The Wheels on the Bus

"The Wheels on the Bus" is an American folk song written by Verna Hills (1898–1990)[1] and published in 1939.[2] It was originally published in a 1939 issue of American Childhood, and originally each verse ended with "over the city streets" rather than the lyrics "all through the town", who have become more common later.[3]

It is a popular children's song in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Italy and Denmark, and is often sung by children on bus trips to keep themselves amused. It has a repetitive rhythm, making the song easy for many people to sing, in a manner similar to the song "99 Bottles of Beer". It is based on the traditional British song "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush". The song is also sometimes sung to the tune of "Buffalo Gals", as in the version done by Raffi.

Normally followed by "The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish" (with action), "the horn on the bus goes beep beep beep" and "the people on the bus go up and down" (with action). Some versions substitute "bounce up and down" for "go up and down", and some modern commercial recordings of the song in children's toys simplify the tune by copying notes 7 through 9 onto notes 13 through 15.