I Love You

This article is about the song. You may be looking for a different article associated under the same title.

Barney Songs
"I Love You"
Debuted in	The Backyard Show
Music by	Traditional
Lyrics by	Lee Bernstein
Usage	New Material 1988-2018
Previous	"Barney Theme Song"
Next	"Hello, Hello, Hello"

"I Love You" is a children's song that's in the tune of "This Old Man". Originating from Piggyback Songs: New Songs Sung to the Tune of Childhood Favorites by Warren Publishing House in 1983, the song became very popular when becoming associated with the children's television series Barney & Friends and the preceding Barney & The Backyard Gang videos.

When The Lyons Group, owners of both series, bought the rights to the song in 1992, the song was now considered an original Barney song. "I Love You" is a Barney song that wraps up almost every Barney episode or video. The song sums up Barney's message of unconditional love and is a symbol of how Barney loves people deeply and how his friends are like family to him. It made its debut in the Barney & The Backyard Gang video, The Backyard Show.

Background

Jean Warren, an editor of Warren Publishing, was seeking submissions of original songs that could be sung to the tune of traditional and familiar children's songs. Warren put a call out for submissions in the November/December issue of the "Totline" newsletter in 1981. Warren informed readers that the songs would eventually be assembled into a book with the author of each songs receiving a free copy of the songbook and acknowledgement for their contribution.

Composition

In 1982, Lee Bernstein penned a song titled "I Love You" to the public-domain tune of "This Old Man", which was one of Bernstein's favorite songs as a child. According to Bernstein the song is about "love" and "caring". Bernstein's lyrics were published in the book Piggyback Songs: New Songs Sung to the Tune of Childhood Favorites by Warren Publishing House in 1983.

Usage

Barney

Barney & The Backyard Gang

Kathy Parker, the co-creator of Barney & The Backyard Gang heard "I Love You" at a toddler playgroup with her child. Assuming it was of public domain, the song was prominently used in the video series, Barney & The Backyard Gang. The song was sung near the beginning of the first five Backyard Gang videos before eventually becoming a closing song for the last videos.

Barney & Friends

After Barney & the Backyard Gang ended, the video series was spun into a television series titled Barney & Friends. Due to "I Love You" being a staple song of the video series, it was continually used in the spin-off, used to wrap up every episode, video and or live performance. "I Love You" wraps up almost every Barney episode and or video. The song sums up Barney's message of unconditional love and is a symbol of how Barney loves people deeply and how his friends are like family to him. The song has gone through many variations throughout the years.

Lawsuit

Lee Bernstein next to a TV with the Rock with Barney title card on it.

In January 1991, Elizabeth, one of Bernstein's daughters who was nine at the time, alerted Bernstein that their song "I Love You" was on television. Unable to figure out what program her daughter had viewed, she figured it out in June 1992 when she and her daughter were shopping at JCPenney's. They came upon a display rack of videos featuring Barney & Friends, and Elizabeth pointed out that it's from the show she heard it from. Bernstein bought one of the videos. While watching the video and listening to the song, she knew it was her tune, but not her original lyrics.

Bernstein and Daniel Glavin, Bernstein's attorney, crafted a letter in July 1992 to The Lyons Group, owners of Barney. A New York lawyer representing the show acknowledged that "I Love You" was Bernstein's song but also noted the importance of it in Barney & Friends. An agreement was settled in September 1992 between Lyons and Bernstein as Lyons bought the rights from Bernstein and Bernstein was credited for writing the song and compensation for past and future use in Barney materials.

In 1993, Warren Publishing, the publisher of Piggyback Songs: New Songs Sung to the Tune of Childhood Favorites, filed a lawsuit and sued Bernstein, The Lyons Group, Time-Life Inc (that released most of season one of Barney & Friends on VHS through a mail order service), J.C. Penney Co (the company and store which had the Barney items at the time) and EMI Records (who released Barney's Favorites, Volume 1 in 1993) for copyright infringement over the rights and lyrics to "I Love You". Warren cited that she bought the rights in 1983 and wanted a cut of the profits. A trial on the lawsuit, filed on May 27, 1993, was scheduled for September 18, 1994 in Seattle, Washington. However, Lyons and Warren Publishing agreed verbally to settle the lawsuit over the rights to the song as announced in June 1994.

Lyrics

• Barney & Friends
• Barney & The Backyard Gang
• Original

I love you, you love me.
We're a happy family.
With a great big hug
And a kiss from me to you,
Won't you say you love me too?

I love you, you love me,
We're best friends,
Like friends should be
With a great big hug,
And a kiss from me to you,
Won't you say you love me too?

I love you, you love me.
We're as happy as can be.
With a great big hug
And a kiss from me to you,
Won't you say you love me too?

I love you, you love me.
We're a happy family.
With a great big hug
And a kiss from me to you,
Won't you say you love me too?

I love you, you love me.
We're as happy as can be.
Here's a great big kiss
And a hug from me to you,
Won't you say you love me, too?

Gallery

Scenes

As sung in "Campfire Sing-Along"

As sung in "Barney's Magical Musical Adventure"

As sung in "Grown-Ups for a Day!"

As sung in "An Adventure In Make Believe"

As sung in "A Very Special Delivery!"

As sung in "If The Shoe Fits..."

As sung in "It's Raining, It's Pouring..."

As sung in "Barney's Sense-Sational Day"

As sung in "Barney's Good Day, Good Night"

As sung in "Oh, Brother...She's My Sister"

As sung in "It's Time For Counting"

As sung in "Barney's Big Surprise"

As sung in "Barney's Halloween Party"

As sung in "Books Are Fun!"

As sung in "The One and Only You"

As sung in "Colors All Around"

As sung in "A Very Special Mouse"

As sung in "Barney's Night Before Christmas"

As sung in "Stick With Imagination!"

As sung in "Itty Bitty Bugs"

As sung in "Grandparents Are Grand (1999)"

As sung in "Snack Time!"

As sung in "Count Me In!"

As sung in "Who's Who At The Zoo?"

As sung in "Birthday Olé"

As sung in "Excellent Exercise!"

As sung in "Barney's Super Singing Circus"

As sung in "Come on Over to Barney's House"

As sung in "Be My Valentine Love, Barney"

As sung in "Barney's Musical Castle"

As sung in "Let's Go to the Zoo"

As sung in "Barney's Pajama Party"

As sung in "You Can Be Anything"

As sung in "Barney's Beach Party"

As sung in "Barney's Christmas Star"

As sung in "All Aboard!"

As sung in "Puppy Love"

As sung in "Stop! Go!"

As sung in "Play for Exercise!"

As sung in "Come Blow Your Horn!"

As sung in "A New Friend"

As sung in "Numbers! Numbers!"

As sung in "Play It Safe!"

As sung in "Three Lines, Three Corners"

As sung in "It's a Happy Day!"

As sung in "My Family and Me"

As sung in "Splish! Splash!"

As sung in "A Fountain of Fun"

As sung in "On Again, Off Again"

As sung in "Here Kitty, Kitty!"

As sung in "A Perfectly Purple Day"

As sung in "Squares, Squares Everywhere"

As sung in "Let's Go For A Ride!"

As sung in "The Land of Make Believe"

As sung in "Special Skills"

As sung in "Hearing"

As sung in "Letters"

As sung in "Vets"

As sung in "Dino-Mite Birthday"

As sung in "Full Team Ahead"

As sung in "The Whole Truth"

As sung in "Grandpa's Visit"

As sung in "Listen!"

As sung in "What's Your Name?"

As sung in "A Visit to Santa"

As sung in "Big Brother Rusty: China"

As sung in "Venice, Anyone?: Italy"

As sung in "Sweeter Than Candy: Greece"

As sung in "The Good Egg: Kenya"

As sung in "I Love My Friends"

Legacy

"I Love You" was well-known in America the early 1990s during what some call 'Barneymania', the rising popularity of Barney the Dinosaur, A few parents reported that the song became a bedtime prayer for them with their children. Other times, school classes could not be complete without singing the song. "I Love You" has been compared to longstanding public domain songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "Old MacDonald," and "Rock-A-Bye Baby".

Impact

• During the World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993, it was reported that seventeen kindergartners were trapped in an elevator for five hours. They remained calm by singing "I Love You". During that trauma, it was the voices of children singing the song that calmed the adults.
• "I Love You" has been used to torture prisoners in the Central Intelligence Agency’s arsenal.

Culture

• American media personality and socialite Khloé Kardashian, took to her Instagram Story on November 15, 2018 to post a video of her singing "I Love You" to her then seven-month-old daughter with Tristan Thompson.

Media

• "I Love You" has been sung in a few episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
• "I Love You" has been sung multiple times on Jimmy Fallon's late night shows.
  • While appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2008, Demi Lovato, who portrayed Angela on Barney & Friends, and host Jimmy Fallon did a metal version of "I Love You".
  • On The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on May 20, 2015, Jimmy Fallon and Jamie Foxx played "Wheel of Musical Impressions". When it was Jimmy's turn, he had to impersonate Barry Gibb while singing "I Love You".
  • While playing "Beat Battle" with Rebel Wilson on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon in February 2019, Fallon closed out the segment by singing "I Love You" with The Roots.
• On May 14, 2022, Selena Gomez, who portrayed Gianna on Barney & Friends, made her debut as host of Saturday Night Live. In her opening monologue Gomez cited Barney as a Hollywood icon she worked with as well as crediting Barney & Friends as her first show to be on. She ended her monologue by singing "I Love You" encouraging the audience to join in.

Influence

• On April 29, 2022, American singer-songwriter Jax released the song "U Love U" (featuring Jvke), which samples and takes influence from "I Love You", which is also her favorite childhood song.

Trivia

Sung

• Waiting for Santa and Barney Goes To School are the only two times the song is sung for one verse in the franchise. Campfire Sing-Along is sung for the first verse, then Spanish for the second verse.
• Unlike most instances, there are even a few rare occurrences in which the song is sung as a duet.
• In Barney's Great Adventure, "My Family and Me" and Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!, the song was sung to three verses. In Barney's Great Adventure and "My Family and Me" the song had the the third verse being a reprise of the first. In Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration! the song had the third verse being a reprise of the second.

Usage

• The song wasn't used in Rock with Barney (although it was used as an underscore for when Barney came to life, then at the end) and Best Fairy Tales (for unknown reasons).
• When season ten and eleven were first broadcast, a song titled "A Friend Like You" would usually be placed at the end of the first episode segment, then "I Love You" for the second episode segment. The format for those episodes were altered to twelve-minutes each so that it could easily appeal to international audiences.

Lawsuit

• While "I Love You" was used in 1993, due to there not being court order that prohibits the usage of the song, four major projects the following year (1994), Barney's Favorites, Volume 2, Bedtime with Barney, Barney Live! In New York City and Imagination Island didn't use the song. The move was also intended to give the latter a separate identity. "I Love You" returned to being used in the franchise for the television special Barney Celebrates Children.