Name that tune...The "No" Song

March 23, 2007 8:55 PM

Help me relive my childhood! When I was a kid, I loved this song, which I always called "The 'No' Song"...but what is it actually called, and who sings it?

I've Googled the heck out of this one, but as the only lyrics I can really remember are the word "no" repeated many many times, it hasn't been very helpful.

The song has a few verses; each involves a kid asking Dad if they can do something ("Dad, can I smoke a cigarette?" "Dad, can I drive a car?"), and Dad replying with a bunch of reasons why they can't. The line "do as I say, and not as I do" was in there a couple of times. And then the chorus was the dad repeating "no" over and over again--I can remember the tune perfectly, but that's not much help in text. In the last verse the tables were turned somehow, though I can't remember how, and the kids were singing the chorus of "no"s while Dad yelled for them to come back.

posted by tomatofruit to media & arts (7 comments total)

They Might Be Giants has a children's album tightled "No!" with a No song on it. Here's a link to it on the Apple store. Not sure if it's what your looking for, but the lyrics might be similar.

NO song

No means no, many times no...
posted by mtstover at 3:18 AM on March 24, 2007

No Limit by 2 Unlimited?
posted by Lotto at 4:25 AM on March 24, 2007

Sorry, I totally misread the post. Well, even if you don't find the song, you can add that one to your new collection of "songs about NO in some way"
posted by Lotto at 4:28 AM on March 24, 2007

"No no no" by Peter Alsop:

kid: "Well I'm bored -- can I smoke a cigarette?"

Dad: "No, no no, no no no, no no no, no! (3x) Nooo! Nooo! Nooo!

Just because I smoke doesn't mean you
Can huff and puff smoke rings like mature adults do
Smoking is bad for your lungs and your growth
I'm older, I know what is best for us both..."

According to Rise Up Singing, it's recorded on Alsop's "Silly Songs and Modern Lullabies" and "Wha'D Ya Wanna Do?"
posted by nonane at 5:54 AM on March 24, 2007

I'm not sure if they're the artist that I know from the radio, but the song that came to my mind was "Nobody But Me" by the Dickies. The "No no no" part comes before they break into these lyrics here.
posted by srah at 6:48 AM on March 24, 2007

Oh, never mind! I read the question as "My dad would sing this to us when we asked him something ("Dad, can I drive the car?")."
posted by srah at 6:49 AM on March 24, 2007

Thank you, nonane! That's the one!

Time to part with some of my hard-earned money!
posted by tomatofruit at 10:46 AM on March 24, 2007