Word Family Song

[ssetta]

Most of you are probably familiar with this song:

You take a "J" that's a jjj
And an E-T, "ET"
You put them altogether
And that spells "JET"
That's "JET", J-E-T, "JET"
That's "JET", J-E-T, "JET"
You take a "J" that's a jjj
and an E-T, "ET"
You put them altogether
And that spells "JET"

Then they would do it with PET, NET, and WET.

I just thought I'd type some of it for the people who may not know it. But see, there was more than one version. There were 2 versions of "ET". One on an old record with Gordon, Susan, Mr. Hooper, and Oscar. There was also a version on the show with 2 old men singing it. Then there was "OP". I believe that had 2 versions on the show. One with Bob singing it, and another with Anything Muppets. I have never seen the one with the AMs. Also, on the LP "Somebody Come And Play", there's an "AN" version with Dan and a friend. I never knew that one existed. Any more versions of this song?

 

[SesameMike]

Is it just me, or is The Word Family Song one of the most underrated songs on the show, at least musically?

Consider the musical structure. The song essentially repeats the same strain four times. But to keep it from becoming too repetitive, there are subtle modifications. Verse 3 deftly transposes up a half-step and varies the instrumentation slightly. And verse 4 goes back down a half step with a “da-da-DAAA” lead-in, which also reminds you it’s the last verse, sort of like how the white flag in auto racing tells you you’re starting the last lap. Then the song repeats the intro 3 times in succession and ends in a creative cold finish on percussive notes, i.e. (fwEEEEE badum-dum)

A simple song, yet it reflects musical genius. Has anyone ever found a clean instrumental version?