You probably have that bouncy, repetitive melody stuck in your head right now. It starts with a simple declaration of fruit preference and then, without warning, descends into a vowel-swapping linguistic experiment that has haunted classrooms for decades. But recently, the i like apples and bananas meme has taken this innocent nursery rhyme and turned it into something much weirder, funnier, and occasionally more unsettling than its creators ever intended.
Memes are strange. One day you’re teaching a toddler how to pronounce long "A" sounds, and the next, you’re scrolling through a distorted TikTok edit where a digital avatar is screaming "Opple and Bonono" at 100 decibels. It’s a surreal evolution.
Where did the Apples and Bananas song actually come from?
Before we get into the "Opples and Bononos" of it all, we have to look at the source. This isn't just some random internet creation. It’s a pedagogical tool. Raffi, the legendary children’s entertainer, is often the person people associate most with the track. His 1985 album One Light, One Sun featured the definitive version that most Gen X and Millennial parents remember.
The song's structure is a classic "substitution" game. You sing the chorus normally, then repeat it while changing every vowel sound to a specific long vowel.
- "I like to ate, ate, ate, ay-pels and ba-nay-nays."
- "I like to eat, eat, eat, ee-pels and bee-nee-nees."
It’s actually a genius way to teach phonemic awareness. By isolating the vowel sounds, kids learn how the mouth moves to create different tones. Most teachers use it as a "brain break" or a transition song. It’s short. It’s catchy. It’s impossible to forget. Honestly, it’s the perfect foundation for a meme because everyone already knows the rules of the game.
The jump from the classroom to the internet
So, how did a song meant for three-year-olds become a staple of "Gen Alpha" and "Gen Z" humor? It started with the rise of "surreal" and "deep-fried" memes. In the late 2010s, internet humor shifted away from relatable image macros and toward the absurd.
The i like apples and bananas meme usually relies on the sheer repetitiveness of the lyrics. On platforms like Vine (RIP) and later TikTok, creators began using the song as a soundtrack for increasingly bizarre visuals. There’s a specific kind of humor found in taking something wholesome and making it "off."
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The Barney and Friends Factor
We can't talk about this meme without mentioning Barney. The big purple dinosaur covered this song in the 90s, and because Barney himself is already a bit of a meme icon—half beloved, half feared—the footage of him dancing to "I like to eat, eat, eat" became prime real estate for remixing.
Creators started slowing the audio down. They added reverb. They layered it over footage of existential crises. Why? Because the contrast between the happy, mindless lyrics and a dark or chaotic visual is comedy gold in the current landscape of internet irony. It’s that "uncanny valley" feeling. You know the song, but it feels wrong.
Why the "Opple and Bonono" variation took over
If you spend any time on YouTube Shorts or TikTok, you’ve seen the "O" version. It’s arguably the most popular part of the meme. There is something inherently funny about the "O" sound in English. It sounds dopier. It sounds heavy.
"I loke to ote, ote, ote, opples and bononos."
It’s fun to say. Seriously. Try saying it out loud right now. You feel ridiculous. That’s the point. The meme often features characters—ranging from SpongeBob to AI-generated politicians—singing this specific verse while their faces are stretched or distorted using filters. It’s low-effort, high-impact humor.
The role of AI voice covers
Lately, the i like apples and bananas meme has seen a massive resurgence thanks to AI voice cloning technology. You haven't truly experienced the internet until you've heard a perfectly mimicked voice of a gritty action movie star or a world leader singing about eating "ee-pels and bee-nee-nees."
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The juxtaposition is what sells it. We expect these figures to be serious. When they’re forced into the rhythmic vowel-shifting of a preschool song, it strips away their authority. It’s a digital equalizer.
The psychology of why we find it funny
Why does this work? Why does a 40-year-old song still generate millions of views?
- Nostalgia: Most people under the age of 50 grew up with this song. It’s a shared cultural touchstone.
- Predictability: You know what’s coming next. You know after the "A" verse comes the "E" verse. This allows creators to subvert expectations. Just when you think the song will continue normally, the bass drops or the video glitches.
- Simplicity: It requires zero context. You don’t need to know the lore of a video game or the history of a TV show to "get" the joke. It’s just fruit and vowels.
Honestly, it’s a bit like the "Baby Shark" phenomenon, but with more room for creative irony. While "Baby Shark" is mostly for kids, "Apples and Bananas" has been reclaimed by adults who want to poke fun at the simplicity of childhood.
Is there a "Dark Side" to the meme?
Not really, though some "creepypasta" versions exist. In the darker corners of YouTube, you’ll find "Apples and Bananas (Slowing Down/Distorted)" videos. These are part of a subgenre of horror that takes childhood memories and makes them sinister.
In these versions, the pitch is dropped so low it sounds like a demonic growl. The visuals might flicker or show static. It’s a common trope in internet horror—take something safe and make it feel dangerous. It’s the same energy as the "Liminal Spaces" or "Backrooms" trends. It taps into a primal discomfort. But for the most part, the i like apples and bananas meme remains firmly in the realm of "weird but harmless."
How to use the meme for your own content
If you’re a creator looking to jump on this, you don’t need a big budget. In fact, the worse it looks, the better it usually performs. That’s the "shitposting" aesthetic.
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- Use a "Face Stretch" filter: This is the bread and butter of the meme.
- Sync the cuts to the vowel changes: Every time the song switches from "A" to "E" to "I," change the visual.
- Go for the "O" and "U" sounds: These are the fan favorites. They offer the most distorted, funny-sounding pronunciations.
- Contrast is key: Put the song over something that doesn't fit, like a high-intensity workout video or a dramatic scene from a movie.
The lasting legacy of Apples and Bananas
It’s rare for a song to survive this long. Most viral trends die within a few weeks. But "Apples and Bananas" is different because it’s not just a trend; it’s a foundational memory for millions.
We see this often with "nursery rhyme core" humor. Songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" or "Finger Family" get the meme treatment too, but they lack the linguistic "hook" that makes "Apples and Bananas" so versatile. The vowel-shifting gimmick is essentially a built-in remix tool. It was a meme before memes even existed.
Real-world impact
Believe it or not, the meme has actually helped keep the original song relevant for a new generation of parents. When they see the meme, they search for the song to show their kids. It’s a weird, circular ecosystem where internet irony feeds back into genuine educational use.
Teachers have even started using "meme-ified" versions (the clean ones, anyway) to engage students. If a teacher starts singing "I loke to ote..." it’s going to get the class's attention way faster than a standard lecture on phonics.
Actionable Steps for Navigating the Meme Landscape
If you want to keep up with the i like apples and bananas meme or similar trends, here’s how to stay ahead of the curve without losing your mind:
- Check the "Sound" on TikTok: Click the spinning record icon on any "Apples and Bananas" video to see how others are using the audio. This is the fastest way to spot a new variation.
- Look for "Brain Rot" compilations: This is a modern term for high-energy, surreal meme edits. You’ll find the most creative (and chaotic) versions of the fruit song there.
- Don't overthink it: The beauty of this meme is its stupidity. If it makes you chuckle because it sounds "goofy," it’s working.
- Verify the source: If you're using this for a project, remember that while the song is traditional, specific recordings (like Raffi's or the Cocomelon version) are copyrighted. Stick to your own recordings or royalty-free versions if you're worried about demonetization.
The internet will eventually move on to a different fruit or a different rhyme, but for now, we’re all just living in a world of opples and bononos. It's a weird place, but it's definitely not boring. Enjoy the earworm. You'll be humming it for the next three days.