The Bingo Song

The Bingo song has seen many variations. The classic words generally run as follows:
  
There was a farmer had a dog, and Bingo was his name-O!
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, and Bingo was his name-O!

Another slightly different version is:
There was a man who had a dog and Bingo was his name, oh!
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, and Bingo was his name, oh!

Yet another version is:

Farmer Brown he had a dog and Bingo was his name - oh!
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, and Bingo was his name

The verse is repeated six times where each time one of the letters of the name Bingo is subtracted and replaced with a clap. The name ends up being completely replaced by claps at the sixth repeat of the verse. Although the wording is such that it cannot be determined whether the man's name or the dog's name is Bingo, it is commonly assumed that the name refers to the dog rather than the man.


Bingo as an Educational Song
There are many important educational points that can be derived from the bingo song. These educational benefits have made the bingo song a popular one with children and their teachers. A version of the bingo song was even recorded by Team Vico as an aid for speech delayed children. The song can be used as an excellent tool for teaching rhythm theory. In addition the listing of the letters is excellent as an aid in the teaching of spelling. It is thus not surprising that many programs have made remakes of this classic song usually with a substitution of Bingo with a name which is relevant to the program. An example for this phenomenon is the theme song at the children's show "Camp Lazlo" (where they sing about two scouts who had a friend and Lazlo was his name -O- etc).

Different Mixes of the Bingo Song
The same Bingo song and its variations have also experienced style adaptations. The Vico Team mentioned previously made their recording with rock music with great success. So, next time you hear the bingo song you should know that you are actually listening to a carefully constructed literary work of art well worth savoring.

c/o: www.whichonlinebingo.com