"The Duck Song" is a 2009 children's comedy song by Bryant Oden about a duck who keeps walking up to a lemonade stand and asking for grapes. An animated YouTube version by Forrest Whaley turned it into a classic viral video, with three sequels released between 2009 and 2024.
Origin
Bryant Oden first uploaded "The Duck Song" to the Songdrops YouTube channel on January 21st, 2009, using a basic slideshow that displayed the lyrics against plain slides[1]. Two months later, on March 23rd, 2009, animator Forrest Whaley posted his own animated music video for the song, and that version pulled over 88 million views within three years[3]. On April 21st, 2009, the track went up for sale on the iTunes Store as a single for 99 cents[2].
- Platform: YouTube (Songdrops) / YouTube (Forrest Whaley, viral spread)
- Creator: Bryant Oden
- Date: 2009
Overview
"The Duck Song" is a children's comedy song written by American songwriter Bryant Oden and released on his Songdrops label in 2009[1]. The premise is simple: a duck waddles up to a lemonade stand and keeps asking the owner "Got any grapes?", ignoring the seller's insistence that they only sell lemonade, with the verses looping through several rounds before an off-the-wall payoff involving bees[1].
The version most people know is an animated music video by YouTube animator Forrest Whaley, built from simple cartoon drawings of the duck and a visibly frustrated lemonade seller. The plain art, singsong melody, and rapid-fire repetition made the clip a fixture of late-2000s YouTube. Urban Dictionary users have jokingly called it "the greatest artwork in the history of the human race"[5].
How It Spread
The clip spread quickly in its first months. Video-sharing site Vodpod archived it on March 31st, 2009[4], and that October Songdrops itself put out a press release titled "Viral YouTube Sensation 'Duck Song' Waddling into Hearts of Teens," admitting the children's song was catching on with high schoolers[1].
Whaley made three animated sequels between 2009 and 2010, sending the duck to a corner store to pester a woman for grapes and later tricking the lemonade man into buying duct tape; Flinders Press published a children's picture book based on the song on September 1st, 2010, and by May 2012 the tune sat at #1 on the UK iTunes children's chart. Twelve years after the original, Whaley (now posting as forrestfire101) revived the series with a live-action remake on March 23rd, 2022, shot with real actors and a CGI duck, then followed with a Christmas special in November 2023 and "The Duck Song 4" on March 23rd, 2024, which set off jokes on X including a widely shared post from user @Awesomemay_ pretending actor Michael Cera would star in a fictional Duck Song movie[3].
How to Use
"The Duck Song" mostly gets referenced by quoting the duck's opening line, "Got any grapes?", either as a text reply or by dropping Forrest Whaley's animated video into group chats and social media threads. Longtime fans also share the follow-up entries (Duck Song 2, 3, and 4) to signal familiarity with the running joke.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Duck Song?
A children's comedy song written by Bryant Oden about a duck who will not stop asking a lemonade stand owner for grapes[1].
Where did The Duck Song come from?
Songwriter Bryant Oden uploaded the song to his Songdrops YouTube channel on January 21st, 2009[1], and it went up for sale on the iTunes Store that April[2].
What does The Duck Song mean?
It does not have a deeper meaning; it is a nonsense comedy song built entirely around the running gag of a duck asking for grapes at a lemonade stand[1].
How do you use The Duck Song?
People reference it by quoting the "Got any grapes?" line, or by sharing Forrest Whaley's animated music video and its sequels[1].
Is The Duck Song still popular?
The original is a classic YouTube upload, and animator Forrest Whaley kept the series going with "The Duck Song 4" released on March 23rd, 2024[3].
