I'm a Little Teapot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids "I'm a Little Teapot"
sheet music cover
Song by George Harry Sanders and Clarence Kelley
Released	1939
Genre	Children's music
Label	Kelman Music Corporation
Songwriter(s)	George Harry Sanders and Clarence Kelley

I'm a Little Teapot is a well-known American song. It describes how a teapot or a whistling tea kettle heats up and pours tea. George Harold Sanders and Clarence Z. Kelley wrote the song. It was first published in 1939. By 1941, a magazine called Newsweek said it was a popular new song sweeping the country.

How the Song Was Made

Clarence Kelley and his wife ran a dance school for kids. They taught a dance called the "Waltz Clog." This was a popular and easy tap dance routine. But it was still too hard for their youngest students.

To help with this, George Sanders wrote The Teapot Song. This song needed very few dance skills. Instead, it encouraged kids to use natural pantomime, which means acting things out with gestures. Both the song and its dance, called the "Teapot Tip," became very popular. They were loved in America and in other countries too.

Art Kassel and His Kassels in the Air orchestra recorded "I'm a Little Teapot." Marion Holmes was the singer who made the song famous. It was released on Bluebird Records. Marion Holmes later married a famous actor named Don DeFore. You can listen to the song and view the Bluebird Record label.

The Teapot Dance

The song often comes with fun actions. You can extend one arm in a curve to look like the teapot's spout. Place your other arm on your hip like the handle. Then, bend sideways to pretend you are pouring tea!

Song Lyrics

Here are the original words to the song:

I'm a little teapot,
Short and stout,
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
Tip me over and pour me out!

I'm a very special teapot,
Yes, it's true,
Here's an example of what I can do,
I can turn my handle into a spout,
Tip me over and pour me out!