Premiering in 1969, this educational television show aimed at preschoolers … Read Full Bio ↴Premiering in 1969, this educational television show aimed at preschoolers has charmed generations of youngsters ever since. The show - featuring a lovable cast of characters including Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Snuffy, Grover and many others - has delighted and educated children and adults alike, with its collection of songs, skits, and celebrity guest appearances.

Lonesome Joan
Sesame Street Lyrics

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Let me tell you all a story 'bout a girl named Lonesome Joan
When she was three she thought she'd try to tie her shoe
Her Momma said, "I'll show you how!"
She pushed her Mom aside
"I'll do it alone," said Lonesome Joan
And her laces stayed untied

Oh, Lonesome Joan, Lonesome Joan

Felt she had to do everything alone
She said, "I don't need no help, I can do it by myself"
Oh, Lonesome, Lonesome Joan

Well, she got a little older -- thought she'd learn to read and write
Her teacher tried to help her
Joan yelled, "Get out of my sight!"
So she never learned to write her name or even read a book
And all alone she never learned to swim or skate or count or cook

Oh, Lonesome Joan, Lonesome Joan
Felt she had to do everything alone
She said, "I don't need no help, I can do it by myself"
Oh, Lonesome, Lonesome Joan

Well, time went by and Joan grew old as people sometimes will
When Joan was 81 years old, she met a girl named Lil
Lil said, "Joan, it's just ridiculous the things that you can't do!

Joan, you're an 80 year old woman -- Time you learn to tie your shoe!"

Oh, Lonesome, Lonesome Joan
You don't have to do everything alone
You can use a little help
Don't have to do it by yourself
Oh, Lonesome, Lonesome Joan

So Lil taught Joan to read and write and tie her shoe and more
And Joan lived to the happy age of a hundred and forty four
So be sure you learned a lesson
From that old girl, Lonesome Joan
When you're trying for the first time,
You don't have to try alone

Oh, Lonesome Joan, Lonesome Joan
You don't have to do everything alone
You can use a little help
Don't have to do it by yourself
Oh, Lonesome, Lonesome Joan
Oh, Lonesome, Lonesome Joan

Yippie tie yie, pardners!

Overall Meaning

The song “Lonesome Joan” is about a young girl who feels that she has to do everything alone. Despite her mother’s attempts to show her how to tie her shoes, Joan insists on doing it alone and ends up with untied laces. As she gets older, she refuses help from her teacher with learning to read and write, resulting in her never being able to do those things. She also doesn’t learn how to swim, skate, count or cook due to her stubborn independence. As she grows older and becomes an 81-year-old woman, Joan meets a girl named Lil who encourages her to learn new things and helps her tie her shoes, read, write and much more. Thanks to Lil’s assistance, Joan lives a long life and becomes happy.

The song is trying to teach children that it’s okay to ask for help and it’s important to learn new things. Joan’s stubbornness in wanting to do everything alone eventually leads to her not being able to do a lot of things, but once Lil comes along, she is able to learn and grow in ways she never imagined.

Line by Line Meaning

Let me tell you all a story 'bout a girl named Lonesome Joan
This song is about a girl named Lonesome Joan, and this line sets up the story that will be told in the song

When she was three she thought she'd try to tie her shoe
When Lonesome Joan was only three years old, she wanted to try tying her own shoe

Her Momma said, "I'll show you how!"
Lonesome Joan's mother offered to help her tie her shoe

She pushed her Mom aside
Lonesome Joan refused her mother's help and pushed her aside

"I'll do it alone," said Lonesome Joan
Lonesome Joan insisted on doing it herself, even though her mother had offered to help her

And her laces stayed untied
As a result of refusing help, Lonesome Joan's shoe remained untied

Felt she had to do everything alone
Throughout her life, Lonesome Joan felt that she had to do everything by herself

"I don't need no help, I can do it by myself"
Lonesome Joan often said that she didn't need help and could do things on her own

Joan yelled, "Get out of my sight!"
When someone tried to help her learn to read and write, Lonesome Joan yelled at them to leave

So she never learned to write her name or even read a book
Because she insisted on doing everything herself, Lonesome Joan never learned important skills like reading and writing

And all alone she never learned to swim or skate or count or cook
In addition to reading and writing, Lonesome Joan never learned other important skills because she refused to accept help

You don't have to do everything alone
The lesson of the song is that you don't need to do everything by yourself and it's okay to accept help from others

You can use a little help
Encouragement to use help from others when you need it

Don't have to do it by yourself
Another reminder that it's okay to accept help when you need it

So Lil taught Joan to read and write and tie her shoe and more
Lil helped Lonesome Joan learn many important skills that she had been unable to learn before

And Joan lived to the happy age of a hundred and forty four
With Lil's help, Lonesome Joan lived to be very old and happy

When you're trying for the first time,
Another reminder that it's okay to ask for help when you're trying something for the first time

Yippie tie yie, pardners!
This is a fun western-style exclamation that closes the song

Contributed by Samuel F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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