Silverstein's passion for music was clear early on as he studied for a while at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. As a songwriter, Silverstein kept a low profile but cast a long shadow. He tended to shun publicity and even photographers. Nonetheless, his musical output included many songs which were hits for other artists. Most notably, he wrote the music and lyrics for "A Boy Named Sue" that was performed by Johnny Cash (for which he won a Grammy in 1970); "One's on the Way" (which was a hit for Loretta Lynn), and "The Unicorn Song" which, despite having nothing to do with Ireland nor Irish culture, became the signature piece for The Irish Rovers in 1968 and is popular in pubs all over the world to this day. He wrote the lyrics and music for most of the Dr. Hook songs, including "Cover of the Rolling Stone", "Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball", "Sylvia's Mother", and the cautionary song about VD, "Don't Give a Dose to the One You Love Most". He also wrote many of the songs performed by Bobby Bare, including "Marie Laveau", "Rosalie's Good Eats Cafe", "The Mermaid", "The Winner", and "Tequila Sheila". The song "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan",] recorded in 1979 by Marianne Faithfull and later featured in the films Montenegro and Thelma & Louise, was also by Silverstein.
Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out
Shel Silverstein Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would not take the garbage out!
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloopy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts...
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
It raised the roof, it broke the wall
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney,
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold French fries and rancid meat,
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reached so high
That finally it touched the sky.
And all the neighbors moved away,
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sahra Cynthia Stout said,
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
But then, of course, it was too late
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sahra met an awful fate,
That I cannot right now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sahra Stout
And always take the garbage out!
The song Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out is a humorous take on the importance of taking out the garbage. The lyrics highlight the consequences of neglecting one’s responsibility to dispose of the trash. Although Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout is described as an excellent cook and homemaker, she refuses to take out the garbage, ignoring her father’s pleas to do so. This results in an accumulation of different types of garbage, from expired food to food scraps and more, which litter the floor, fill up the garbage can, and block the door. The garbage continues to accumulate, forming a mound that eventually touches the sky, causing the neighbors to move away, and her friends to stop playing with her. Finally, when she decides to take out the trash, it is too late to do so, as the garbage has already spread across several states, causing Sahra to meet an 'awful fate.' The song's final message is a warning to children to take out the garbage and avoid the consequences depicted in the narrative.
Shel Silverstein's song Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out has a unique structure, with each line varying in length, which adds to the sing-song effect of the song. Silverstein's use of repetition, alliteration, and imagery contributes to the humorous tone of the song, and renders an entertaining reading experience for both children and adults alike. Interestingly, the song was not only popular as a musical number but also as a poem, published in Silverstein's book “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Besides the song, Silverstein is also renowned for his bestselling books such as The Giving Tree and Falling Up.
Line by Line Meaning
Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Introducing Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout as the girl in the story who refused to take out the garbage
Would not take the garbage out!
Stating that Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout absolutely refused to take out the garbage
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Explaining that Sahra would clean the kitchen utensils
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
Describing how Sahra would cook the food, particularly the yams and hams.
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
Implying that her father would get angry and loud when asking her to take out the garbage
She simply would not take the garbage out.
Reiterating that Sahra wouldn't take out the garbage no matter what
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Describing how the garbage started to stack up and fill the room
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Listing some of the trash that was piling up, such as coffee grounds and potato peelings
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Listing more of the garbage that was piling up, like brown bananas and rotten peas
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
Further detailing the trash that was piling up with sour chunks of cottage cheese
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
Describing how the garbage had filled the can and spilled out onto the floor
It cracked the window and blocked the door
Showing how the garbage was blocking the door and even causing damage to the window
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Listing more of the trash that was piling up, including bacon rinds and chicken bones
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Describing how even the drippy ends of ice cream cones were part of the pile of garbage
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Listing more of the trash that was piling up, such as prune pits, peach pits, and orange peels
Gloopy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Describing how even gloopy glumps of cold oatmeal were part of the trash pile-up
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Showing how pizza crusts and withered greens were added to the trash pile
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Showing more of the trash that was piling up, including soggy beans and tangerines
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Describing how even blackened buttered toast crumbs were part of the garbage pile
Gristly bits of beefy roasts...
Listing more of the trash that was piling up, such as gristly bits of meat from beef roasts
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
Showing how the garbage started to spread through the house, including down the hall
It raised the roof, it broke the wall
Showing how the garbage was causing physical damage to the house by breaking walls and raising the roof
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Listing more of the trash that was piling up, such as greasy napkins and cookie crumbs
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Showing how even globs of gooey bubble gum were added to the trash pile
Cellophane from green baloney,
Detailing how even cellophane from packaging of green baloney was added to the trash pile
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Suggesting how even rubbery macaroni was added to the trash pile
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Showing a detail of how peanut butter was found in the garbage, caked and dry
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Listing more of the trash that was piling up, such as curdled milk and crusts of pie
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Showing some of the disgusting types of garbage that were piling up, such as moldy melons and dried-up mustard
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Showing even further the disgusting parts of the garbage that were piling up, such as eggshells mixed with lemon custard
Cold French fries and rancid meat,
Listing more of the trash that was piling up, such as cold French fries and rancid meat
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
Showing the variety of the trash that was piling up, including yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat
At last the garbage reached so high
Describing how the garbage pile grew and got higher
That finally it touched the sky.
Describing how the garbage pile grew so high that it reached the sky
And all the neighbors moved away,
Suggesting how the garbage pile was so out of control that it caused Sahra's neighbors to move away
And none of her friends would come to play.
Showing how the garbage pile made the house uninhabitable, even for Sahra's friends
And finally Sahra Cynthia Stout said,
Describing how Sahra finally gave in and decided to take out the trash
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
Directly quoting Sahra as she agrees to take the garbage out
But then, of course, it was too late
Showing how Sahra was too late in taking out the trash, and it was too out of control
The garbage reached across the state,
Describing how the garbage had grown beyond Sahra's house and had reached across the entire state
From New York to the Golden Gate.
Showing how far the garbage pile had grown, from New York to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Describing how Sahra was now trapped in the garbage that she had refused to take out and that she hated so much
Poor Sahra met an awful fate,
Showing how Sahra suffered a terrible fate because of her refusal to take out the garbage
That I cannot right now relate
The artist is indicating that they cannot currently share what Sahra's awful fate was
Because the hour is much too late.
Giving a reason why the artist cannot share what happened to Sahra, perhaps indicating that it is inappropriate for the current time or audience
But children, remember Sahra Stout
Encouraging children to remember Sahra's story as a cautionary tale
And always take the garbage out!
Stressing the importance of taking the garbage out to avoid a similar fate to Sahra's
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SHEL SILVERSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind