"Elementary, My Dear" is song in Schoolhouse Rock!, which can be seen in Multiplication Rock. The song teaches us how to multiply by two.
Lyrics[]
40 days and 40 nights,
Didn't it rain, children.
Not a speck of land in sight,
Didn't it, didn't it rain.
But Noah built the ark so tight
They sailed on, children.
And when at last the waters receded
And the dove brought back the olive tree leaf,
He landed that ship near Mount Ararat
And one of his children grabbed Noah's robe and said,
"Hey Dad, how many animals on this old ark, anyway, huh?"
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 2 is 4.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 3 is 6.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 4 is 8.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 5 is 10.
2 x 1 is 2, of course.
And it must occur to you,
You get an even number
Every time you multiply by 2.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 6 is 12.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 7 is 14.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 8 is 16.
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 9 is 18.
2 x 10 is 20,
11 twice is 22.
Double 12 that's 24,
13 twice is 26,
14 twice is 28,
15 twice is 30,
Now you build it up on 30.
16 twice is 32, elementary.
17 twice is 34, elementary.
18 twice is 36, elementary.
19 twice is 38, elementary.
20 twice is 40, and it must occur to you,
You can double any number,
All you do is multiply by 2...
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 2 is 4. (Woo!)
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 3 is 6. (Yeah!)
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 4 is 8. (Woop!)
Elementary, my dear, 2 x 5 is 10. (Yeah!)
Now, if you want to multiply 2 x 174,
Or some big number like that,
2 x 174 = 2 x 100 + 2 x 70 + 2 x 4
That's all.
So 2 x 174 = 200 + 140 + 8 ... or 348.
It's elementary!
Elementary... elementary...
Twice 32 is 64, elementary...
Twice 33 is 66, elementary...
Twice 34 is 68, elementary...
Twice 35 is 70, elementary...
Yeah, yes, it's elementary, yeah.
Now, what's 2 x 98?
Aww! That's hard!
No, it's very simple.
2 x 98 = 2 x 100 - 2 x 2.
That's 200 - 4 ... 196.
Elementary.
40 days and 40 nights
Didn't it rain, children?
Trivia[]
- The original draft of this song contained no references to Noah and the ark. The opening verse about Noah was added to help Tom Yohe visualize this song.
- Just about each number x 2 was represented by an animal:
- 2 x 2 = 4: a pair of aardvarks and a pair of alligators
- 2 x 3 = 6: the animals above + a pair of bears
- 2 x 4 = 8: the animals above + a pair of dromedary camels
- 2 x 5 = 10: the animals above + a pair of snakes
- 2 x 1 = 2: Noah solving the equation with his fingers with his son (though a pair of cats and their pair of kittens were shown after)
- 2 x 6 = 12: a pair of monkeys swinging on ropes while passing a card with the numbers 6 and 12 on it
- 2 x 7 = 14: a pair of frogs hopping and saying the numbers 7 and 14
- 2 x 8 = 16: a pair of porcupines (1 of them has a card with the numbers 8 and 16 on its back quills)
- 2 x 9 = 18: a pair of elephants (1 of them is wearing a blanket with the numbers 9 and 18 on it)
- 2 x 10 = 20: Noah and his son showing 20 fingers
- 2 x 11 = 22: a pair of seals bouncing a ball with the numbers 11 and 22
- 2 x 12 = 24: a pair of gnus holding a sheet of "gnus" paper with the numbers 12 and 24 on it
- 2 x 13 = 26: a pair of giraffes holding a swing that 1 of Noah's sons (who is holding a card with the numbers 13 and 26 on it) is on
- 2 x 14 = 28: a pair of hippos with the numbers 14 and 28 in their mouths
- 2 x 15 = 30: a kangaroo and her joey with a card that has the number 30 on it
- 2 x 16 = 32: a pair of lions riding karts with the numbers 16 and 32 on them
- 2 x 17 = 34: a pair of pandas (1 was wearing a cap that had a card on it with the numbers 17 and 34 on it and pulling a rickshaw while the other rode in it)
- 2 x 18 = 36: a pair of moose holding a string holding a card with the numbers 18 and 36 on it
- 2 x 19 = 38: a pair of ostriches (1 had a balloon in its beak with the number 19 on it that the other popped to form the number 38)
- 2 x 20 = 40: a pair of skunks (1 had a clothespin on its nose while following the other)
- 2 x 174 = 348: a pair of mice that helped Noah's son and daughter solve the equation
- 2 x 32 = 64: a pair of turtles with the numbers 3 and 2 and 6 and 4 on their shells on a skateboard
- 2 x 33 = 66: a pair of tigers forming the numbers 33 and 66 with their tails
- 2 x 34 = 68: a pair of octopuses holding a red-and-white blanket with the numbers 34 and 68 on it
- 2 x 35 = 70: a pair of ants holding a yellow board with the numbers 35 and 70 carved in it
- This song has the most multiplication equations in it: from 2 x 1-20 to 2 x 31-5; even multiplying numbers as big as 174 and 98.
- Voted #17 of the top 25 favorite Schoolhouse Rock! songs.
- The song's title is a reference to the phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson;" a phrase often misattributed to the character Sherlock Holmes.
