What is an Applesauce Sky? Top Parent Theories

Jan 25, 2020

4 min read

The new season of Word Party has been released on Netflix and it will surely bring mixed reactions from parents. Especially this quote from Halle Stanford, President of Television for the Jim Henson Company.

“Kids and parents have been asking for more ‘Word Party’ fun and our new episodes will deliver with a new baby, Tilly the Tortoise, and more original dance party songs. There’s a new baby coming to the playroom! Our new episodes will tell stories, sing songs, and teach words that can help our young audience grapple with the complex emotions around the arrival of a younger sibling.”

Did you catch that? There will be MORE SONGS.

If that doesn’t bring a chill to your spine, I’ll tell you why it should – Applesauce Sky.

This song has been driving parents mad for years. My post about What the &*%^#* is an Applesauce Sky is my most searched post by a LONG SHOT, and that’s because this non-sensical song will embed itself in your brain and slowly drive you mad.

So with the release of season four of Word Party, I decided to put together the most common fan theories that have been mentioned in my comments, social posts, or emailed to me (and I’ve gotten a LOT of e-mails about this).

It’s nonsense/driving me crazy/start a petition

This is by far the most common response. Comments range from:

“Every time this song comes on, my wife yells from whatever part of the house, “Don’t ask cause i don’t know!!!” But I ask it anyway… stupid song.”

To: “Closest I can figure it’s a reference to the clouds or type of clouds in the sky. At least that’s my explanation when someone says wtf is an applesauce sky!! Which is what my first response was too lmao.”

And finally: “I am dying of laughter, well insane laughter of course because I, too, have been driven CRAZY by this song multiple times. I read this blog post and these comments and I feel y’all so much ha ha ha. This song is nonsense! We WILL find out one day!”

I’ve had several people encourage me to start a petition demanding that the writers of Word Party explain this song for us and perhaps it may come to me doing that one day.

It’s slang from the early 1900’s

This theory has some interesting merit to it. I was first alerted to it in the comments of my original post. What do you think?

“Applesauce was slang in the 1920’s for “nonsense” So….I think you are all falling into the joke behind the song. The song has no true meaning, bailey is just singing a catchy tune, just like most kid shows throughout time have done. I have a 14yr old & 19 month old there has & will always be catchy tunes for kiddos that drive the parents nuts… I mean can you tell me the point of a song that never ends???” said Amber.

Trin added, “Applesauce is old time slang (1940s) for nonsense, or something that is silly. So maybe that’s what it meant. A sky that is not too serious, and light hearted like the Elephant.”

It’s a reference to the sky when the sun is rising/setting

I’m personally not too sure about this one, but some are convinced it’s a reference to the sky when it’s red.

“An applesauce sky is actually a reference to the sky when we perceive it to be red. It looks pretty similar to applesauce and the character is infatuated with it. It would help if the sky was actually animated along with the song,” said an anonymous commenter.

The Beatles made them do it

I’ve had a LOT of people mention the Beatles either by way of reference, or by explanation. With some going very in depth into the analysis, like this email I received from Matt.

“My girlfriends 2 year old daughter is obsessed with Word Party and it has bothered me for months that I have no clue what an “applesauce sky” is! A few weeks ago I came across your article when I was searching the internet for answers- I found nothing!

The other day however I feel like I may have cracked the code. I was listening to the Beatles while I was driving and these lyrics from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds caught my attention: “Picture yourself In a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies”

Hearing “marmalade skies” made me wonder if the word party song could be a Beatles reference. Looking at the two songs, there are a few other small similarities suggesting that may be the case. In word party, Bailey sings something the the effect of “With my dreams so high”, whereas the Beatles song takes about flowers that “Grow so incredibly high”. Bailey also at one point says “So happy I let out a sigh” and then he sighs. At the end of the chorus of Lucy, there is a long drawn out “ahhhh” similar to the word party song.

Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch but I think this might have been the inspiration for applesauce sky. Considering that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is likely about LSD, that’s a little concerning, but also pretty funny.

It’s fun, don’t think too much about it

Ultimately this is less a theory than advice, and perhaps we should all take it.

“Most kids today don’t grow up with the simple pleasures of growing up on a farm or even ever seeing an apple tree – especially one nearby that they can play or sing under. However, MOST kids eat and love applesauce early in life and all parents I know make eating a time fun. My son loved applesauce. The song writer probably tried to associate a fun simple and relatable topic into the song because it’s a happy show. Very simple I know but every kid knows where the sky is and knows applesauce is pretty darn good. Kids don’t tend to like the sky when it looks threatening or stormy so why not make it an applesauce sky? It’s happy and fun to sing,” said Scott.