Back in third or fourth grade, around 1988–90, a teacher taught us two songs: Joy to the World and a funky tune called Shoeflies. It stuck with me.
I forgot most of the lyrics except “Shoeflies faster than me, I gotta run, run, run…” I searched for it starting in the late ’90s but found nothing and began to think I’d imagined it.
Eventually, I found online posts quoting the same line, which led me to old Silver Burdett music books. One finally mentioned Shoeflies and credited Bob Sakayama. My husband helped me transcribe it so I could hear the melody, but I still wanted the original version.
Digging into Sakayama’s work led me to the 1970s show Vegetable Soup and, finally, a YouTube episode where he performed Shoeflies with its full groove. After decades of searching, I heard it again—just as joyful and strange as I remembered.
Bob, at 7 minutes and 28 seconds solving the whole mystery.
After finding the episode, I felt like I had to say thank you. I tracked down an email for Bob Sakayama and sent a note, not really expecting a reply. To my surprise, he wrote back.
He was kind and generous, telling me Shoeflies was one of the first songs he sold to Silver Burdett. Sadly, his own copies had been lost in a studio renovation years ago, and the Vegetable Soup clip was the only version he knew still existed.
Bob also shared other songs he’d written for his children and sent links to his music projects over the years, including work on the the Growler series.
One of the problems I’ve found is that they’ve misprinted the lyrics in multiple education materials watching Bob sing the song I hear it is I gotta run run run or I won’t SEE IT and when the man says “fit my foot” but the book says “I won’t sit” and “dig my foot” which makes no sense. So I’ve gone with what Bob is singing and what I see as the actual lyrics, though some people may have been taught the wrong lyrics.
Shoeflies
Words and music by Bob Sakayama
© 1972 Earthling Music. Printed by Silver Burdett Company.
Verse 1
Shoeflies faster than me,
I gotta run, run, run,
or I won’t see it.
And when the man says,
“Fit my foot,”
Shoeflies.
Verse 2
Dominoes more than I do,
and there’s a chance
that he may really
even know more than you,
And when the man says,
“I don’t know what to do,”
Dominoes.
Verse 3
Butterflies over the hill,
You can’t find it,
then nobody will.
And when the man says,
“Bake my bread,”
Butterflies.
I still wanted to own the original vinyl, so off to eBay I went. After months of searching, I finally found a copy with Shoeflies.
My husband converted it to MP3 so I can play it anytime—and now you can too. I even made a little YouTube video.
If you remember Shoeflies, sang it in school, or have any old Silver Burdett records, I’d love to hear from you. I’m especially interested in finding other versions or learning how it was used in classrooms—please mention what state or country you learned it in.
Whether you’re a teacher, collector, former student, or just here for nostalgia, leave a comment on the YouTube video or email me. I’d love to add your memory here and help keep this little piece of musical history alive.