I Love Trash

Written by	Jeff Moss
Date	1970
Publisher	Festival Attractions, Inc.
First	Episode 0095

"I Love Trash" is Oscar the Grouch's signature song. It was first performed on Sesame Street in season 1, and has been retaped several times as the Oscar puppet evolved.

Oscar lists off several special items in his trash collection that he admires; including a tattered and worn sneaker that was given to him by his mother, a 13-month-old newspaper with smelly, cold fish wrapped inside, a defective clock, an old telephone, a broken umbrella, and a rusty trombone.

Earlier taped performances of the song have Oscar pulling the items he names out of his trash can. In a later remake, taped for Episode 2785, Oscar steps out of his trash can area and exhibits his trash spread across Sesame Street.

Performances

Image	Year	Description
	1970	Sesame Street Episode 0095 Sung by Oscar the Grouch. Video: Old School: Volume 1 (2006) 40 Years of Sunny Days (2009) Online: SesameStreet's YouTube Channel (YouTube)
	1970	The Sesame Street Book & Record Sung by Oscar the Grouch, audio releases often retain the spoken introduction with Bob. Audio: The Sesame Street Book & Record (1970) Goin' for a Ride/I Love Trash (single, 1970) I Love Trash/Up and Down (single, 1970) Let a Frown Be Your Umbrella (1974) Sing the Hit Songs of Sesame Street (1974) 60 Favorite Songs from Sesame Street (1975) 25 Greatest Hits (1975) I Love Trash/Grouch's Lullaby (single, 1976) 10th Anniversary Album (1978) Muppet Masquerade (1978) The Best of Oscar the Grouch (1983) My Record (1983) We Are All Earthlings (1993) Sesame Street Celebrates! (1994) Platinum All-Time Favorites (1995) Oscar's Trashy Songs (1997) Sesame Street Best (1997) Songs from the Street (2003) Valentine's Collection (2012) Giving Thanks Collection (2012) All-Time Favorites 2 (2018)
	1970	Sesame Street Episode 0153 Retaped with the green Oscar, syncing to audio from The Sesame Street Book & Record, as do several subsequent remakes on the show.
	1970	Children's Christmas at the White House Sung by Oscar the Grouch, syncing to the album version.
	1971	Sesame Street Episode 0291 Sung by Oscar the Grouch, syncing to the first season version.
	1972	Sesame Street Episode 0379 Sung by Oscar the Grouch, syncing to the album version.
	1972	Sesame Street Episode 0430 Sung by Oscar the Grouch, syncing to the album version.
	1973	Sesame Street Episode 0510 Sung by Oscar the Grouch, syncing to the album version. Video: Elmo's Sing-Along Guessing Game (1991)
	1975	Sesame Street Episode 0710 Oscar leads his Grouch School students in the song for their music lesson.
	1980	Here Come the Puppets! Sung by Oscar the Grouch, accompanied by Bruno the Trashman on rollerskates and other full-bodied Muppets.
	1980	Eileen & Friends Sung by Oscar the Grouch.
	1982	Sesame Street Sing-Along! Performed as part of a medley of Sesame Street songs, sung by Oscar and the cast.
	1988	Sesame Street Episode 2432 Sung by Oscar the Grouch.
	1989	The Jim Henson Hour Episode 109 Sung by K.d. lang
	1991	Sesame Street Episode 2785 Sung by Oscar the Grouch. Originally part of a street story where the cast discusses love, the scene, minus the prologue, later aired as a stand-alone insert. Video: Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years (1993, beginning edited) The World of Jim Henson (1994, excerpt) Best of Friends (2012) Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019) Online: Sesamestreet.org (sesamestreet.org) SesameStreet's YouTube Channel (YouTube)
	1993	Sesame Street Live: When I Grow Up Sung by Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grundgetta, and Telly Monster.
	1997	Sesame Street Episode 3638 Oscar sings the song as "Grouches Love Trash" with Irvine Video: Elmo in Grouchland: Sing and Play (1999)
	1997	Sesame Street Live: Elmo's Coloring Book Sung by Oscar the Grouch.
	1998	Elmopalooza Oscar sings the song as part of the "Songs" medley.
	1998	Elmopalooza (soundtrack) Sung by Steven Tyler. Audio: Elmopalooza! (1998) The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) Songs from the Street (2003) V is for Valentine (2014)
	1999	Sesame Street Episode 3815 Sung by Oscar the Grouch, backed by Gabi and Three Grouches Named Moe.
	2001	Sesame Street Live: Everyone Makes Music Sung by Oscar the Grouch.
	2002	Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic A chorus line of stinky socks sing a brief portion of the song during Oscar's imagination sequence, where Sesame Street is turned into a vast garbage dump.
	2008	Sesame Street Live: Elmo's Green Thumb Sung by Oscar the Grouch.
	2009	A Capitol Fourth Sung by Oscar the Grouch.
	2009	The Bonnie Hunt Show Oscar sings the first chorus, and adds that it'll cost 50 cents to hear more of the song.
	2009	Plaza Sésamo Episodio 1033 A Multimonstruo, who loves trash, performed a rock version of this song.
	2012	Jim Henson's Musical World Performed as part of the "Sesame Street medley," sung by Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Gordon, Bob, Susan, Leela, Gina, Alan, and Maria.
	2013	The Colbert Report Stephen Colbert, Big Bird, and Oscar sing a portion of the song.
	2017	Sesame Street Live: Let's Party! Oscar performs a remixed version of the song.
	2018	Sesame Street YouTube channel An animated lyric video of the song features Oscar dropping into his trash can to show off his collection, and includes cameos from Oscar's mother, Grundgetta, Bruno the Trashman, Irvine, an orange Grouch, Oscar's sister, Bunny, Grandpa Grouch, as well as Cookie Monster, Grover, and Elmo. Online: SesameStreet's YouTube Channel (YouTube)
	2018	Caroll Spinney's retirement party Sung by Oscar the Grouch, Sonia Manzano and Grundgetta.
	2019	Sesame Street Episode 4929 The newest Grouch member, Jack (Antonoff) the Grouch, sings an introductory verse highlighting the small spot on his tie. Oscar interrupts, insisting that Grouches don't like tiny smudges, but really messy stuff. Oscar then sings the traditional song, joined by Grundgetta, Jack and the other Grouches. Online: SesameStreet's YouTube Channel (YouTube)
	2019	Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration Sung by Oscar and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as part of a medley.
	2020	The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo episode 111 Sung by Oscar and Josh Groban Audio: The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Songs
Variations
Image	Year	Description
	1970	The Flip Wilson Show Oscar and Flip Wilson sing a unique version of the song, with additional lyrics.
	1984	Sesame Street Episode 1911 Oscar digs through a giant trashcan and sings about the large items in it, like an oversized "ratty old comb." A clip of this version appears in the special Stars and Street Forever. Video: 50 Years and Counting (2019)
	1997	Sesame Street Episode 3612 Oscar sings an abridged version of the song in scene 1. In scene 6, Oscar sings a new version with lyrics about his pets (Slimey, Fluffy, Iago, Spot, and Lassie), as a plea for them to come home.
	1998	The Three Grouchketeers Grover, Telly and Zoe each sing a verse of the song, with changed lyrics to suit their interests.
	2000	Sesame Street Episode 3891 When Oscar finds Felix the Grouch polishing some of his trash, Oscar sings "I Love Trash," while Felix sings about how he loves to clean.
	2018	Puppets for Puppetry Bobby Moynihan and Oscar sing an altered version of the song in honor of Caroll Spinney.
	2022	Sesame Street: The Musical Oscar sings a new version of the song, describing his role as a theater critic. He's joined by a Muppet Tony Award, broken umbrella, and rusty trombone.

Publications

• The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures (1983)
• The Sesame Street Song Book (1971, 1992 and 2007 editions)
• Sesame Street Unpaved (1998, lyrics and pictures from 1991 version)
• The Reader's Digest Children's Songbook (1986)
• Sesame Street Songbook Vol. 1
• Songs of Sesame Street (1977)
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)

See also

• Oscar the Grouch songs