The People Have Spoken and They Don’t Want This Updated Alphabet Song Remix

Calling it a musical masterpiece is an understatement. The alphabet song — or the ABCs — is one of the fundamental building blocks of early childhood, a precursor to verbal abilities laid over a universally accessible tune that has become one of our most iconic songs.

So it should come as no surprise that an attempt to reimagine the alphabet song with a switch-up in the second half — altering the melody around the “L, M, N, O, P” — is not faring well with those who have come across the unfortunate change on Twitter and social media.

The remix comes to us from a company called Dream English Kids; a YouTube video featuring the adjusted tune has been up on that platform for over eight years, with nearly 10 million views. But thanks to a now-viral tweet calling out the adjusted recitation tempo, there’s new attention being paid to the version.

So how exactly is it different, you ask? Instead of running through the “L, M, N, O, P” speedily, this remix suggests continuing after “K” with the same spoken tempo, and then drawing breath before restarting the chanting of the letters at “O.” That means that now “O, P, Q, R, S, T” and “U” go together, “V” sort of stands alone, and “W, X, Y” and “Z” are partnered up for the final stretch. The melody itself doesn’t change; it’s still based on “Ah vous dirais-je, Maman,” a French folk song with ties to 18th century composer Lemaire and interpretations by Mozart, that is also the backbone of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.” It’s just the groupings of letters that shifts.

Change is hard, though — and based on the responses to this tweet, it looks like the original is going to be the more popular version for at least a little while longer.