I Can Sing a Rainbow is also known as Sing a Rainbow. It became popular in the 1950s and is used to teach kids about different colors. The song doesn’t strictly follow the color scheme of a rainbow but is a good way to introduce the topic to little ones.
The rhyme is relatively new and written by Arthur Hamilton. It was a part of the feature film Pete Kelly's Blues. More versions were released over the years by different artists.
Read on to get the full lyrics of the nursery rhyme and more details about the different versions available.
Written Lyrics
Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too
Listen with your eyes
Listen with your ears
And sing everything you see
I can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing along with me
Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too
Printable Lyrics
Download the printable PDF with the I Can Sing a Rainbow lyrics. Click here.
Photo Lyrics
Save the below image on your device to get the lyrics.
Video Links
Check out this adorable video of the rhyme:
Origins and History
Arthur Hamilton, an American songwriter, wrote I Can Sing a Rainbow as a part of his contract with Jack Webb. Three of his songs were to be used in Pete Kelly's Blues, but only two were included in the final version. Sing a Rainbow and He Needs Me were both sung by Peggy Lee.
Though the song mentions a rainbow, it uses colors like pink and purple. These two colors are not visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, the colors are not listed in the same order as they appear in the rainbow. After all, the songwriter’s intention was to create a song for a feature film and not to teach rainbow colors to kids.
The next version of the song was released in 1964 by Andy Williams, an American singer. It was a part of his album The Wonderful World of Andy Williams. Cilla Black (Priscilla Maria Veronica White), an English pop singer, recorded the song for a studio album, Cilla Sings a Rainbow, in 1966. The song became so popular that Cilla Black performed it during her tours in the next few years.
Jackie Lee, an Irish singer, recorded another version of the song in 1968 for the album White Horses. Delta Goodrem, an Australian singer and songwriter, sang the song for the TV ad for Tourism Australia in 2004.
Captain Noah and His Magical Ark, a Philadelphia-based children's television program, used this rhyme as its theme song. The program used Andy Williams’ version. In 2008, Justin Fletcher, an English actor, sang this song in his album Justin Fletcher Sings Something Special. The album was based on a TV show with the same name.
FAQs
The rhyme mentions red, yellow, pink, green, blue, orange, and purple. The remaining lyrics are simple and easy for kids to memorize.
The rainbow has seven colors- violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
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