THE WHEELS ON THE BUS SONG

Today, the song is popular amongst children in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Italy, and Denmark. As one would expect, the song is often sung by school kids while on bus trips or while heading to school.

It’s an amusing song with parts that change and parts that stay the same (see lyrics below). The rhythm is repetitive, making it easy for people to both sing and remember. Another song that follows a similar format is “99 Bottles of Beer.” Though the song of course has a much different meaning.

The Contemporary Lyrics
Each stanza in the song begins with a different part of the bus, from the wheels to the windshield wipers to the driver, the people on the bus, and more. The meaning, obviously, is to highlight all the fun, noise-making elements of the vehicle.

Another fun aspect is for children (and parents or teachers) to act out the parts. The wipers go swish, swish, swish, and singers can move their extended arms, pointed up, back and forth like actual wipers. Or the horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep, and the singers can extend their arm as if honking a real horn on the steering wheel.

Then each stanza continues with how each of those elements on the bus moves or behaves, with each verse concluding with all through the town, before another stanza begins.