The things we watch on TV when we’re kids can stay with us for our whole lives. I grew up in the 70’s and I’ll never forget the Saturday morning Schoolhouse Rock cartoons that taught about history, grammar and math. I recently learned that there’s a whole generation of kids who grew up in the 50’s who remember a series of cartoons, put out by the US government, promoting racial harmony and tolerance.
These cartoons were first brought to my attention when I was asked about a song called, “The Big Bow-wow and the Little Meow”. It turns out that this song came from one of these commercials. Here’s what Barry Leibowitz wrote to me about it:
“In the early 50’s, there were these animated TV commercials that must have been government sponsored, meant to promote “brotherhood” and tolerance in our changing post-WWII society. The song I’m thinking of sounded like a sea chantey and involved an old salt and his cat and dog and how they got along so well on the boat.”
Steve Welch sent the lyrics to the song in this commercial. It went like this:
Oh commodore Bob had a dog and a cat
With a big bow-wow and a little meow.
They both got along without ever a spat!
How in the world did they ever do that,
With a big bow-wow, and a little meow…
Meow…Bow-wow…meow…Bow-wow, Meow.
He also said, “Another cartoon promoting racial harmony went like this:”
You can get good milk from a brown-skin cow,
The color of its skin doesn’t matter no-how.
Ho ho hee, can’t you see:
The color of your skin doesn’t matter to me.
Ooh-ooh, wee awee wee.
Steve continued, “They are probably not politically correct these days, but they were cute and must have made an impression on me.”
Barry told about another of these commercials:
“I remember another animated spot from that time that was about ethnic diversity. Maybe you remember it, too:”
I have a little friend,
His name ends with a “ski”
And this is what my father said
As I sat on his knee:A ski, a witz, an off or cu
When added to a name,
Just teaches us the family
Or town from which it came.A name like Thomas Jefferson
In some lands o’er the sea
Would not be Thomas Jefferson,
But Thomas Jefferski.Or Jefferwitz, or Jefferoff or maybe Jeffercu,
So do not let a ski, a witz or off seem strange to you.I feel the same towards every name
No matter how it ends,
‘Cause people with the strangest names
Can be the best of friends!
Barry said, “The animation was fairly primitive but it was a little boy and a little girl with their lunch boxes and hers said Mary Jones on it, while his said Tommy Popski. In the end, I remember them walking away together holding hands (innocently, of course). Jog any memories? I’d LOVE to know if anyone but me remembers these Public Service Announcements and if copies of them exist in some government vault somewhere!”
If anyone knows if we can view these videos on the web, please let us know. You’re also welcome to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
-Lisa
This article was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 1:16 pm and is filed under American Kids Songs, Cartoons, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, Government Sponsored Commercials, Languages, Movies, TV & The Internet, Schoolhouse Rock, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I remember the spots. You have some of the lyrics wrong.
Verse one:
I have a little friend,
His name ends with a “ski”
AND YET MY LITTLE FRIEND LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU AND ME
I ASKED MY FATHER WHY A NAME LIKE THAT SHOUL BE
And this is what my father said
As I sat on his knee:
A ski, a witz, an off or cu
When added to a name,
Just TELLS us the family
Or town from which it came.
I feel the same towards every name
No matter how it ends,
‘FOR people with the strangest names
Can be the best of friends!
February 6th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
You don’t have the first verse right….yet. It went, ” I have a little friend, his name ends with a ‘ski’, and yet my little friend, looks just like you and me.
THAT NIGHT I asked my father how…….etc.”
I remember that one vividly. There was another called “Sit down and write a letter”. It was crudely animated and was about the American freedom to express ourselves. If you think something is unfair, you can “sit down and write a letter”.
Also, there was another verse from the one that goes “you can get white milk from a brown-skinned cow”. It went (in part), “the engineer said to the railroad track, don’t care if passengers are white or black. Oh ho ho, use your brain, you can learn common sense from a railroad train”.
There are others, but I was a little kid at the time and only remember snatches of them. I, too, would love to find a source for these public service commericals…they ran between regularly-scheduled TV shows back in the late 50’s to early 60’s. Can anybody else help?
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 am
another verse: The peach pit said to the apple core
The color of your skin doesn’t matter anymore
ha ha ha, haw, haw, haw,
the color of your skin doesn’t matter no more
April 19th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Yes, I remember the song about the “ski or witz or off or cu” very clearly. I have often thought about it over the years because it had a catchy tune and the lyrics were interesting. About 35 years ago (oh my God, can it be) I knew a woman who knew the words but, for some strange reason was reluctant to sing the song. She did it once but never again. I have wanted to know these lyrics for over 50 years and now, thanks to this web site, I have them. Thank you Mr. Ski or Witz or Off or Cu.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 am
Tom Glazer sang the song “a Ski or Witz or Off or Cu” back so long ago. I remember hearing it on the old Allen DuMont television station Channel 5, WABD, in New York City (that’s for Allen B. DuMont, an early electronics pioneer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_B._Du_Mont). Also I heard it during the old “Captain Video” programs (“Captain Video and his Video Rangers!”) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Video). Seems like yesterday.
August 31st, 2008 at 6:47 am
I think that before being used for a commercial, the song “You can get white milk from a brown skinned cow” came from a record put out as part of a UNICEF programme. I can remembr my parents buying it for us.
Also, does anyone remember the song from the same record about becoming a blood doner. I think it was called “Close you eyes and point your finger”. It went something like this:
(Chorus)”Close your eyes and point your finger; on the map just let it linger; anywhere you point your finger to; there’s someone with the same type blood as you. ”
(Verse) “You may be A or AB, you may be B or O; whatever type you may be; there is one thing you should know”
…in China or Peru….
December 13th, 2008 at 1:42 am
It is the theme song of a new movie by neurologist Howard Weiner, called What Is Life? The Movie. He sings it and the film will be released soon.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Close your eyes and point your finger was a song we sang in school when i was a child. I always thought it was to teach that p[eople were alike and promote non-bias. I am surprised that its so scarce on the web.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Ok, for what it’s worth, (and thanks to all who helped piece it together), are the pieced-together lyrics from “Brown-Skinned Cow” (corrections are welcome):
I have a little friend, his name ends with a “ski”
And yet my little friend, looks just like you and me.
That night I asked my father how a name like that could be,
And this is what my father said as I sat on his knee:
A ski, a witz, an off or cu, when added to a name,
Just tells us of the family, or town from which it came.
A name like Thomas Jefferson, in some lands ‘oer the sea,
Would not be Thomas Jefferson, but Thomas Jeffer-ski
Or Jeff-off, or Jeffer-wiscz or even Jeffer-cu
So please don’t let a ‘wiscz’ or ‘off’ or ‘cu’ seem strange to you.
I feel the same towards any name, no matter how it ends
For people with the strangest names can be the best of friends.
June 14th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Great to find this thread…I’ve been singing parts of that jingle for years. Does anyone remember one from the same time period that began: “What makes a good American, what do you have to be/ Am I a good American, let’s take a look and see…Oo, oo, oo, I don’t care where you’re from, I go by who you are…
I stand up for my rights…but do I stand up for yours!
October 17th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Would anyone know if any of these old PSAs have made it to Youtube?
December 14th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
My mom used to sing the brown cow song to all her kids while we were growing up..I remember the words vividly..it went like this:
“You can get good milk from a brown skin cow,
the color of your skin doesn’t matter no-how
oh oh oh, can’t you see? the color of your skin
doesn’t matter to me!
Said the choo choo train to the railroad track, I don’t
care if you’re white ot black. Oh oh oh can’t you see?
The color of your skin doesn’t matter to me!
December 15th, 2009 at 12:16 am
All the songs mentioned, except for the one about the names, are part of a group of 11 songs called Little Songs on Big Subjects. You can read all about them here:
http://stevecotler.com/tales/2009/03/08/little-songs-on-big-subjects/
http://stevecotler.com/tales/2009/11/18/ol-commodore-gray/
The cartoon of “Ol’ Commodore Gray” (not Bob) is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYSP7f4x2ig
January 10th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
..might not be Thomas Jefferson,
but Thomas Jefferski
or off or wicz or maybe Jeffercu
can’t remember the visuals,
when it was sung as
‘commercial’ during Captain Video
March 31st, 2010 at 11:16 am
I found this thread on a whim. I’ve gone over the ‘friends’ jingle many times in my mind over the years. So many times that when I saw these accounts, the absence or difference of a single word jumped out at me. Here’s how I remember it.
I have a little friend,
Whose name ends with a “ski”
And yet my little friend looks just like you and me.
Last night I asked my father why a name like that should be
And this is what my father said as I sat on his knee:
A ski, a wicz, an off or que
When added to a name,
Just teaches us the family
Or place from which it came.
A name like Thomas Jefferson
In some land o’er the sea
Would not be Thomas Jefferson,
But Thomas Jefferski.
Or Jefferwicz, or Jefferoff or even Jefferque,
So do not let a ski, a wicz or off seem strange to you.
I feel the same towards any name
No matter how it ends,
For people with the strangest names
Can be the best of friends.
Cheers, Lisa . . .
May 10th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Nancilee wrote:
You can get good milk from a brown skin cow
Also
If each little kid could have fresh milk each day
If each working man had a good place to stay
If each homeless soul had a good place to stay
It would be a wonderful world
Also
Columbus said si si senor
and Lafayette said oui
But when Uncle Sam said will you help,
They both said yes sir reee
also
Close your eyes and point your fingers
On the map just let it linger
Anyplace you point your fingers too
There’s someone with the same type blood as you
Nancilee Wydra
June 18th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Hi everyone,
I am seventy years old and these songs were very much a part of my childhood. I would like to include the “name song” in one of my books. Does anyone know how I would go about trying to get permission?
Bunny
December 26th, 2010 at 12:31 am
I remember these from my early childhood – I actually was on Junior Frolics once, with Uncle Fred. Anyway, the lyrics I remember:
George Washington Liked good roast beef, but Hamilton liked fish – but when Uncle Sam served liberty, they both enjoyed the dish –
OOOOh I may not know a lot of things but one thing I can state
Both native born and foreign born
have made our country great!
And they have! Always true. Seek the truth. Liberty and small government – from a social Libertarian and fiscal conservative –
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Does anyone remember a tolerance with the song “one Sidney S Snickletrass Jr was told that a magicla lamp of Alladins of old, etc”
February 13th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I’m happy to see others talking about these PSAs. I tried for years to find out more about them. The only one I found who remembered them from childhood was someone who grew up in New York. (I’m from Oregon.) They were also on an album called “Little Songs on Subjects” — lyrics by Hy Zaret, music by Lou Singer, copyright 1947.
They came out as a record album and also were distributed to 900 stations as a group of musical good-will jingles recorded as spot announcements, with drawings by Soglow. Ted Cott, a vice-president of WNEW radio station in New York, estimates that the songs have been broadcast almost half a million times to date.
There is a guy called the Kiddie Rekord King, who sells copies of old children’s music and this album is on his list.
I also remembered a couple more in that group from Saturday morning TV —
2) George Washington chose good roast beef and Solomon liked fish,
but when Uncle Sam served liberty, they both enjoyed the dish.
Oh, I may not know a lot of things, but one thing I can state–
Both native-born and foreign-born have made our country great.
3) What Makes a Good American? What do you have to be?
Am I a good American? Let’s look again and see…
Oo — oo — ooh, I stand up for my rights.
Oo — oo — ooh, but do I stand up for yours?
Oo — oo — ooh, I don’t care where you’re from.
Oo — oo — ooh, I go by what you are.
What makes a good American? What do you have to do?
Am I a good American? and by the way, are you?
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Sue, many thanks for the clarifications. I’m 61 and last heard these when I was about nine and still living in Wichita.
In the first line of #2 above, I heard “George Washington *liked* good roast beef…” [instead of “chose”]. Really eye-opening was the next part about “and *Solomon* liked fish…” [I always thought it was “Fine Sullivan liked fish”] even though I could never figure out who ‘Fine Sullivan’ was! :-)
In “Good American” there was a second part of four more “Oo -oos” that included, as the last of the four:
Oo — oo — ooh, do I practice what I preach?
Do you recall the other three lines before it?
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Lisa, the part you listed…
“Columbus said si si senor
and Lafayette said oui
But when Uncle Sam said will you help,
They both said yes sir-reee”
…was actually part of “What Makes a Good American” which Sue cited and that I later commented on. Except I’d completely forgotten about it until I read what you wrote!
Larry Nilsson, I just now read your memory of “What Makes a Good…” and saw “Hamilton” in place of “Solomon” as Sue noted. Well, now I’m confused… though, since the song’s about America, the name Hamilton makes more sense.
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:27 pm
From a second read of Larry, I just remembered:
“Tom Paine was born an Englishman, and John Paul Jones a Scot.
Andy Jackson was a native son, but Hamilton was not.
OOOOh I may not know a lot of things….”
March 24th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
This noon I was talking about these songs at lunch with some members of a local human relations commission. I would like to find them and possibly use them for our programs. I remember most of those mentioned in the thread, but one not menetioned went something like:
“Said the choo choo train to the railroad track
don’t care if passengers are white or black
ho ho ho, you and me
riding now in liberty”
That’s not exacly right, but close.
April 4th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
I was vacuuming the floor, and suddenly, part of the lyrics from “the color of your skin” and “Thomas JEfferski–off-cu” came pounding through my head. I repeatedly saw them on TV when I was a kid. So I went a-Googling. The visual and the musical accompaniment always creeped me out. Fortunately, I was brought up in a household whose beliefs echoed the sentiment. Right now, I think I’ll look for a video. Dated or not, the two cartoons, especially the first, were undoubtedly a brave thing to do. I can imagine the hate mail.
April 4th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
Speaking of Junior Frolics and Uncle Fred (and all the mice and Farmer Gray), where can I find titles and recordings of what they used to play. There were two I did find: “Sellinger’s Round (The Way of the World)” and “The Recalcitrant Imp,” completely by accident. Anyone else?
May 28th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
you can get white milk from a brown skinned cow
the color of its skin doesn’t matter anyhow
ho ho ho, use your brain
you can get common sense from a railroad train….
(there was a cartoon of 2 trapeze aritists, one white, one black. One wouldn’t allow the other to catch him in mid-air)
Ohhh no, Joe! You Schmoe!
January 11th, 2012 at 7:23 am
Sarah, I remember the song you referred to: ”Close your eyes and point your finger; on the map just let it linger; anywhere you point your finger to; there’s someone with the same type blood as you. ”
When I was a kid, my neighbor who was a couple years older than me sang that song in our school glee club, and she also sang it when we played together, so it has stuck in my mind all these years. Judging by where I lived at the time, it was sometime between the Autumn of 1969 and the Autumn of 1972. I don’t know anything else about the song, though.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:55 pm
It was Heinz Solomon who liked fish. Hamilton came in the second verse. We know the chorus. I don’t know how many verses there were but here are the two I remember:
1. George Washington liked good roast beef.
Heinz Solomon liked fish.
But when Uncle Sam served liberty
They both enjoyed the dish.
2. Tom Paine was born an Englishman
and John Paul Jones a Scot.
Andy Jackson was a native son
but Hamilton was not.
January 22nd, 2012 at 6:29 pm
A friend tells me it was Haym Solomon. Spellings vary all over the place–Salomon, Soloman, Hayim–but certainly not Heinzz. Very sorry!
ºhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haym_Solomon
May 8th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Does anyone know where to get the cartoons produced by the ADL of “Columbus Said Si Si Signor” and “Brown Skinned Cow?”
If this were a Stephen King novel instead of real life, it would turn out that every kid who appeared on Junior Frolics with Uncle Fred is today a libertarian and fiscal conservative. I always felt there was something funny about Uncle Fred. Or maybe it was Farmer Gray. Or those mice.
November 5th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
It was definitely Haym Solomon, a revolutionary war patriot. If there are more verses than the two submitted, I would sure like to see them. That song has been stuck in my head for nearly fifty years.
November 9th, 2012 at 9:14 am
I remember a verse as
Washington was native born but Hamilton was not.
Oh I may not know a lot of things but one thing I can state.
Both native born and foreign born have made our country great.
November 10th, 2012 at 12:05 am
In addition to these wonderful songs, around the same time the TV was flooded with patriotic ads with Uncle Sam as the protagonist (because of the Korean War). These are not easily remembered because they did not have catchy jingles and rhymes. I only remember them because I (at age 5) was sure they were talking about MY uncle Sam, my father’s younger brother and business partner. It took my family a while to figure out why I began to regard my uncle as so important and illustrious.
May 14th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
I am very, very, pleased to find folks who have such fond memories of these songs. And I am proud to say that high quality digital versions of the songs from “Little Songs on Big Subjects” and “Little Songs About UN” are now legally available through Amazon and iTunes. Please see
http://www.argosymusiccorp.com/WonderfulWorld/Wonderful2.html
If you wander around the site, you’ll find information about their history, and about related songs. You’ll also see a link to our Facebook page.
June 29th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
What makes a good American
What do you have to be?
Am I a good American?
Let’s look again and see.
Head erect and shoulders square
A —- minded fellow
Just and square
That all men picture
When they see
The glorious banner of the free!
Is that a fragment or a figment???
July 17th, 2013 at 7:27 pm
There was another PSA that came out at the same time had the lines:
There once was a man who would play alone
On his violin and saxophone
But his music was a poor excuse
Of corn mixed up with lemon juice.
(missing some lines here)
If you want good harmony
Takes more than one, takes two or three.
They then showed pictures of
Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa and Teddy Wilson playing together to make “good music”.
October 6th, 2013 at 8:31 pm
“Don’t be a schmo, Joe.
Be in the know, Joe.
Religion and race just don’t count in this place!
So don’t be a schmo, Joe.
Be in the know, Joe.
Remember that and you won’t fall on your face!”
This PSA jingle, together with the others cited above, were played on local NYC TV stations in 1953 and maybe 1954. I, and my brothers and sister still remember all the lyrics from 60 years ago as if it were yesterday.
December 13th, 2013 at 8:11 pm
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who remembers these PSA jingles from the early 50’s! They were usually aired when morning broadcasting resumed just before “The Modern Farmer” and “The Big Picture”. And yes, I am a Junior Frolics “veteran”, too!
April 10th, 2014 at 1:39 pm
Walt Rapaport:
The first verse is from “What Makes a Good American” (originally part of Little Songs on Big Subjects, and now part of It Could be a Wonderful World). I don’t recognize the second verse.
July 30th, 2014 at 4:22 pm
I remember them. I can even still sing a couple of them. I’ve been looking to see if I can find some video on them, but so far, no luck.
September 10th, 2014 at 3:41 am
The Thomas Jefferski song is on You Tube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-km1Qw-K6gU
Our public elementary school class heard this song probably in the early 1950s.
December 25th, 2014 at 11:52 am
Just happened onto this page because the name Jeffercu had been running through my my head.
September 27th, 2015 at 1:41 am
Yes remember it very well also, Joe Schmo. The cartoon showed him on a trapeze, and each time he tried to grab on to someone it said “wrong race” or “wrong religion,” and then Joe fell down to the ground. Ran from about 1948 until the early 1950s this little cartoon. We had a “DuMont” TV with a 7′ screen, covered by a heavy round magnifying glass. It was a thrill for us just to watch a test pattern.
December 4th, 2015 at 4:08 pm
I am very pleased and proud to announce that “It Could Be a Wonderful World” is available on CD. For more information, please see
http://www.argosymusiccorp.com/WonderfulWorld/Wonderful.html
Fans like you have helped keep these songs alive for 70 years. Thank you.
December 24th, 2015 at 1:30 am
I came here looking for lyrics of a TV commercial I used to see, and I wasn’t disappointed! Thanks, Larry Nilsson, for jogging my memory! Thus must have been about 1955.
**slightly different the lyrics I remember:
George Washington Liked good roast beef, **Haym Solomon ** liked fish – but when Uncle Sam served liberty, they both enjoyed the dish –
OOOOh I may not know a lot of things but one thing I can state
Both native born and foreign born
have made our country great!
March 17th, 2016 at 12:21 am
Remember the brown skinned cow cartoons VERY well, and had forgotten the Commodore Bob one. I think he was depicted on a stylized boat.
June 19th, 2016 at 2:49 am
I’m thrilled to find these songs which I remember from my childhood in Kansas. (We got our first TV in 1955. (The shop where dad bought it gave him a piece of clear plastic that was tinted blue on the top, and green on the bottom with middle a very faint pink. This was stuck on the screen, and bingo! You had a colour TV!! These songs and the animations were all part of that experience and have stayed with me for 60 years.)
I’ve spent many years abroad living in Australia and New Zealand, and recently been asked to do a presentation on how the US elects it’s presidents. I’ve come to a place where these 1950’s songs would be just the ticket! Thanks so much!
July 19th, 2016 at 12:31 am
I may not know a lot of things…We had a book by Howard Fast about him: It was Hyam Solomon. I didn’t know it when I was a kid, and heard it. I thought Heinz Solomon was correct. I went to the Argosy website and listened to a sample. I read the book around 1960…So now the name was clear as a bell.
BTW, does anyone remember one with a piece of verse that went:
Play ball with all your neighbors
Pitch in a little more
Americans have the ???
To have the winning score.
July 19th, 2016 at 1:34 pm
I found the following lyrics from this web site. (The line “Play ball with all your neighbors” is in the last verse.)
Though every player is top flight / Our team just falls to pieces / With every game they have to play / The number of flubs increases.
To figure why they fall apart / You needn’t be too clever / With no teamwork the team’s big star / Will die on third forever.
The shortstop simply cannot play / With the jerk who’s second sacker / The pitcher can pitch to anyone / But certainly not to his catcher.
So who would want these diamond gems? ‘/ They’re diamonds in the rough / A baseball team needs nine good men / One guy just ain’t enough.
A nation’s like a baseball team / It’s run by teamwork too. / And every race and every creed / Works with Y-O-U.
Play ball with all your neighbors / Pitch in a little more / Americans, join your teammates all / Roll up a winning score.