Cooking By The Book Lazytown
Arleen Smelko
The song 'Cooking By The Book' from the children's television show 'Lazy Town' is a playful and educational tune that emphasizes the importance of following instructions while also allowing for a touch of personal creativity. The lyrics use the metaphor of baking a cake to teach children the value of adhering to a recipe, which can be seen as a broader life lesson about the benefits of structure and order. The catchy refrain, 'It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake,' suggests that tasks can be easy and enjoyable when approached correctly.
However, the song also acknowledges the individual's desire to add a personal touch, as seen in the lines 'I'll put in some ingredients, But keep the rest for me.' This line hints at the balance between following the rules and adding one's own flair. The mention of candy and the repeated declarations of love for cake serve as a metaphor for the sweet rewards that come from a job well done, reinforcing the idea that effort and following directions can lead to satisfying results.
The song's playful tone and simple, repetitive structure make it accessible and memorable for children, teaching them a fundamental lesson through the act of baking. The reference to making food as 'just like science' further connects the act of cooking to experimentation and learning, subtly encouraging an appreciation for the culinary arts and the science behind it. Overall, 'Cooking By The Book' is a whimsical reminder of the joys of cooking and the importance of combining discipline with a dash of personal expression.
"Cooking by the Book" is a song featured in a 2004 episode of the Icelandic children's show LazyTown. The song gained considerable notoriety online after being mashed-up with a Lil Jon song in 2008, inspiring further video edits and parodies. This is one of the many songs from LazyTown to be the subject of memes, following "You are a Pirate's" viral success in 2006.
On August 20th, 2004, Season 1 Episode 6 of the children's show LazyTown premiered in North America, which included a music video for an original song about following directions while cooking and eating right called "Cooking by the Book" (shown below).[1]
The song gained a considerable fanbase over the next four years, resulting in numerous YTMND[5] pages consisting of loops of the song over various images throughout 2006 and 2007, including a remix made for a YTMND[3] competition that gained over 10,000 views and one featuring an echoed loop of the song over a photoshopped image of jihadist Abū Muṣʻab Zarqāwī that garnered over 70,000 views in roughly 15 years.[4]
On October 1st, 2008, YouTuber HatPerson uploaded a remixed version of the music video featuring a mashup of "Cooking by the Book" with Lil Jon's part from his 2004 Snoop Dogg collaboration "Step Yo Game Up,"[2] titled the "'Cooking by the Book' A Lil' Bigger Mix" (shown below). The video went viral, gaining over 10 million views in 12 years.
The lyrics to "Cooking by the Book" also became a mildly popular copypasta on 4chan,[10][11] starting as early as 2009 (examples shown below). The remix was also used in a bait-and-switch prank in the same vein as Rickrolling called getting "cakeroll'd," where one user was tricked into clicking on the remix video.[6]
On November 15th, 2016, YouTuber[8] Just Snowy uploaded an edit of "Cooking by the Book" that gets bass boosted whenever "cake" is said, garnering over 3.8 million views in four years (shown below, left). On February 13th, 2017, YouTuber[9] TwinkieMan uploaded a video splicing audio and video footage of Donald Trump together with the music video, garnering over 3 million views in four years (shown below, right).
On April 7th, 2020, Chole Lang, the actress who portrays Stephanie Meanswell in Lazytown, posted a video to TikTok[12] set to the Lil Jon remix, garnering over 2 million views in a year (shown below).
I was a member of ytmnd in the mid 2000s when the original cake fad was active (and honestly very sickening considering the behavior of some ytmnd'ers). You mean to tell me that it actually blew up again years later outside of ytmnd due to a silly crunk remix?
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