Silly Songs with Larry is a regular feature segment in Big Idea's CGI cartoon series, VeggieTales. Often secular, they generally consist of Larry the Cucumber singing a humorous child's novelty song either alone or with some of the other Veggie characters. Occasionally, another character, like Mr. Lunt, Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, Laura Carrot, Archibald Asparagus, Oscar the Polish Caterer, and the French Peas Jean-Claude and Philippe, or an ensemble is featured in Larry's place. The Silly Songs have proven to be a very popular part of the show where Larry kisses several "sing-along" and compilation videos of these segments, some wrapped with new material that threads them into a fresh context. Some of the silly songs have been nominated for a GMA Dove Award.
Segment structure Sometimes, a Silly Song is introduced with a static picture of Larry. Then, an unseen narrator, sometimes Archibald, says the following: "And now it's time for Silly Songs with Larry, the part of the show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song." However, this format is used loosely; sometimes, it is renamed, adapted to the context of the episode, or eschewed altogether.
The Silly Song, if present, always appears in the middle of an episode, usually at a cliffhanger moment or between two separate segments, and usually has nothing to do with the episode storyline. The segment occurs on the familiar countertop, which opens and closes some episodes, or is presented in another setting off the countertop. In some videos, the background scenery often appears as a stage set, behind which electrical outlets and ceramic tile can be seen.
The song is stopped and replaced on a few occasions before it can even begin. Sometimes, when this occurs, the original song's brief images are intentionally more outlandish than usual, leaving the audience to wonder what it might have been. Examples of this happening include The Ballad of Little Joe, Madame Blueberry, Lyle the Kindly Viking, Moe and the Big Exit, Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Rescue, and MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle.
Unless pre-empted or replaced by another character, the segment typically ends with the same unseen narrator saying, "This has been Silly Songs with Larry. Tune in next time to hear Larry say/sing...."
History Phil Vischer wrote in his book, Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables, that when he created the Silly Songs section of the first show (Where's God When I'm S-Scared?), he never intended it to be a recurring segment, but after complaints from viewers about the lack of the segment in the second show (God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?!), he suggested that Mike Nawrocki write more Silly Songs for future shows.Vischer, Phil (2008). p. 105-106. Since the third show (Are You My Neighbor), the segment has returned.Vischer, Phil (2008). p. 107.
Mike Nawrocki has written and directed a majority of the silly songs for the past 20 years. Kurt Heinecke has served as producer and composer for nearly all of the ridiculous songs of the past 20 years. Christian songwriter Steve Taylor wrote the 2009 silly song entitled "Sippy Cup."
Many of the Silly Songs such as ''The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything'', ''His Cheeseburger'', ''The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps'', and ''Belly Button'' have been nominated for several GMA Dove Award including best music video of the year.
The segment was briefly discontinued after the original series ended in 2015 and was not featured in the DreamWorks spinoff series VeggieTales in the House (2014–2016) or VeggieTales in the City (2017). On his podcast (entitled The Holy Post) in late spring of 2019, Phil Vischer announced that the silly song segment will be returning with new songs in the new series The VeggieTales Show (which premiered in October 2019). As of July 2025, the segments are featured on the Yippee TV streaming service.
Songs VeggieTales (1993–2015)
"The Water Buffalo Song" (Where's God When I'm S-Scared?) Written by Phil Vischer in 1993 – Wearing an oversized cowboy hat that covers his eyes, Larry comes out and sings that "everybody's got a water buffalo," until Archibald Asparagus brings the song to an abrupt end and starts to chastise him over the falseness of his lyrics. Just as Larry starts singing that "everybody's got a baby kangaroo," Archibald is so frustrated and scared that he charges at Larry and tackles him off-screen. Covered by Superchick on the album Veggie Rocks!. "The Hairbrush Song" (Are You My Neighbor?) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1995 – Larry, wearing a towel and having recently emerged from the bathtub, rues the mysterious loss of his hairbrush while hopping and dancing around in the bathroom. Pa Grape and Junior Asparagus try to help him, but it is Bob the Tomato who finally solves the mystery. "The Hairbrush Song" marks the first of many cameo appearances by The Peach, which has become a running gag for the series. Covered by Audio Adrenaline on the album Veggie Rocks!. "Dance of the Cucumber" (Rack, Shack, and Benny) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1995 – Larry, dressed up in Argentinian garb, sings and dances to a traditional ballad "in its original Spanish," while Bob, in a sheriff's hat, translates. Bob becomes annoyed, however, when Larry begins to taunt him because Bob does not dance and sing. This gets to the point in which Bob eventually snaps and chases Larry off the set with irritation. Larry, meanwhile, hopes Bob does not catch him. "I Love My Lips" (Dave and the Giant Pickle) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1996 – Larry visits his psychiatrist (played by Archibald) worried about losing his lips. Because his focus on his lips is so absolute, he sees everything as a lip when given a Rorschach test. The Rorschach test in the original release featured a picture of Sonny Bono; after Sonny's death, later releases replaced the picture with a photoshopped image of Robert Ellis in 1998 along with a hand drawn version of the same person in 2000, followed by a caricature of Mike Nawrocki in 2002. It was covered by Stevenson on the album Veggie Rocks!. "Oh, Santa!" (The Toy That Saved Christmas) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1996 – While awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, Larry is visited by a bank robber (Scallion #1), a viking (Pa Grape), and an IRS agent (the Peach), whom Larry shares his cookies with (except the IRS agent). When Santa (Bob) arrives, however, it is revealed that Larry's two guests have stolen parts of his outfit and he is fed up with it, chasing the two off the set. Larry gives the IRS agent the last cookie and says "Merry Christmas!" to both Santa and the IRS agent simultaneously and ends the song by staring at the viewer. "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" (Very Silly Songs) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1997 – The three "infamous" pirates (played by Larry, Mr. Lunt, and Pa Grape) sing of their lack of ambition, but Larry does not seem to grasp the concept of the song. This song was covered by Relient K. "The Song of the Cebú" (Josh and the Big Wall!) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1997 – In a "sequential image, stereophonic, multimedia event" (a.k.a. a slide projector and a bed sheet), Larry presents the audience (Junior and the Gourds) with a song and slide show about a boy who owns three Cebús and a hippo, though due to an error by the Photo Booth Larry occasionally dives off-topic, leading Archibald to continually critique the presentation. As Junior and the two Gourds (Jimmy and Jerry) leave, Jimmy and Jerry talk about wanting their money back and how unfulfilling the presentation was. "His Cheeseburger" (Madame Blueberry) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1998 – Larry is about to introduce a new Silly Song when Archibald announces the cancellation of his segment as a result of the disastrous outcome of the Song of the Cebu. He then gives Mr. Lunt a chance to sing a song in his own segment, Love Songs with Mr. Lunt. During the segment, Mr. Lunt sings of Jerry Gourd's unrequited love for a cheeseburger in this ballad. At Archibald's assumption Mr. Lunt was going to sing about "growing up in Connecticut," Mr. Lunt clarifies he "grew up in New Jersey." It is included on WOW 1999. This song is covered by Tait on the album Veggie Rocks!. "The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps" (The End of the Silliness) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 1998 – Larry introduces this Silly Song after getting his Silly Songs with Larry segment back following a petition. Narrated in song by a barbershop quartet (consisting of the Scallions and Frankencelery), Larry is portrayed as a doctor who believes he is able to cure sick pets simply by yodeling to them. Meanwhile, his nurse (Pa Grape) is slipping prescriptions to the pets' owners behind his back. After refusing to give the nurse a raise, Larry realizes the painful truth of the inadequacy of his singing when a bear stuck in a trap is entirely unaffected by his treatment and runs amok. "Endangered Love" aka Barbara Manatee (King George and the Ducky) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 2000 – While watching the television soap opera, "Endangered Love", Larry sings of his love for the main character, a manatee, while dancing with a stuffed manatee doll. Meanwhile, onscreen, the story of lovers Barbara and Bill is told. However, the song is abruptly stopped when Bob interrupts Larry mid-song and suggests he reads a book. "Larry's High Silk Hat" (Lyle the Kindly Viking) Written by Marc Vulcano in 2001 – A new Silly Song is about to be introduced when Archibald intervenes and interrupts the segment, calling on the French Peas Philippe and Jean-Claude, who slide the title card for a segment known as Classy Songs with Larry in, before he begins introducing the new segment. During the new segment, Archibald and Larry sing to the tune of Funiculì, Funiculà. At the same time, Larry expresses his joy at having a lovely stovepipe hat and a box of chocolates while sitting at a trolley stop having to contend with nosy people (Art Bigotti, Mr. Nezzer, Miss Achmetha, Apollo Gourd, and Scallion #1) in the hot sun. "Do The Moo Shoo" ("The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 2001 – As Pirate Pa fixes the astonishing contraption of silliness after it breaks down, Pirate Larry and Pirate Lunt make up a silly song on the fly from a Chinese food menu. "Belly Button" (The Ballad of Little Joe) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 2003 – In the introduction to this song, the boy band Boyz in the Sink (Mr. Lunt, Larry, Jimmy Gourd, and Junior Asparagus) dramatically state their intent to be "serious" artists. During the song, Mr. Lunt admits that he lacks a bellybutton and he goes to the hospital to see the doctor and the nurse (Khalil the Caterpillar and Miss Achmetha) for help. The song is a direct parody of O-Town, and the band itself is named after Boyz n the Hood. This is the first Silly Song not being shot on the normal countertop stage. "Sport Utility Vehicle" (A Snoodle's Tale) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 2004 – Larry and Miss Achmetha sing of their admiration for each other's SUV's, but stuck in their sedentary lifestyles, they can only dream of going off-road and performing daring rescues. "Schoolhouse Polka" (Sumo of the Opera) Written by Mike Nawrocki in 2004 – Presented as "Schoolhouse Polka with Larry". In a parody of the Schoolhouse Rock! series, Larry plays the accordion and sings a song about homophones to the tune "Oklahoma", the title song from the play/film Oklahoma! However, he gets exhausted and tries to go off-screen, but the announcer keeps bringing him back to sing more including prepositions, pronouns, and adjectives until the song comes to a close.