Sixteen Going On Seventeen
Encyclopedia
"Sixteen Going on Seventeen" is a show tune
from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical
The Sound of Music
.
.
In the motion picture version, the song was filmed in and around a gazebo
which is still visited by hundreds of tourists each day doing "Sound of Music" tours around Salzburg
though the gazebo interiors were filmed in Hollywood.
A reprise of "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" is also sung by Maria and Liesl when the Captain and Maria come back from their honeymoon and Rolf has rejected Liesl.
. The song is heard in the episode "Family Gay
" and Lois
sings the song to her daughter Meg
in the episode "Peter's Two Dads
," trying to guess how old she is.
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
.
Background
The lyrics of the song state that Liesl is a young girl at the beginning of her womanhood, and that she can depend on Rolf for guidance, because he is a good year older. Since the comparative maturity of the two characters in the story is the opposite of that expressed in the song, this is an example of lyrical ironyIrony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
.
In the motion picture version, the song was filmed in and around a gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
which is still visited by hundreds of tourists each day doing "Sound of Music" tours around Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
though the gazebo interiors were filmed in Hollywood.
A reprise of "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" is also sung by Maria and Liesl when the Captain and Maria come back from their honeymoon and Rolf has rejected Liesl.
State Farm Remix
State Farm Insurance released an ad campaign featuring a remix of the show tune as a rock song produced by the audio production firm Modern Music.In popular culture
This song was used twice on Family GuyFamily Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. The song is heard in the episode "Family Gay
Family Gay
"Family Gay" is the eighth episode of the seventh season of the animated television comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 8, 2009. In the episode, Peter Griffin purchases a brain damaged horse who ends up causing a great deal of collateral damage at the...
" and Lois
Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
sings the song to her daughter Meg
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
in the episode "Peter's Two Dads
Peter's Two Dads
"Peter's Two Dads" is the tenth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally aired on Fox on February 11, 2007. The plot follows Peter traveling to Ireland to find his biological father, after he accidentally kills his stepfather at his daughter's birthday party. Meanwhile, Stewie...
," trying to guess how old she is.