The Cup Song

So, like last year my friend taught me how to do this song from “Pitch Perfect.” I didn’t watch the movie, but she did. . . she taught me the whole cup thing and everything. And so I thought I’d share it with y’all!

What you’ll need: your voice (to sing), these directions, a table or the ground, and a cup.

Note: This works best with a red solo cup (or any other color!), a soft plastic cup, or maybe a thick Styrofoam cup. Definitely don’t use a glass cup, or you won’t get any sound when you tap it!

The lyrics:

I got my ticket for the long way ’round,
Two bottles a’ whiskey for the way.
And I sure would like some sweet company,
I’m leaving tomorrow, whad’da ya say?

When I’m gone,
When I’m gone,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.
You’re gonna miss me by my hair,
You’re gonna miss me everywhere, oh,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!

I’ve got my ticket for the long way ’round,
The one with the prettiest of views.
It’s got mountains, it’s got rivers,
It’s got sights to make ya shiver, oh,
But it sure would be prettier with you!

When I’m gone,
When I’m gone,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.
You’re gonna miss me by my walk,
You’re gonna miss me by my talk, oh,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!

I’ve got my ticket for the long way ’round,
These feet weren’t built to stay too long.
And I’ll go there on my own.
But you’ll miss me when you’re home,
It’s for you dear that I sing this song.

When I’m gone,
When I’m gone,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.
You’re gonna miss me by my hair,
You’re gonna miss me everywhere, oh,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!

When I’m gone,
When I’m gone,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.
You’re gonna miss me by my walk,
You’re gonna miss me by my talk, oh,
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!

That’s the whole song. Usually it stops at the 4th paragraph (the second chorus), because that’s how long the cup thing is, but I wanted to tell y’all the whole thing, because usually you don’t see it all. I’ll also tell y’all how to do the cup thing, but it’s kinda hard reading it. . . they have tons of videos about how to do it on YouTube, too!

The cup part:

Set the cup in front of you, on a table or the ground, the top (the part where you put your mouth) facing down
Clap 2x with your hands about 6″ (or a little closer or farther, whatever you prefer) above the cup in the air
Tap the “top” of the cup (“bottom” should facing up) 3x
Clap 1x (above the cup)
Pick up the cup
Bang it down, to get a tapping noise (not too hard, or you’ll break the cup!)
Clap 1x (above the cup, again)
Pick up the cup with one hand
Hit the palm of the other hand with the cup
Bang the cup on the ground or table
But don’t set the cup down yet (in other words, bang the cup on the ground and bring it back up)
Now the cup has completely flipped over (and the part where you drink from is facing up)
Hit your hand on the ground or table (the cup is still in the air)
Set the cup down bottom up (like you began)
Repeat until the song is over

Okay, that sounds a little tricky, but you’ll get it! And one more thing: while you’re doing the little cup thing, get it so that the beat from the cup goes along with the beat of the song. Does that make sense? I hope this helped!

Thanks so much to Ava, the friend who taught me how!

Good luck!

xoxo, Kaylee 😛