Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla

"Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla" is a song in Schoolhouse Rock!, which can be seen in Grammar Rock. The song teaches viewers about pronouns.

Lyrics[]

Now, I have a friend named Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla,
And I could say that Rufus found a kangaroo
That followed Rufus home
And now that kangaroo belongs
To Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla.

Whew! I could say that, but I don't have to,
'Cause I got pronouns, I can say,
"HE found a kangaroo that followed HIM home and now IT is HIS."

You see, (uh) "HE", "HIM", and "HIS" are pronouns,
Replacing the noun "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla",
A very proper noun.
And "IT" is a pronoun,
Replacing the noun "kangaroo"! (How common!)

Now Rufus has a sister named Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla.
If she found a kangaroo I'd say to you:
"SHE found a kangaroo that followed
HER home, and now it is HERS."
But I can't say that...
'Cause she found an aardvark
That fell in love with HER and THEY'RE so happy.

And my name's Albert Andreas Armadillo.
(No relation to the Sarsaparillas.)
Because of pronouns, I can say:
"I wish SHE would find a rhinoceros
For ME, and WE'D be happy."
You see, a pronoun was made
To take the place of a noun,
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down!

Now I could tell you Rafaella Gabriela
and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
and Albert Andreas Armadillo
Found an aardvark, a kangaroo,
And a rhinoceros.
And now that aardvark
And that kangaroo and that rhinoceros
Belong respectively to
Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla
And Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
And Albert Andreas Armadillo!

Whew! Because of pronouns I can say, in this way:
"WE found THEM and THEY found US,
And now THEY are OURS and WE'RE so happy." Thank you, pronouns!

You see, a pronoun was made
To take the place of a noun,
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down.

Sometimes, when we take 'em all on the bus,
People really raise a fuss.
They start shouting out a lot o' pronouns at us,
Like "WHO brought that rhinoceros on this bus?"
And "WHAT made that horrible noise?"
And "WHICH one of them is getting off first?"

WHO, WHAT, and WHICH are special pronouns that can ask a question
In a sentence where you do not know the name of the noun,
But I know:
I have MINE, and SHE has HERS, and HE has HIS.
Do YOU have YOURS?
THEY love US, and WE love THEM,
What's OURS is THEIRS--
That's how it is with friends.
And pronouns, you are really friends, yeah!

'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down!

Trivia[]

Voted #15 of the top 25 favorite Schoolhouse Rock! songs.
This song is the only installment of Grammar Rock to be animated by Kim and Gifford Productions as opposed to Phil Kimmelman and Associates.

Goofs[]

When Albert moves and scrambles his arms while singing "Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla and Albert Andreas Armadillo!", the animation for him moving his arms is limited animation.

v - e - d

Media
Schoolhouse Rock! • Schoolhouse Rock Live! • Schoolhouse Rock! 50th Anniversary Singalong

Songs

Schoolhouse Rocky
Multiplication: My Hero, Zero • Elementary, My Dear • Three is a Magic Number • The Four-Legged Zoo • Ready or Not, Here I Come • I Got Six • Lucky Seven Sampson • Figure Eight • Naughty Number Nine • The Good Eleven • Little Twelvetoes
Grammar: Unpack Your Adjectives • Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here • Conjunction Junction • Interjections! • Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla • Verb: That's What's Happening • A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing • Busy Prepositions • The Tale of Mr. Morton
America: No More Kings • Fireworks • The Shot Heard 'Round the World • The Preamble • Elbow Room • The Great American Melting Pot • Mother Necessity • Sufferin' Till Suffrage • I'm Just a Bill • Three Ring Government • I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College • Presidential Minute
Science: The Body Machine • Do the Circulation • Electricity, Electricity • The Energy Blues • Interplanet Janet • Telegraph Line • Them Not-So-Dry Bones • A Victim of Gravity • The Weather Show
Money: Dollars and Sense • $7.50 Once a Week • Where the Money Goes • Tax Man Max • Walkin' on Wall Street • This for That • Tyrannosaurus Debt • The Check's in the Mail
Earth: Report from the North Pole • The Little Things We Do • The Trash Can Band • You Oughta Be Saving Water • The Rainforest • Save the Ocean • Fat Cat Blue: The Clean Rivers Song • A Tiny Urban Zoo • Solar Power to the People • Windy and the Windmills • Don't Be a Carbon Sasquatch • The Three R's

Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips
Theme • Hardware • Software • Number Cruncher

Characters
Schoolhouse Rocky • Lucky Seven Sampson • Bill • Interplanet Janet