Skidamarink: Sing-Along Song Video for Kids

Skidamarink a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you.
I love you in the morning
And in the afternoon
I love you in the evening
And underneath the moon
Oh...
Skidamarink
a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you.

"Skidamarink" has been a popular children's rhyming song for more than a century. It was written by Felix F. Feist, with music composed by Al Piantadosi, to serve as the grand finale song for the 1910 Broadway musical The Echo.

According to the existing sheet music, the original song went as follows:

Down in the Boola Boola Isle
Where the Mermaids chant
Reigns Big Chief Crocodile
Beneath the Oyster Plant
He loved a Sea-nymph selfishly
Queen of the Gay White Wave
Each night in his shell he'd go to sea
And in tuneful scales he'd rave

Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Dink-a-Boomp
Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Doo
Means I Love You
Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Dink-a-Boomp
Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Doo
Means I'll be True

Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Dink-a-Boomp
Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Doo;
All the time he sang this rhyme
Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Dink-a-Boomp
Skiddy-Mer-Rink-a-Doo
Means I Love You

Although the original musical held the stage for only few short months, the song caught the ear of the general public, and it rapidly became a favorite. Because the title of the song is nonsensical, it has lent itself to a wide variation of spellings throughout the past century years, including:

• Skinamarink
• Skinnamarink
• Skinnymarink
• Skiddamarink
• Scyminerink

People who grew up in the 1950s now treat the song as a blast from the past, as they fondly remember its popularity when sung by the legendary Jimmy Durante. "Skidamarink" was also featured on several children's programs in the 1980s, including the popular Canadian-based The Elephant Show (whose performers later went on to have their own show called "Skinnamarink TV"), and the Australian show Bananas in Pajamas.

This song is a popular choice for skating rinks, music boxes, and children's dance numbers; any parent of a 4-year-old tap or ballet enthusiast probably knows the tune and the lyrics by heart. That the song has endured for more than a century is a strong testament to the power of a simple nonsense song to capture attention through the years with virtually no lyric changes.

Copyright © 2011 Meredith Corporation.