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Three is a Magic Number is a song from Multiplication Rock! It goes over multiplying by three. This song was the pilot episode of the whole Schoolhouse Rock! series. It features a magician, who goes over multiplying by three while many examples are provided. (A man and a woman having a baby –three in the family; heart, brain, body – three parts) The music and lyrics are by Bob Dorough, and it is also performed by him (with uncredited backing vocalists and a male singer). It first premiered on the pilot episode of "Curiosity Shop" on September 2, 1971. Two years later, when Schoolhouse Rock! premiered, the airdate was on January 6, 1973.
Lyrics[]
TV Version[]
Bob Dorough:
Three is a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Somewhere in the ancient mystic trinity
You get three
As a magic number
The past and the present and the future
Faith and hope and charity
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three
As a magic number
It takes three legs to make a tripod or to make a table stand
It takes three wheels to make a vehicle called a tricycle
Every triangle has three corners
Every triangle has three sides
No more, no less
You don't have to guess
When it's three
You can see
It's a magic number
Vocalists:
A man and a woman had a little baby
Yes they did
They had three in the family
That's a magic number
Bob Dorough:
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18,
21, 24, 27,
30
Vocalists:
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18,
21, 24, 27,
30
Man:
Multiply backwards from 3×10
Bob Dorough:
3×10 is (Vocalists: 30)
3×9 is (Vocalists: 27)
3×8 is (Vocalists: 24)
3×7 is (Vocalists: 21)
Chorus:
3×6 is 18
3×5 is 15
3×4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3×2 is 6
And 3×1 is 3 of course
Man:
Now dig the pattern once more! 3!
Bob Dorough/Vocalists:
3, 6, 9...
(Man: 12!) 12, 15, 18,
(Man: 21!) 21, 24, 27...
30
Man:
Now multiply from 10 backwards
Bob Dorough/Vocalists:
3×10 is 30 (Man: Keep going)
3×9 is 27
3×8 is 24
3×7 is 21
Chorus:
3×6 is 18
3×5 is 15
3×4 is 12
And 3×3 is 9
And 3×2 is 6
And 3×1
Bob Dorough:
What is it?
Vocalists:
3!
Bob Dorough:
Yeah!
Vocalists:
That's a magic number
A man and a woman had a little baby
Yes they did
They had three in the family
That's a magic number
Soundtrack Version[]
Three is a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Somewhere in the ancient mystic trinity
You get three
As a magic number
The past and the present and the future
Faith and hope and charity
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three
As a magic number
It takes three legs to make a tripod or to make a table stand
It takes three wheels to make a vehicle called a tricycle
Every triangle has three corners
Every triangle has three sides
No more, no less
You don't have to guess
When it's three
You can see
It's a magic number
A man and a woman had a little baby
Yes they did
They had three in the family
That's a magic number
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18,
21, 24, 27,
30
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18,
21, 24, 27,
30
Now the multiples of 3
Come up 3 times in each set of 10
In the first 10,
You get 3, 6, 9
And in the teens 10 it's 12, 15, and 18
And in the 20s,
You get a
21, 24, 27,
And it comes out even on 30
Yeah
Now multiply backwards from 3x10
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1 is 3 of course
Now dig the pattern once more!
(3) 3, 6, 9,
(12) 12, 15, 18,
(21) 21, 24, 27,
30
Yeah, thirty
Now multiply from 10 backwards
3x10 is 30 (Keep going)
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1
What is it?
3
Yeah!
That's a magic number
A man and a woman had a little baby
Yes they did
They had three in the family
That's a magic number
Covers[]
- Blind Melon made a cover of the song, which appeared in track 3 of Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks.
- The song was covered, with rewritten lyrics, by Greg Raposo, Matthew Ballinger, and Stevie Brock to promote Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Their cover appears on the original release of the film's soundtrack, while a music video appears on the film's original DVD release.
- The album version is slightly longer than the TV version, because it has an extra verse explaining the pattern of each set of ten containing three multiples of three. It was also used in the original 1971 broadcast in the form of a carnival duck shooting game. This scene was never rebroadcast or available on home media or streaming sites.
- Hip-hop trio De La Soul interpolated the song as "The Magic Number", which was included in their 1989 debut studio album, 3 Feet High and Rising. The track gained further exposure when it was featured in the 2021 superhero crossover film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Three is a Magic Number/Gallery