99 Bottles of Beer
"99 Bottles of Beer" is an anonymous folk song dating to the mid-20th century. It is a traditional reverse counting song in both the United States and Canada. It is popular to sing on long trips, as it has a very repetitive format which is easy to memorize and can take a long time to sing. In particular, the song is often sung by children on long bus trips, such as class field trips, or on Scout and/or Girl Guide outings.
The song's lyrics are as follows:
99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer.
Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall...
Alternate line:
If one of those bottles should happen to fall, 98 bottles of beer on the wall...
The same verse is repeated, each time with one bottle fewer, until there are none left. Variations on the last verse following the last bottle going down include lines such as:
No more bottles of beer on the wall, no more bottles of beer.
Go to the store and buy some more, 99 bottles of beer on the wall...
Or:
No more bottles of beer on the wall, no more bottles of beer.
We've taken them down and passed them around; now we're drunk and passed out!
Another alternate line reads:
If that one bottle should happen to fall, what a waste of alcohol!
The boring and time-consuming nature of the "99 Bottles of Beer" song means that probably only a small minority of renditions are done to the final verse. The American comedian Andy Kaufman exploited this fact in the routine early in his career when he would actually sing all 100 verses. As was common in many of his sketches, Kaufman was deliberately provoking his audience in this routine once they realized that he actually intended to sing all of the verses. Catcalls, booing, and sullen silence were common responses. Toward the end of the sketch, Kaufman would feign recognition that the audience was not enjoying the material, and he would leave the stage with only 5 or 6 "bottles" to go. At that time, the audience would begin calling for him to return to finish the verses.
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