Sing Your Synonyms
Written by Joe Raposo and Nancy Sans
sung by Maria (Sonia Manzano) and Luis (Emilio Delgado)
Gordon (Roscoe Orman), Susan (Loretta Long)
Telly Monster (Martin/Marty P. Robinson), Elmo (Kevin Clash)
and Bob (Bob McGrath)
to the tune of "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"
(The song starts with Maria and Luis in an art gallery, dressed as very rich people, looking at paintings. They stop in front of a very tiny picture.)
Luis: What a little painting! It's very tiny.
Maria: It's not tiny. It's itsy bitsy.
(They exchange a scornful glare and move on to a very large painting.)
Maria: Look at that enormous painting! It's humongous!
Luis: Well, *I* would say it's tremendous; I might even call it stupendous.
Maria: You would ...
(They move to another painting.)
Luis: Now that is a great painting. It's absolutely fantastic!
Maria: No it's not! It's terrific! (getting angry)
Luis: Fantastic!
Maria: Terrific!
Luis: Fantastic!
Maria: Terrific!
(The music starts, and various Sesame Street people who are 'in' paintings, begin to sing.)
Gordon: Can't you see that you both agree?
What's the reason for this spat?
Susan: You like to say things this way.
And you like to say things that.
Telly: What a shame; it all means the same.
There's no need to make a scene.
Elmo: There are lots of way to say the very same thing,
If you know what I mean.
Maria: You say little; I say itsy.
Luis: You say tiny; I say bitsy.
Little, tiny ...
Maria: .. Itsy, bitsy.
Together: Let's call the whole thing small!
Luis: You say enormous; I say tremendous.
Maria: I say humongous, you say stupendous.
Enormous, humongous ...
Luis: ... tremendous, stupendous.
Together: Let's call the whole thing big!
Bob (dressed as Atlas holding a globe): A ball can be a circle,
or a globe or other sphere.
They're all ways of saying what I'm holding here.
Maria: I say fantastic, you say terrific.
Luis: But when you say fantastic, to me sounds terrific.
Together: For we see how we agree now ...
Maria: .. Whatever we call it's OK.
Luis: Let's say we call it a day!
Transcribed by Megan Schoonover
Available on the CD-ROM
Letters
and on the 2-DVD Set
40 Years of Sunny Days
and on the DVD
Put Down the Duckie
For the original song, "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"
Shall We Dance (DVD)