck Duck Moose, like Old MacDonald).

P.S. The latest update fixed my only pet peeve about the program by allowing removal of the music control button (which is easy to press by accident and opens a kid-unfriendly menu).

Literally the best app ever

BUS is literally the best app ever created. I cannot imagine a more soothing, reassuring, educational, and interactive experience. I cannot recommend highly enough; without BUS, my life would become a shallow, empty husk of its former self. It has soothed me for over a decade. Thank you, Duck Duck Moose— I am forever in your debt.

KHAN ACADEMY

I always use khan academy 😊

The developer, Duck Duck Moose LLC, has not provided details about its privacy practices and handling of data to Apple. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

No Details Provided

The developer will be required to provide privacy details when they submit their next app update.

Information

Seller
Duck Duck Moose LLC

Size
23.7 MB

Category
Education

Age Rating
4+, Made for Ages 0–5

Copyright
© Duck Duck Moose, Inc.

Price
Free

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In Ufa, the wheels fell off the bus, December 2021 | ufa1.ru

It all happened on Oktyabrya Avenue

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In Ufa, two wheels came off while driving. The video of the incident was posted on social networks today, December 5.

According to eyewitnesses, the bus belonging to Bashavtotrans was traveling along Oktyabrya Avenue. Suddenly, his rear wheel fell off first, and then the front wheel. Then the bus leaned to the left. The driver managed to react in time and stopped on the side of the road.

UFA1. RU contacted representatives of Bashavtotrans, but it was not possible to get a prompt comment. Vladimir Khushkin, Deputy Director for Security of PATP No. 1 of Bashavtotrans, said that he was on vacation, Sergey Paskin, Deputy Director for Passenger Transportation, did not answer the call, and the head of the enterprise, Nadir Samiev, answered the journalist’s appeal to him: “You got to the wrong place” and hung up.

We have sent a request to the company to comment on the situation. As soon as we receive an answer, we will publish it on the website.

The traffic police of Bashkiria reported that more than 730 buses were checked in the republic, 225 violations were revealed. 25 committed violations of the rules for the carriage of passengers, 6 drove through a prohibiting traffic light, 12 did not provide an advantage to pedestrians, 8 drivers moved without wearing a seat belt. It was also revealed 4 facts of driving buses with malfunctions, in which it is not allowed to drive.

- Prevention of violations of the rules committed by bus drivers is under special control of the traffic police. This is one of the most effective ways to prevent accidents. Work in this direction continues, — noted in the department.

Earlier we wrote that in September a Bashavtotrans bus caught fire in Ufa. The driver suffered burns, but soon returned to work.

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  • December 10, 2021, 15:35

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  • December 07, 2021, 10:25

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  • September 06, 2021, 10:35

    September 2021, 18:55

    A passenger bus is on fire in Ufa. The driver was burned

Mark Konstantinov

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