How do you sing "I'm a Little Teapot"?

[Jean in Newcastle]

We looked up the lyrics and it said "when I get all steamed up". . .    Is that right?  I can't remember how I've sung it but it wasn't like that.  

I thought it was something about teacups.  

 

[Chelle in MO]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

I will shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

[Liz CA]

Off key at my house when I sing it.

 

Dh who sings a lot better, just sang it for you. Did you hear it?

 

I am little teapot - short & stout

here is my handle, here is my spout

when I am boiling, tip me over and pour me out.

 

Oops. seems dh was slightly off in the lyrics:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3YcHmg5ZzA

[Chelle in MO]

We looked up the lyrics and it said "when I get all steamed up". . .    Is that right?  I can't remember how I've sung it but it wasn't like that.  

I thought it was something about teacups.  

 

You must've sung it wrong!   :001_tt2:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

I will shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

That's what Google told me.  I wonder if our family just sang it wrong?  I think we sang "when I saw the teacups I would shout, Just tip me over and pour me out."  

[Liz CA]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

I will shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

 

Did you really remember without looking it up?  :lol:

 

[Liz CA]

That's what Google told me.  I wonder if our family just sang it wrong?  I think we sang "when I saw the teacups I would shout, Just tip me over and pour me out."  

 

I like your version better. Perhaps there are different versions...or there could be a conspiracy theory lurking somewhere regarding those lyrics.

[Chelle in MO]

Did you really remember without looking it up?  :lol:

 

 

I *did* remember, but looked it up to be sure! Hey, I raised 4 kids and worked stints in a daycare and a mother's day out back in the day!  

[Tanaqui]

There probably are different lyrics. Most of us learn the song before we learn to read, after all, so it's an oral tradition. Remember, very few nursery rhymes have ONE AND ONLY ONE TRUE VERSION. Instead, it's a kaleidoscope of variations.

[Joker]

The version I always sang was

 

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

Hear me shout

Tip me over

And pour me out

[Word Nerd]

I'm a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle. Here is my spout. When I get all steamed up, hear me shout. Tip me over and pour me out.

[Liz CA]

Golly, this thread is destined for a lock down... :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Word Nerd]

Did you really remember without looking it up? :lol:

 

There were actions! How could I forget? :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I found a version that agrees with me!  http://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/im-a-little-teapot-nursery-songs/ Ha!  All you teapot heretics are going down!   :lol:

[Liz CA]

Good for you, Jean! At least you know you still have a memory...compared to me who could only remember the first line and dh who remembered two.

[Corraleno]

When DD was 2, she used to sing "I'm a little teapot, short and smart..."  :laugh:

[candicane]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

Here me shout

Tip me over

And pour me out

[Susan in TN]

The version I always sang was

 

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

Hear me shout

*Just* tip me over

And pour me out

This is it, but add "just" to the 7th line to aid in the musical rhythm.

[Mrs Mungo]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

I will shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

Same here, except we say "when I get all steamed up/hear me shout."

[klmama]

When the water's ready

I will shout

Tip me over

Pour me out

[LucyStoner]

The version I always sang was

 

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

Hear me shout

Tip me over

And pour me out

This is the version I've heard the most.

[LostSurprise]

We had a record with the "/hear me shout /Tip me over /and pour me out" version. Also, it was pretty obvious that there was meant to be punctuation after shout. 

 

I spent a lot of time playing that song on the little plastic record player trying to figure out if the punctuation was a comma and quotations marks or an exclamation point. Is the teapot actually saying, "tip me over and pour me out" or is it a general, non-verbal instruction?

 

 

[happi duck]

The version I always sang was

 

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

Hear me shout

Tip me over

And pour me out

This is the only one I ever heard.

 

I also liked a "version" by Sheri Lewis:

 

I'm a little teapot short and stout

Here is my handle (hand on hip)

Here is my (other hand on hip)

Oh no! I'm a sugar bowl!

 

:)

[Seasider]

Ok what I really want to know is...

 

How many of you remember wearing a pink leotard WHILE singing this and "dancing" to the motions?

[Incognito]

If you look inside the book, you get the right version (and a lot of extra verses).  http://www.amazon.com/Im-Little-Teapot-Iza-Trapani/dp/1580890105/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418282303&sr=8-1&keywords=I%27m+a+little+teapot+book

 

And for those of you thinking you need this on your shelves now - let me caution you that the tune gets a little old by the 30th page...

 

You will also note that the punctuation question is resolved.

[Pegs]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is m-

 

Oh! Dear me! I'm a sugar bowl!

[Joules]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

I will shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

This is how I learned, though ds is 17 so I don't sing it much anymore :)

[Laura Corin]

I remember 'When it gets to tea-time, Hear me shout'.  It can't be boiling (because it's a teapot, not a kettle) and 'steamed up' sound unfamiliar to me.

 

L

[Night Elf]

I also learned with the 'all steamed up'. That's what I taught my kids too.

[creekland]

So am I the only one who never sang this song except far, far back in my youth?  Is that why my boys have issues in life?  

 

We never used tea pots or kettles in our house.  I'll confess to using our microwave to heat water for tea.  It just has a bell when it's ready.

[PuddleJumper1]

Ok what I really want to know is...

 

How many of you remember wearing a pink leotard WHILE singing this and "dancing" to the motions?

For me it was a black leotard and pink tutu :laugh:

 

I remember

 

When I get all steamed up

Then I shout

[GailV]

I used the "steamed up" and "just tip me over" version.

 

 

So am I the only one who never sang this song except far, far back in my youth? Is that why my boys have issues in life?

 

We never used tea pots or kettles in our house. I'll confess to using our microwave to heat water for tea. It just has a bell when it's ready.

Well, there's your problem. The microwave doesn't heat the water properly. THAT's why your boys have issues in life.

[GailV]

What I remember of the 2nd verse:

 

I'm a special pot

It is true

Now let me show you

What I can do

 

I can change my handle

And my spout

Just tip me over

And pour me out.

 

I now have this song stuck in my head for the morning. Yikes!

[Kathryn]

What Horton said.

[Southern Ivy]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

 

When I get all steamed up

I will shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

 

When I get all steamed up

Here me shout

Just tip me over

And pour me out!

 

 

The bolded/slashed through are the only differences with my song and yours. 

 

 

or - What Horton said. 

[Starr]

For you of great memory, I think Laugh-In tossed in a "Sock it to me Baby"   :lol:

[vonfirmath]

We looked up the lyrics and it said "when I get all steamed up". . .    Is that right?  I can't remember how I've sung it but it wasn't like that.  

I thought it was something about teacups.  

 

That's how we sing it.

 

"When I get all steamed up, hear me shout!

Tip me over, and pour me out"

[DawnM]

You have taught them correctly.

 

Really, who messes with classical music like that?

 

 

I also learned with the 'all steamed up'. That's what I taught my kids too.

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I've heard both versions, but the "steamed up" version much more often.  It made more sense to me because a teapot (or teakettle) whistles when it gets hot enough for tea. 

 

I never sang this as a kid and my kids only learned it from a few PBS shows.  But, several of the people I climb with like to joke around with each other.  When someone is climbing and being a whimp, not trying very hard and wants to give up, their belayer often makes the climber sing "I'm a little teapot" in order to be let down.  It is really funny to see a great-looking 25 year-old sheepishly singing this for all to hear. 

[Elisabet1]

I'm a little teapot,

short and stout,

here is my handle, here is my spout.

 

when I get all steamed up,

here my shout!

Tip me over and pour me out!

 

And don't forget to do this while standing and doing the motions.

[Jean in Newcastle]

LOL.  I'm so glad I asked.  

[Incognito]

Ok what I really want to know is...

 

How many of you remember wearing a pink leotard WHILE singing this and "dancing" to the motions?

 

My leotard was turquoise, but yes.

[blondeviolin]

We sing the steamed up version. My kids' preschool book has this as a "unit" or whatever so when we get there, we YouTube it. This, I was aware that there were other versions. I also became aware that there is a second verse we never sang.

[Tsuga]

When the water's ready

I will shout

Tip me over

Pour me out

 

So glad I am not alone.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I was deprived as a child.  I had no leotard of any color.  I do, however have a vivid memory of me at age 3 or 4, wearing a pair of underpants on my head, so perhaps that explains a few things about me.  

[Eagle]

I remember 'When it gets to tea-time, Hear me shout'. It can't be boiling (because it's a teapot, not a kettle) and 'steamed up' sound unfamiliar to me.

 

L

We use the similar line "When the tea is ready, hear me shout"

 

I wonder if this is a British/Canadian thing. Our teapots don't boil!

[Spy Car]

I sing it this way:

 

 

I'm a little teapot,

Short and stout,

Something,

Something,

Something,

I don't know!

 

Bill

[Laurie4b]

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout.

Here is my handle

And here is my spout.

When I get all steamed up

Then I shout.

Tip me over and pour me out.

 

~ Australia, circa 1970

 

That's the way I remember it, too. I think it was probably from Captain Kangaroo, USA, circa 1960s!

[kiana]

I sing it this way:

 

 

I'm a little teapot,

Short and stout,

Something,

Something,

Something,

I don't know!

 

Bill

Reminds me of the Terry Pratchett book where he mentioned that Ankh-Morpork, realizing that all anyone knew of the second verse of their national anthem was "ner ner ner", had made the words of the second verse mostly "ner ner ner"

[Lawyer&Mom]

The Teapot Song was written by Clarence Kelley and George Sanders in 1939. It is still under copyright. We should probably delete the thread.