I learned a lot from Sesame Street. That includes the sound of the letter “B,” the concept of cooperation, and the correct procedure for putting down the duckie in order to play the saxophone. Thanks to the extensive research and testing the producers do, the show has always been remarkably successful at conveying educational information to children.
Except for this one time.
My peak era of preschool-age Sesame Street viewing was the early-to-mid-’80s, when Northern Calloway’s David was all over the show. Like the other human cast members, he was primarily seen in street stories, but sometimes he would appear in an insert segment, including the one I want to talk about today: A song called “Tying Your Shoelace.” As you’ve no doubt deduced, it was intended to teach youngsters how to tie their shoelaces, but it just didn’t work on me.
Muppet Wiki tells me that the song was written by Lee Pockriss. Before I continue, I want to say that I’m really happy to have learned about Pockriss, because he wrote a bunch of excellent songs. His compositions for Sesame Street include “My Polliwog Ways,” “Pretty Little Song,” “The Spanish Counting Song,” and “Bert’s Love Song” (as heard on the Love album AND in an episode I’ve written about before!).
And get this: He also wrote “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini” and “Catch a Falling Star!” Now that’s a versatile songwriter! Clearly his musical and lyrical talents are above reproach. If reproach is down here (gestures), his talents are up here (gestures higher). So I don’t begrudge him for the fact that I didn’t learn the intended lesson from his work on this one particular composition.
Now, courtesy of YouTube user TheOriginalTellyMonster, take a look at “Tying Your Shoelace,” a segment that was often repeated when I was a lad:
I’m pretty sure it’s meant to sound like the old song “Ballin’ the Jack,” which dates back to 1913 and has been recorded by many, many artists, including Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in the 1942 movie For Me and My Gal and Danny Kaye in 1951’s On the Riviera. It’s one of those songs that gives you step by step instructions on how to do a dance that goes with the song, and the dance and the song have the same name. You know… like “The Twist,” and “The Loco-motion,” and “The Lurch.”
It sounds like David introduces himself as “Mr. Dandy David,” and he’s dressed like a flashy old-timey vaudeville entertainer, which is all very promising. And then he sings. “First you take your laces…”
That’s a good start. When I was a kid, I had no problem with that part. I could locate the laces on my shoes with relatively little trouble.
“And then you tie ‘em like so.” Okay, this part required more effort. “Tie ‘em like so?” Like what? How do you tie ‘em? He’s teaching me how to tie my shoelaces, and it sounds an awful lot like step one is “Tie your shoelaces.” If I asked David how to make pancakes, would he say “First you make some pancakes?” But after much trial and error, my young self was able to tie a simple knot in his laces.
“And then you take a hold of one side, and you make a little bow! And then you gather up the other side, and here’s what you do…” David. I’m three and a half years old! Do you think my fine motor skills have developed to the point where I can simply make a little bow and maintain it while I use my other hand to gather up the other side, and then WAIT for further instructions?! By the way… What’s a bow?
“Now you swing it around the bow! Yes, you swing it around the bow…” Almost every time I attempted this step, the bow would collapse, along with my spirits.
“And then you pull it right through!” What?! I don’t even have a bow anymore! How am I supposed to pull it right through? And even if I did, WHERE do you expect me to pull it? Can you slow down a little, please? I know there’s a really neat film about elephants coming up later in the show, but can it wait?
“And then you tie it real tight, and once you’ve got it into place/Well, it’s really kind of fun, and when you’re done/That’s what we call tying your shoelace!” I heard David telling me that tying my shoelace was fun, but despite his peppy delivery, I never knew for sure if it was true, because I could never recreate his process.
After David sings the song once, Herry Monster enters and asks him to repeat the tune, so he does, with Herry singing backup. This was a good idea — hearing the song twice in a row probably helped a lot of kids absorb the lesson and learn the technique.
But not me. I’m pretty sure I didn’t learn how to tie my own shoes until I was around nine years old… One day my parents bought me a new pair of shoes, and I was messing around with the laces while sitting there in JC Penney, and something just clicked, and suddenly I had achieved something I previously thought was impossible.
But back when I was in Sesame Street’s target age group? Nope. It just didn’t take. Fortunately, the segment concludes with a silly joke — Herry wants David to tie his laces even though he doesn’t wear shoes but because he has a collection of shoes — so I was distracted from my burning sense of frustration.
And even more fortunately, the final seconds of the segment feature David doing a classic “exasperated Sesame Street human” take to the camera.
And perhaps most fortunately of all for me? Velcro shoes existed. No song required for that footwear! In fact, it would be pretty stupid to write a whole song about how to put on Velcro shoes.
Finally, I just want to draw your attention to the little girl whose shoes David is using to demonstrate. She basically never moves or reacts to anything! Even when Herry comes in, she doesn’t really acknowledge his presence.
I have three theories as to why she’s so stoic:
- She’s concentrating on the words and David’s hands so she can tie her shoes by herself next time.
- She was told by the director not to move, so her feet remain still in the closeups and so she doesn’t fall off the wall.
- They’ve done a bunch of takes and she’s bored out of her mind.
Click here to gather up the other side and make a little Tough Pigs Discord!
by Ryan Roe – [email protected]
