Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out
Shel Silverstein Lyrics


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Sahra Cynthia Sylvia Stout
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,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
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!

Overall Meaning

The poem "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" by Shel Silverstein is a cautionary tale for children about the importance of taking out the garbage. The main character, Sarah, is depicted as a hardworking and capable girl who excels at cooking and cleaning but refuses to take out the garbage, much to her father's frustration. As a result, the garbage piles up and takes over her house, eventually driving away her neighbors and friends. Only when the garbage reaches monstrous proportions does Sarah finally agree to take it out, but by then it is too late and the garbage has spread across the entire country, leading to a tragic and unspecified fate for Sarah.


The song cleverly uses exaggerated imagery and a catchy rhyming scheme to convey its message. It emphasizes the importance of small chores, such as taking out the garbage, which may seem unimportant but can have serious consequences if neglected. It also highlights the impact of individual actions on the community as a whole.


Overall, "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" serves as a whimsical yet effective cautionary tale for children, encouraging them to take responsibility for their actions and to contribute positively to their community.


Line by Line Meaning

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
This is the name of the person in the story who is the main character.


Would not take the garbage out!
Despite being reminded to take out the garbage, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout refuses to do so.


She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout was very diligent in cleaning the kitchen by scrubbing pots and pans thoroughly.


Candy the yams and spice the hams,
Aside from cleaning, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout also enjoyed preparing food and adding various flavors to dishes like yams and hams.


And though her daddy would scream and shout,
Even though her father expressed anger and frustration at Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout's refusal to take out the garbage, she still didn't do it.


She simply would not take the garbage out.
Despite all the reasons to take out the garbage, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout continued to resist until the end of the story.


And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Due to Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout's unwillingness to take out the garbage, it continued to accumulate to the point where it reached the ceiling.


Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
The garbage that accumulated included leftover food scraps and waste like coffee grounds and potato peelings.


Brown bananas, rotten peas,
The garbage pile also contained discarded fruits and vegetables like brown bananas and rotten peas.


Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
Dairy products also contributed to the mess, like chunks of sour cottage cheese.


It filled the can, it covered the floor,
The garbage was not limited to just the trash can, but spilled over onto the floor because it had nowhere else to go.


It cracked the window and blocked the door
The sheer amount of garbage even caused structural damage to the house, cracking windows and blocking the door.


With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
The garbage pile also contained leftover meat scraps like bacon rinds and chicken bones.


Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Even dessert wasn't safe from being thrown away, with drippy ends of ice cream cones being added to the garbage.


Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
The garbage pile contained various food remnants like prune pits, peach pits, and orange peels.


Gloopy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Even breakfast was not spared, with leftover oatmeal being left to rot in the pile.


Pizza crusts and withered greens,
The garbage pile contained stale pizza crusts and wilting greens.


Soggy beans and tangerines,
Even the unappetizing remnants of meals, like soggy beans and tangerines, were added to the garbage.


Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Old or inedible pieces of toast were also added to the garbage like crusts of blackened or burned buttered toast.


Gristly bits of beefy roasts...
Pieces of beef roasts with gristle were thrown away and added to the garbage.


The garbage rolled on down the hall,
The garbage pile expanded so much that it even started to roll down the hall.


It raised the roof, it broke the wall
The garbage became so high and so heavy that it caused significant damage to the house, raising the roof and breaking the wall.


Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
The garbage pile included greasy and dirty napkins, as well as cookie crumbs.


Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Even gum that had been chewed and spit out became a part of the garbage pile.


Cellophane from green baloney,
The packaging from leftover food was also added to the garbage pile like cellophane from green baloney.


Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Discarded pasta and leftovers like rubbery and blubbery macaroni were thrown away in the garbage.


Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Even something as simple and seemingly reusable as peanut butter was not safe from being thrown away, like caked and dry pieces of peanut butter.


Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
The garbage pile included gross and expired items like curdled milk as well as leftover crusts of pie.


Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Produce that had gone bad, like moldy melons and dried-up mustard, ended up being added to the garbage pile.


Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
The garbage pile also contained shells from eggs mixed with discarded lemon custard.


Cold French fries and rancid meat,
The garbage pile was not limited to just food waste, but also included expired meat like rancid meat, as well as leftovers like cold French fries.


Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
Even simple breakfast foods, like Cream of Wheat, were not safe from being thrown away, like yellow lumps of it found in the garbage pile.


At last the garbage reached so high
Due to the continued pile-up of garbage, it finally reached an almost unbelievable height.


That finally it touched the sky.
The garbage pile became so vast that it finally covered the sky in a sense, becoming a barrier to sunlight.


And all the neighbors moved away,
The garbage pile was so extreme that it caused Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout's neighbors to move away and avoid the area altogether.


And none of her friends would come to play.
Even her friends refused to come over to her house to play or hang out due to the overwhelming amount of garbage.


And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
After all the buildup of garbage and its negative ramifications, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout finally made a conscious effort to take out the garbage.


"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
This is what Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout said when she finally made the decision to do something about the overwhelming amount of garbage in her home.


But then, of course, it was too late
After all the time Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout wasted refusing to take out the garbage, it was too late to do anything meaningful about it.


The garbage reached across the state,
The garbage pile was so massive that it spanned the entire state, getting in the way of transportation and other daily activities.


From New York to the Golden Gate.
This is how far-reaching the garbage pile was, from the East Coast to the West Coast.


And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout was forced to face the consequences of her refusal to take out the garbage, being stuck in a situation she undoubtedly hated.


Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
The ultimate outcome of Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout's negligence was devastating, resulting in an oppressive and tragic fate.


That I cannot right now relate
The artist of the story chooses not to go into too much detail about what exactly that awful fate was.


Because the hour is much too late.
The artist also implies that at this point, it's not worth explaining in more detail because it's already so late.


But children, remember Sarah Stout
After recounting the story, the artist implores children to remember Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout and take out the garbage when they need to.


And always take the garbage out!
This is the moral of the story, to always take out the garbage and avoid the consequences that come with letting it pile up.




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SHEL SILVERSTEIN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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