Did you know that the roll with a hole has been immortalized in several songs? It’s true – some people love bagels so much they’ve actually gone to the trouble of creating lyrics and scoring for bageltastic music.
First up is “Bagel, Bagel” by John Lisiecki:
Bagel bagel, bagel bagel, I eat as many as I can finagle; Bring a pile right to the table,
With some butter or best with cream cheese, Sliced and halved and toasted, yes please; On a plate or on a napkin…
Cinnamon, Poppy seed, Blueberry or sesame, Sourdough, Pumpernickel, Whole wheat, everything!
Bagel bagel, bagel bagel, Unhappy when I’m unable, To eat a pile right off the table,
Round and chewy on the outside, Soft and bready on the inside, Toaster better be a double-wide!
Bagel bagel, bagel bagel… Bagel bagel, bagel bagel!
The hilarious family from The Earthling’s Handbook created a whole series of bagel verses to the tune of the Dreidel Song – here are just a few:
Bagel! Bagel! Bagel! I made it out of dough.
I rolled it down the sidewalk. Where did my bagel go?
Bagel! Bagel! Bagel! I made it out of dough.
I boiled it and baked it, And sliced it like a pro.
Bagel! Bagel! Bagel! I made it out of dough.
I kneaded it and rolled it, And tied it in a bow.
[Child yells: “No, Mama! Then it would be a pretzel!”]
The Ellis Brothers Band (accompanied by Muscle Russell) jammed out about bagels in a garage in 2000. The video is here, and the lyrics start off:
Well I woke up this morning‘ all hung-over
Thought I was by myself, then I saw her
Asked me what happened last night, I don’t remember
I say now, bagels are for me, pile ‘em high with cream cheese
Bagels, are for FREE!
Well, I’m goin’ hungry, I need a bite to eat
Gotta have some bagels, they taste so sweet
She walked into my kitchen, I had my butter knife
She started whining’ about my life
And I told her, bagels are for me, pile ‘em high with cream cheese
Bagels are for me, bagels make me free!
The song eventually becomes NSFW, so you’ll have to watch the rest yourself.
You have to check out this video, too: “Cream Cheese, Butter, Jelly” features Noah Souder-Russo smearing cream cheese on a bagel and rapping about it! The song lyrics include shout outs for several New York bagel shops. The band is quite bagel-centric – NSH smears a shmear on his bagel; another guy in the band chows down on his own bagel; a third dude wears his bagel like bling around his neck, and a fourth hefts a toaster oven like a boom box!
Finally, musical artist Max Mellman created a Judaic bagel song for his campers. The song is cute, and aimed at children of all ages. You can hear it here: The Bagel Song.
Do you remember bagels being mentioned in any songs from your own childhood? Let us know in the comments!