# Tico-Tico no Fubá

"Tico-Tico no fubá" (Brazilian Portuguese:; "rufous-collared sparrow in the cornmeal") is a Brazilian choro song written by Zequinha de Abreu in 1917. Its original title was "Tico-Tico no farelo" ("sparrow in the bran"), but since Brazilian guitarist Américo Jacomino "Canhoto" (1889–1928) had a work with the same title, Abreu's work was given its present name in 1931, and sometime afterward Aloysio de Oliveira wrote the original Portuguese lyrics.
Outside Brazil, the song reached its peak popularity in the 1940s, with successful recordings by Ethel Smith, The Andrews Sisters (with English-language lyrics by Ervin Drake), Carmen Miranda and others.

## Notable recordings

The first recording of the work was made by Orquestra Colbaz (Columbia 22029, 1931).
Ethel Smith performed it on the Hammond organ in the MGM film Bathing Beauty (1944), after which her recording reached the U.S. pop charts in November 1944, peaked at No. 14 on January 27, 1945, and sold nearly two million copies worldwide.
The song was recorded by The Andrews Sisters on March 7, 1944 and it briefly reached the charts.

## In film and television

| Year | Film/TV show | Director/Performers |
| 1942 | Saludos Amigos, "Aquarela do Brasil" segment | Norman Ferguson / Wilfred Jackson / Jack Kinney / Hamilton Luske / Bill Roberts |
| 1942 | Rio Rita | S. Sylvan Simon, Eros Volusia and her dancers |
| 1943 | Thousands Cheer | George Sidney |
| 1944 | Bathing Beauty | George Sidney, Ethel Smith |
| 1944 | Kansas City Kitty | Del Lord |
| 1944 | Abacaxi Azul | Ruy Costa |
| 1945 | The Gay Senorita | Arthur Dreifuss |
| 1945 | Club Havana | Edgar G. Ulmer |
| 1945 | It's a Pleasure | William A. Seiter |
| 1947 | Copacabana | Alfred E. Green, Carmen Miranda |
| 1952 | Tico-Tico no Fubá | Adolfo Celi |
| 1953 | Estrella sin luz | Ernesto Cortázar |
| 1958 | Yo quiero ser artista | Tito Davison |
| 1978 | The Muppet Show | Annie Sue with other pigs accompanying |
| 1987 | Radio Days | Woody Allen |
| 1994 | Radioland Murders | Mel Smith |
| 2004 | Ma vie en cinémascope | Denise Filiatrault |
| 2006 | Zuzu Angel | Sérgio Rezende |
| 2013 | Behind the Candelabra | Steven Soderbergh |
| 2016 | A Luta | Bruno Bennec |
| 2020 | Hunters | Nelson McCormick |
In Quebec, the song has been used for several decades in commercials for Sico paint.
In the Mama's Family season three episode "An Ill Wind", an intoxicated Iola briefly sings the song's chorus before passing out onto a bed.
The song can be heard on various episodes of the Belgian Kabouter Wesley cartoon.
In the Narcos: Mexico season one episode "El Padrino", the orchestral version of the song is played by a band during a reception.

## Other uses

This song was often performed by the Grateful Dead during their tuning jams between songs. It was also played as an instrumental by James Booker with the Jerry Garcia Band.
This song was used in Tom and Jerry in the episode "Muscle Beach Tom", where Tom's rival, Butch is seen dancing with a female cat.
This song was performed in the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
This song was adapted to the 2016 video games Just Dance 2017 and Civilization VI.
This song was remixed with a baile funk melody during the opening of Brazilian pop singer Anitta's set for Rock in Rio Lisboa 2018.

## References to the song

A biographical movie about Zequinha de Abreu with the same title, Tico-Tico no Fubá was produced in 1952 by the Brazilian film studio Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz, starring Anselmo Duarte as Abreu.
The title phrase also features in the lyrics to the song "O Pato" made famous by João Gilberto.
In the M*A*S*H* episode "Your Hit Parade", Father Mulcahy mentions that he requested "Tico Tico", but got "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" instead.