Wednesday, April 26, 2023

in the USA, "Pop Goes the Weasel" announced the ice cream van's entry into your neighborhood... in Sri Lanka, Beethoven's Bagatelle No. 25 In A Minor (Für Elise) announced the Tuk Tuk bakery van. Both are only memories now






every morning in Sri Lanka, Beethoven’s classic was heard floating over paddy fields in the countryside, or competing with the sound of the traffic in the cities. 

The music from three-wheeled tuk-tuks, "choon paan" Sri Lanka’s musical, mobile bakeries, fitted with glass cabinets and a rooftop speaker system.

The higher cost of imported flour, inflation, and the government quota of four liters of fuel per week has killed the small business operator of the mobile bakery. 


Music and popular songs come and go, but one sound has been consistent since 1929 – the music and sound of the ice cream truck.

In 1960, Mister Softee, the largest mobile cream franchisor with over 600 trucks, introduced the Mister Softee Theme

Top Ten Ice Cream Truck Themes

10. Turkey in the Straw – Originally based on an Irish folk song called The Old Rose Tree, it was adapted into minstrel music shows in the 1820s, even though the 1910’s. 

9. Camptown Races (1850) and Oh! Suzanna (1848) were written by America’s first professional songwriter, Stephen Foster. 

8. Dixie (1861) Dixie was about Antebellum (the wealthy southern lifestyle) prior to the civil war

7. Jimmy Crack Corn (1840s) was a song about a slave’s lament after his master’s death. 

6. La Cucaracha (1800s Mexican folk song) probably the most popular song about a cockroach who cannot walk

5. Pop Goes The Weasel (1852) began as a social dance in England. The ambiguous phrase has been used in many pop culture mediums – books, film and television. In the 1930s, it became the tune for Jack-in-the-Box windup toys. 

4. I’m a Little Teapot (1939) Probably the last Nursery Rhyme to be a radio hit.

3. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – the lyrics were written by Jane Taylor in 1806 (England), and the melody came from Ah! vous dirai-je, maman, (1761, France).

2. It’s a Small World, written by brothers Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman in 1962, and inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is probably the only popular ice cream truck music that needs a royalty payment. Why? Because it may be the second most well-known song in the Western World, behind Happy Birthday. 

1. The Entertainer (1902) written by Scott Joplin, is one of the most famous instrumentals of the recorded sound era. It was the biggest ragtime hit, and brings the perfect ‘nostalgia’ feeling for both children and adults when it comes to ice cream.

1 comment:

  1. Can't believe I'm not seeing "Greensleeves" here. Mr. Whippy in Australia.

    ReplyDelete