alphabet song

The alphabet song is a popular method for speakers (especially children) to learn the Latin alphabet. It was first copyrighted by C. Bradlee of Boston, USA on February 04 1834 and titled "The Schoolmaster". It is sung to the popular French melody "Ah! Vous Dirais-je, Maman", more commonly known as the melody of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Ironically, the French alphabet song is sung to the marching tune "I Don't Know But I've Been Told".

Lyrics:

a-b-c-d-e-f-g

h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p (l-m-n-o spoken twice as quickly as rest of rhyme)

q-r-s

t-u-v

w-x (w is sometimes longer than the other letters)

y and z. (z was originally pronounced "zee" (to rhyme with "vee"), but outside of the USA common pronunciation of the letter is "zed")

Now I've said my A, B, C

Tell me what you think of me.

(Line breaks denote pauses in the recitation)

A variant changes the last two lines to:

Now I know my A, B, C

Won't you come and play with me.

...or...

Next time won't you sing with me.

The alphabet song is a popular teaching 'tool' used in kindergartens and pre-schools around the world.

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There is a version of the alphabet song using a different melody taught by some pre-schools that use the phonics method.

What does the A say?  Ay and Ah (the vowels are sounded completely)
What does the B say?  B* B* B* (only the leading sound of consonants are sung in the response part)
What does the C say?  K* K* K* 
What does the D say?  D* D* D*
What does the E say?  Ee and Eh
...
... (continue for each letter with several slightly different melodies) ...
...
What does the X say?  Ks Ks Ks
What does the Y say?  Y* Y* Y*
What does the Z say?  Zzz Zzz Zzz

What do you call these phones and sounds?
English alphabet letters.
Yeah!

This song teaches children that each letter has a name and sounds. Just like a dog says "woof" and a cat says "meow", the "I" says "eye" and "ee".

See also

• Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, a song sung by Big Bird of Sesame Street.
• The Elements, a song by Tom Lehrer.