Barbara's Rhubarb Bar

The German tongue twister, {{lang|de|Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbier}}, had existed in various forms before the creation of the song.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldtranslationcenter.com/blog-posts/the-longest-german-word|title=The Longest German Word|publisher=World Translation Center|date=January 17, 2017|accessdate=June 7, 2024|archive-date=June 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607213652/https://www.worldtranslationcenter.com/blog-posts/the-longest-german-word|url-status=live}} Such constructions have occurred since antiquity. A Vulgar Latin graffito about barbarians, reading "{{lang|la|Barbara barbaribus barbabant barbara barbis}}", was found at Pompeii.{{cite journal|url=https://www.medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5576_0x003d895d.pdf|pages=163–194|title=Notions of Barbarians and Barbarian Lands in the Latin Verse Inscriptions|first=Peter|last=Kruschwitz|author-link=Peter Kruschwitz|journal=Medieval Worlds|volume=16|date=2022|doi=10.1553/medievalworlds_no16_2022s163 }}{{rp|p=171|style=ama}}{{cite news|url=https://www.br.de/nachrichten/kultur/barbaras-rhabarberbar-woher-kommt-der-zungenbrecher,UD6hz08|title=Barbaras Rhabarberbar: Woher kommt der Zungenbrecher?|trans-title=Barbara's Rhubarb Bar: Where does the tongue twister come from?|first=Knut|last=Cordsen|work=Bayerischer Rundfunk|language=de|date=May 18, 2024}} [https://www-br-de.translate.goog/nachrichten/kultur/barbaras-rhabarberbar-woher-kommt-der-zungenbrecher,UD6hz08?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true English translation]

In the Germanic languages, the words "Barbara", "rhubarb", and "barbarian" have a shared etymology, originating from the Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|βάρβαρος}} ({{transl|grc|bárbaros}}), referring to foreigners, and literally meaning "babbler", as of a foreign language; "barber" derives from the Latin {{lang|la|barba}}, for "beard".{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/where-did-the-word-barbarian-come-from|title=Where did the word 'barbarian' come from?|first=Sarah|last=Pruitt|publisher=History.com|date=August 29, 2019|orig-date=original version May 19, 2016|accessdate=June 10, 2024}}{{Unbulleted list citebundle|{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/barbarian|title=Barbarian|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|date=October 4, 2022|accessdate=June 10, 2024}}|{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/rhubarb|title=Rhubarb|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|date=March 8, 2023|accessdate=July 17, 2024}}|{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/barber|title=Barber|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|date=October 15, 2021|accessdate=July 17, 2024}}}} The modern tongue twister makes use of how compounding can result in long words in German, where multiple individual words are combined into a single long word, without spacing.{{cite web|url=https://www.berlitz.com/blog/longest-word-german|title=15 super long words in German that will knock your socks off|publisher=Berlitz|first=Marie|last=Schmoll|date=February 2, 2023|accessdate=June 10, 2024|archive-date=June 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610164725/https://www.berlitz.com/blog/longest-word-german|url-status=live}} It is constructed in the Präteritum tense.{{cite web|url=https://www.germanwithantrim.com/rhabarberbarbara-a-german-tongue-twister-with-english-translation/|title=Rhabarberbarbara: A German Tongue Twister with English Translation|work=Learn German With Herr Antrim|accessdate=June 10, 2024}}

An early German occurrence of a similar tongue twister can be found in a 1915 news article from Oberhausen, blaming vandalism of a rhubarb garden on Rhabarberbarbaren ("rhubarb barbarians").{{cite news|url=https://zeitpunkt.nrw/ulbbn/periodical/zoom/17350998?query=Rhabarberbarbaren|title=Rhabarberbarbaren sind es offenbar|work=Neue Oberhausener Zeitung|date=June 25, 1915}} An early Dutch version of the tongue twister, rabarberbarbarabarbarbierbarbaren (" Rhubarb-Barbara's bar's barber's barbarians") can be found in Binnenspel, a Dutch book with children's games from around 1935.{{cite book|url=https://www.delpher.nl/nl/boeken/view?identifier=MMKB18:004376000:00028&query=rabarberbarbara&coll=boeken&sortfield=date&rowid=1|title=Binnenspel|first=G.|last=Cast|date=1935|oclc=1164761950|publisher=Het Nederlandsch Jongelingsverbond|location=Amsterdam}}

File:TROS-TV_'Een_beetje_de_boer_op',_met_Chiel_de_Boer,_Bestanddeelnr_920-0525.jpg routines.]]

The tongue twister has been widespread in the Dutch language since the mid-20th century. In 1981, it appeared as Barbararabarberbararabierenbarbarenbaardenbarbier ("Barbara's rhubarb bar's Arab barbarians' beards' barber") in Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde, a book of word play from Hugo Brandt Corstius. Brandt Corstius remembers having heard the tongue twister before World War II in one of {{Ill|Chiel de Boer|nl}}'s comedy routines.{{cite web|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bran023oppe01_01/bran023oppe01_01_0007.php|title=Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde|first=Hugo|last=Brandt Corstius|date=1981}} A 1950 article with rhubarb recipes in Libelle refers to the tongue twister in the introduction, suggesting that it "must have been invented by a logopedician as an exercise for slow talkers".{{cite news|url=https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=rabarberbarbara&coll=ddd&sortfield=datedesc&identifier=KBNRC01:000029698:mpeg21:a0231&resultsidentifier=KBNRC01:000029698:mpeg21:a0231&rowid=1|title=Van rode, rinse rabarberstelen|work=Libelle|date=May 26, 1950}} An article in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool from 1954 mentions the tongue twister and says it was originally an American joke.{{cite news|url=https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=rabarberbarbara&coll=ddd&sortfield=datedesc&identifier=ABCDDD:010834830:mpeg21:a0174&resultsidentifier=ABCDDD:010834830:mpeg21:a0174&rowid=4|title=Oud klooster werd sociëteit|work=Het Parool|date=April 30, 1954}} In 1991, cartoonist Evert Geradts published a Gyro Gearloose comic strip episode based on the same story.

A particularly elaborate version of the tongue twister in German goes:

{{blockquote|text={{lang|de|Nach dem Stutzen des Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbarts ging der Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbier meist mit den Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbaren in die Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbierbar zu Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbierbarbärbel um sie mit zur Rhabarberbarbarabar zu nehmen um etwas von Rhabarberbarbaras herrlichem Rhabarberkuchen zu essen und ein Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbier anzustoßen.}}{{efn|text=In English: After pruning the Rhubarb Barbara Bar Barbarian Beards, the Rhubarb Barbara Bar Barbarian Beard Barber mostly with the Rhubarb Barbara Bar Barbarians went to the Rhubarb Barbara Bar Barbarian Beard Barber Bier Bar to Rhubarb Barbara Bar Barbarian Beard Barber Bier Bar Bärbel in order to take her along to the Rhubarb Barbara Bar in order to eat some of Rhubarb Barbara’s superb rhubarb pie.}}}}

The song and the original music video were created in December 2023 by comedian {{Ill|Bodo Wartke|de}} and music producer {{Ill|Marti Fischer|de}}. Wartke had the idea of making a humorous rap-like song and video based on the tongue twister and wrote the lyrics, while Fischer created the music.{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/04/30/tiktoks-barbaras-rhubarb-bar-trend-explained/|first=Dani|last=Di Placido|title=TikTok's 'Barbara's Rhubarb Bar' Trend, Explained|magazine=Forbes|date=May 30, 2024|orig-date=original version April 30, 2024|access-date=June 7, 2024|archive-date=June 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603015801/https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/04/30/tiktoks-barbaras-rhubarb-bar-trend-explained/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-07 |title=Warum derzeit alle "Barbaras Rhabarberbar" singen |url=https://www.newsflix.at/s/warum-derzeit-alle-barbaras-rhabarberbar-singen-120035483 |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=Newsflix.at |language=de|type=Includes embedded videos.}}{{efn|text=Although Di Placido attributes the lyrics to Fischer, other sources identify Wartke as the lyricist.}} Wartke often makes comedic songs from German tongue twisters, which he says he frequently discovers on speech therapy websites. When asked if Barbara is a real person, Wartke replied: "Sure! Unfortunately, I haven't met her yet." The New York Times reports that the video briefly ranked above Beyoncé on some streaming media music charts.

The lyrics describe Barbara, who lives in a small town, and who creates an extraordinary rhubarb cake. She opens a bar to serve the cake. Three barbarians in the town love the cake – along with beer – so much that they come to the bar every day. They stop behaving barbarically, and go to a barber, who shaves them.{{Unbulleted list citebundle|{{cite web|url=https://lyricstranslate.com/en/barbaras-rhabarbabar-barbaras-rhubarb-bar.html|title=Bodo Wartke:Barbaras Rhabarberbar|publisher=Lyrics Translate|accessdate=June 10, 2024|archive-date=June 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610191405/https://lyricstranslate.com/en/barbaras-rhabarbabar-barbaras-rhubarb-bar.html|url-status=live}}|{{cite web|url=https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-bodo-wartke-and-marti-fischer-barbaras-rhabarberbar-english-translation-lyrics|title=Bodo Wartke & Marti Fischer – Barbaras Rhabarberbar (English Translation)|publisher=Genius English Translations|accessdate=June 10, 2024}}}}

The lyrics also make references to Barbapapa, a French children's book character, the song Aberakadabera by the Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung, and the nonsense verse German children's song Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass.{{cite news|url=https://www.stern.de/kultur/wie--rhabarberbarbara--unserem-land-hilft-34684366.html|title=Ein Hauch von Sommermärchen: Warum wir "Barbaras Rhabarberbar" dringend brauchten|trans-title=A touch of summer fairytale: Why we urgently needed "Barbara's Rhubarb Bar"|first=David|last=Baum|work=Stern|language=de|date=May 5, 2024}} [https://www-stern-de.translate.goog/kultur/wie--rhabarberbarbara--unserem-land-hilft-34684366.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp English translation]

Numerous variations on the video were created by other people. Two young Australian women named Stephanie and Christina made a video in which they danced to the song, which got over 15 million views. After multiple other dance versions were created by other people, Wartke and Fischer posted their own dance version. The popularity of the videos has been attributed in part to the decision of the Universal Music Group to stop releasing their content to TikTok, creating an opening for unaffiliated contributors.

Wartke and Fischer are scheduled to perform on Let's Dance, and there is a grassroots movement for them to represent Germany in the next Eurovision Song Contest.

File:Rhabarba- Streuselkuchen.JPG]]

Audrey Morgan writes that, contrary to some inaccurate English translations of the song lyrics, the rhubarb dessert in the song would not, in German culture, be a rhubarb pie; rather, it would likely be a kuchen-like cake, probably with a streusel topping (streuselkuchen).{{cite news|url=https://www.foodandwine.com/tik-tok-rhubarb-cake-song-8645409|title=Why Is a Rap Song About Rhubarb Cake Blowing Up on TikTok?|magazine=Food & Wine|first=Audrey|last=Morgan|date=May 8, 2024}}

Sarah Maslin Nir places the craze over the video in the context of rhubarb's place in springtime seasonal cuisine in Germany. Rhubarb, along with strawberries and white asparagus, are treated as cause for merriment. Tobias Hagge, another German musical comedian, notes that there was also a song popular around 1930, about a woman named Veronika, whose ability to make asparagus grow gives rise to a double entendre.

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{{reflist}}

• [https://www.tiktok.com/@bodowartke/video/7313913111382150433 Original TikTok video, featuring Wartke (left) and Fischer]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYkBf0dbs5I With English subtitles]
• [https://www.tiktok.com/@bodowartke/video/7360660825725619489 Dance version]

Category:Novelty songs

Category:Viral videos

Category:Tongue twisters

Category:Dutch comedy

Category:German comedy

Category:Songs about food and drink

Category:Rhubarb

Category:Fictional restaurants