Lyrics

(Kermit) Pretty day, sunny sky
Lovely pictures dance in your eye
(Piggy) It all seem so right
(Kermit) It all feels so rare

(Piggy) Summer soft, sudden breeze
Watch the wind play tag in the trees
(both) The world is so bright
So perfectly fair

(unseen chorus) Lovers sing, children dance
For a minute, we’ve got a chance
(Kermit) Why couldn’t we fly
(Piggy) I know we’d get by

(unseen chorus) Couldn’t we fly (repeated)

Sunny sky, pretty day
Just a push and we’re on the way
Yes, couldn’t we ride
(Kermit, Piggy, & chorus) Side by side

[instrumental and spoken interlude]
(Kermit shows off riding with no hands, then standing on his bike seat on one foot.)
(Waldorf to Statler) Look, Ma, no brains!
(Kermit does a handstand on his bike, eventually crashing his bike and hanging upside down from a tree branch. Piggy rides back to let him drop into her arms.)

(Piggy, & chorus) Why couldn’t we fly
(Kermit) I know we’d get by

(Gonzo) Sunny Sky
(Fozzie) Pretty day
(Janice & Floyd) Just a push and we’re on the way
(Scooter) Yes, couldn’t we ride
(Kermit & Piggy) Side by side
(Kermit, Piggy, & chorus) Couldn’t we ride

Music and lyrics by Joe Raposo

How the HECK did they do all this?? Jim Henson explains most of it in episode 10 of The Jim Henson Hour. But when it comes to Kermit and Piggy riding circles around each other on their bikes, he says, “that rig was so complicated, you’re gonna have to figure that one out for yourself,” like a magician refusing to explain his greatest tricks, with a charming but infuriating wink.

That’s the more obvious magic of this scene, of course—the technical genius behind bike-riding puppets. But it’s the subtle art of Joe Raposo’s simple summertime poetry set to a tinkling waltz that brings it all together for a truly delightful moment.

It’s those moments in life and in love when worries fall away like sand through your fingers. You remember how simple and beautiful life is. You remember how to be happy. And anything is possible.

Why couldn’t we fly?