Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision- July 22, 2025
This pancocojams post presents some information about R&B singer R. Kelly's hit 1996 Rhythm & Blues song "I Believe I Can Fly".
In addition, this post archives comments from the discussion thread of the 2013 pancocojams post "Children's Parodies Of "I Believe I Can Fly" (text
& video examples)."
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/childrens-parodies-of-i-believe-i-can_2.html
These comments are from March 28, 2014-July 17, 2025.
New comments that may be added to that 2012 post will also be added to this post. Commenters are also welcome to add examples and/or other comments to this 2025 post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/07/archived-links-for-pancocojams-posts.html for a hyperlinked archive of pancocojams posts on "I Believe I Can Fly" children's parodies.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/07/archived-links-for-pancocojams-posts.html for a hyperlinked archive of pancocojams posts on "I Believe I Can Fly" children's parodies.
PANCOCOJAMS EDITORS NOTE REGARDING R. KELLY
This post and other pancocojams posts on parodies of R.Kelly's inspirational Rhythm & Blues song "I Believe I Can Fly" should not be taken as disregarding or condoning R. Kelly's actions apart from his musical compositions and musical performances.
Here's an excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Kelly
"Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American
former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific
commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings,
[...]
On November 26, 1996, Kelly released "I Believe I Can
Fly", an inspirational song originally released on the soundtrack for the
film Space Jam. "I Believe I Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the Billboard
Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards
in 1998.[36][47] I
[...]
Kelly is considered to be one of the most successful R&B
artists since the mid-1980s.[123] He is also one of the bestselling music
artists in the United States, with over 30 million albums sold, as well as only
the fifth black artist to enter the top 50 of the same list.[11] Rolling Stone
magazine called him "arguably the most important R&B figure of the
1990s and 2000s".[179] Billboard, ranking him the 9th greatest R&B
artist of all time, said "from a purely musical perspective, there’s no
denying that Kelly is one of the best contemporary R&B artists to ever pick
up a microphone."[180] Music executive Barry Weiss described Kelly as
"the modern-day Prince, although there's a bit of Marvin Gaye in him, and
a bit of Irving Berlin".[181] R. Kelly has also been compared to artists
like Sam Cooke and Bobby Brown.[181][182]
In addition to his solo and collaboration success, Kelly has also written and produced several hit songs, such as "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" for Aaliyah, "Fortunate" for Maxwell, "You Are Not Alone" for Michael Jackson, "G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T." for Changing Faces, "Bump, Bump, Bump" for B2K, and many more.
Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on
child pornography charges in 2002,[189] leading to a controversial trial that
ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges.[190] The 2019 documentary
Surviving R. Kelly reexamined Kelly's alleged sexual misconduct with minors,
prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract[191] and resulted in additional
investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019.[192] This culminated in a
2021 conviction for violations of the Mann Act and Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act, and a 2022 conviction for production of child
pornography. As of 2023, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI
Butner Medium I.
[...]
Other than the federal sex abuse cases, Kelly has been involved in several high-profile criminal cases and lawsuits."...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT R KELLY'S SONG "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Believe_I_Can_Fly
" "I Believe I Can Fly" is a song written, produced,
and performed by American singer R. Kelly from the soundtrack to the 1996 film
Space Jam. It was originally released on November 26, 1996, and was later
included on Kelly's 1998 album R. In early 1997, "I Believe I Can
Fly" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the
number-one spot of the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and remained there for
six non-consecutive weeks. Internationally, "I Believe I Can Fly"
topped the charts in eight countries, including Ireland, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The song received five nominations at the 40th Annual Grammy
Awards, winning Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and
Best Song Written for Visual Media, while losing Song of the Year and Record of
the Year. It was ranked number 406 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest
Songs of All Time in 2004."...
-snip-
The children's parodies to "I Believe I Can Fly" have the same title/line as the original son or have a tweak of that title (such as "I believe I can die"). Some of these children's parodies also include the line from the original #&B song "I believe I can soar"
It's also significant that the children's parodies that I have heard offline and the online examples that I've hear sung all have basically the same tune and basically the same tempo that R. Kelly used for his recording of that song. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-9KCDxBpT4 for a 1998 YouTube song file of R Kelly -"I Believe I Can Fly".
"I Believe I Can Fly" parodies aren't children's game songs. The singers don't do any accompanying movements (including no individual or group hand claps) while they sing that song.
****
WHAT DOES THE WORD "PARODY" MEAN?
Here's a definition from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parody
"a literary or musical work in which the style of an author
or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule
wrote a hilarious parody of a popular song"
****
COMMENTS FROM THE PANCOCOJAMS POST "CHILDREN'S PARODIES OF "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"
These are all of the visitor comments from the discussion thread for the 2013 pancocojams post "Children's Parodies Of "I Believe I Can Fly" (text & video examples).
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/childrens-parodies-of-i-believe-i-can_2.html
These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only. They are presented in chronological order from the oldest comment on, except for replies.
This compilation doesn't include my "thank you" replies, my replies requesting demographical information from those commenters, or my comments that provide some information about R. Kelly's song "I Believe I Can Fly", information about children's parodies in general, or other subjects.
All of these comments are presented "as is" (with no spelling corrections).
1. Rabia, March 28, 2014
"i learned a version that goes, "i believe i can die, i
got shot by the fbi, my momma hit me with a chicken wing, all the way to burger
king." and that was it lol"
****
2. Anonymous, September 10, 2014
"I've always wondered at the origin of this parody, but today
was the first time I thought "Hey, let's look this up on the
internet!" Whenever I think back to my childhood, I think it's bizarre the
type of songs we were singing--some of them were dirty and some violent. I
remember we used to sing these songs on the bus to school or waiting around the
bus stop. I'm guessing I first heard it during 1998-2000 because that's about
when I started kindergarten. And I know it was before 2001 because I lived in
Germany on an Air Force base at the time when I sang it, and when I moved to
the states in 2001, no one was singing it anymore. My version was lengthier
than most, though I can't remember it all. It went something like "I
believe I can die, I got shot by the FBI, all I wanted was a chicken wing that
they sold at Burger King, I believe I can die..." and that's all I
remember exactly, but I know the rest of the verses just deteriorated into more
violence. There was bleeding and maybe rushing through a hospital door? I've
never actually asked any of my friends who grew up in America whether or not
they've heard it/used to sing it. No one has mentioned it to me since before
2001. I thought it was tons of fun to sing and sometimes we'd change the lyrics
to make it more violent (I think?). There were no hand claps or movement
activities. We just belted it at the top of our lungs on the bus. I think there
was a need to sing it as loud as possible and the dirtiest or most violent
possible. Also, I remember thinking one of the older kids had taught it to some
of the younger ones. That's all I got. I'll be back if I think of more lyrics.
3.
"Hi, same Anonymous here again. I actually learned the parody
at an American Air Force base in western Germany. I am white and a woman. And I
know for certain there were other non-Black children singing it as well--pretty
much the whole bus knew the song.
Also, I think we all sang the one chorus, but people would try to continue it with more violent images, not graphically violent, but akin to the "shot by the FBI" line. None of the song was dirty though."
4.
"Lol I used to sing
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I only wanted a chicken wing but I got shot in the dingling"
5.
"Great!"
****
Reply
6. Anonymous, July 17, 2025
"That's the version I sang mid 90s in MN"
**
7. hi, May 15, 2015
"In third grade, i heard some kids singing this...
I believe i can die
I just got shot by the FBI
all i wanted was a chicken wing.
how did i end up in burger king?
my mom hit me with a frying pan...
so i hit her back with 3 trashcans
thats how she ended up in the hospital....
and how i got this popsicle"
8.
"My son told me this one today from his school.
I believe I can die
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was a chicken wing
Then I got shot in the ding-a-ling"
Reply
9.
"thats a weird song"
****
Reply
10. AnonymousJanuary 27, 2017
"my version goes like this: i belive i can fly i got shocked
by the F.B.I all i wanted was a burger from burger king and a wing from wing
stop"
-snip-
I'm going to suspend my rule not to comment by adding that this commenter (#10) published this comment 3 seconds after the comment given as #9. That indicates to me that these commenters are the same person.
11.
"the ones that came up in my school were i belive i can fly i
got shot by the fbi all i wanted was a bag of chips but thats all i remember it
was more from 2005-2007"
12.
"Yep, I know this is old but it was "but I got shot in
the dangly bits", haha!"
-snip-
[Editorial comment from Azizi Powell]
Here I am again with exception to my rule about not adding any editorial comments. But I want to clarify that #12 comment was in reply to my guess that one of the lines that commenter didn't remember was a line that ended with a word that rhymes with "chips"
13.
"My niece was telling me this recently. It's simular to what
I heard growing up but it's half of what the full version is, considering it
was made into a full song that we used to sing on the bus.
I believe I can fly but I got shot by the FBI all I wanted
was a chicken wing from Burger King but I got kicked out of Burger King because
they don't have any chicken wings.
The rest I don't remember."
****
14. Cait, August 15, 2016
"My version from my school was:
"I believe I can fly,
I got shot by the FBI,
All I wanted was some chicken wings,
Mashed potatoes and collard greens.
I believe I can soar,
See me running through that grocery store..."
15.
"Our principal circa 1993 loved i beleive i can fly and
played it at all our assemblies. But, We kids used to sing
I believe I'm a fly
Don't squash me or I'll die...
I can't recall the rest"
****
16. Anonymous, January 27, 2017
"my version is like this:i belive i can fly got shocked by
the F.B.I all i wanted was a burger from burger king and a wing from wing stop
(the song ends there) when i sung it for the first time to my friends it got
stuck in everyones head"
****
17. Anonymous, March
31, 2017
"Chorus:
I believe I can fly,
Verse:
I got shot by the FBI...
All I wanted was a bag of chips,
Instead I got blown to bits...
Sing chorus. Sing verse. Sing chorus x2, while gradually
fading."
****
18. Anonymous, April 16, 2017
"The only one I have ever heard was "I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky all I wanted was a Popsicle but I ended up in the
hospital I believe I can fly" "
****
19. Unknown, May 8, 2017
"this is my version: i belive i can fly i got shot by the fbi
all i wanted was some some burger king but instead she gave me chicken wings"
****
20. Anonymous, June 19, 2017
"Children today still sing this song... I cannot believe
this. I remember this as a kindergartner in 1998, and as a substitute teacher
today, the kids were singing this in a 3rd grade classroom.
I had wondered how we all knew this song as kids,
universally across the nation, but today was the first time I looked it up,
after 20 years knowing it...."
****
21. Sophia, June 22, 2017
"The one I'm used to is:
I believe I can fly!
I got caught by the FBI!
All I wanted was a chicken wing!
Then they hit me in the ding-a-ling
I believed I could soar!
Then my face hit the flo-o-oar!
I believed I could fly!
I also happen to be able to die!
I can't fly!
22.
"Surprised to realize that the version I learned is actually
rather unusual. The melody is corrupted to have two extra lines, which I always
assumed was normal for the parody. Worth sharing, anyway.
I believe I can fly
I got shot by the FBI
I got shot in the eye
I fell down from the sky
All I wanted was a chicken wing
From A&W or Burger King"
sharing that example of "I
Believe I Can Fly".
23.
"Wow it is so amazing to read all the variations! This has
been stuck in my head all day. I am from the youngstown. Ohio area and I
remember singing this in elementary school from 2001 to 2004
“I believe I can fly
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was a chicken wing
But instead I got collard greens” "
****
24. Jess, July 1, 2018
"Hello! Version we sung ~98-2000 in my elementary school:
"I believe I can fly.
I got shot by the FBI.
All I wanted was a chicken wing.
Some 99 cent burger kingg"
This is fascinating how far this little jingle spread and
how it is STILL being sung. But only by elementary school kids lol"
****
25. kyle allison, December 26, 2018
"I grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago in the 90s. I
remember learning this parody, probably from my older siblings because I was
not yet in school. I'm white, but we lived in a fairly diverse suburb. this
would have been prior to the summer of 1997 which is when we moved to a much
whiter suburb. all I recall is the opening stanza:
"I believe I can fly, I got shot by the fbi, all I
wanted was a chicken wing, from McDonald's or Burger King" "
****
26. Anonymous, February 15, 2019
"I believe I can fly
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was a chicken wing,
Some watermelon and some collard greens..."
****
27. Anonymous, March 9, 2019
"I recall the version we had(DFW-area Texas, early 00's) was
I believe I can die
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was some chicken wings,
Mashed taters and onion rings
I believe I can soar
Right through that closed door
I believe I can die"
****
28. UnknownMarch 27, 2019
"Heres one. I believe i can fly I got shot by the FBI all I
wanted was a chicken wing from the old burnt down burger king I believe i can
soar i got whipped at the grocery store I believe I can glide i fell off a
giant water slide i fell off of it very fast and then i died on impact i
believe i can fly i really like to make pie but every time i make a pie they
would just always die. Oof sorry I know it sucks lol"
****
29. Unknown, April 27, 2019
"I made one my self
I believe I can fly, I got caught by the fbi all I wanted
was a chicken wing 5 potato's and chedder cheese"
****
30. fodjg;ajtoiwejto, June 4, 2019
"I belive I can fly
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was a chicken wing
from the down town burger king
I belive I can fly
I almost can touch the sky
I hit my mom with a frying pan
She got me back with the minivan
I belive I can fly
I go shot by the FBI
I went to the Superbowl
I got kicked in the A**H**l
I belive I can fly
I still believe I can fly
I got caught by the Soda Guy
All I wanted was a Mountain Dew
He shot me with his 42
I belive I can fly
I got shot by the F.B.I
All I wanted was some chicken wings
and a little bit of collad greens
I ran though a open door
I got killed by Norse God Thor
I don't think I can fly
I already got shot by the FBI
I didn't get dem chicken wings
That sucks
I'm dead"
31.
"Ive never done any of those. Most lines are the same. I'm
originally from Pittsburgh, Pa ours was;
I believe I can fly
I think I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was that chicken wing
So I could do that flying thing
I believe I can soar
They see me crawling through that open door
Dragging my A$$ across the floor
I believed I could fly
No thanks to the FBI
I believed.. . I could fly.
Kinda depressing actually xD"
****
32. Anonymous, October 21, 2020
"I remember the version we sang in my Baptist elementary
school went something like
"I believe I can die
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was a chicken wing
all I got was some refried beans"
33.
"Oh, and this was South Texas. Victoria."
34.
"I believe I can die
I was shot by the F.B.I
All I wanted was a chicken wing
But in my food I got a shinny ring
It hurt my belly but I went to pee
I believe I can soar
they shot me at the entry of the Burger King door
I believe I can die
I believe can die
I believe
I believe
I believe"
****
35. Unknown, March 15, 2021
"I belive i can fly!
i got shot by the pepsie
guy all i wanted was a mounten dew
and he shot me eith his.22"
****
36. Anonymous, April 3, 2021
"When I was a kid, we sang:
I believe I can fly
I got caught by the fbi
All I wanted was some chicken wings
Hot tamales and some onion rings
I believe I can soar
You see me rollin on that dirty floor
I believe I can cry
I believe I can try
I believe I will pry"
37.
"The version I used to sing as a kid was:
I believe I can fly
My mama shot me in my lip and eye
All I wanted was a chicken wing
She got me eatin’ some collard greens
I believe I can soar
Kick yo butt through that open door
Now the song is over
Now we drinking some (co-put-cher??)
Childhood was a weird time, man💀"
37.
"I believe I can fly
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted was a chicken wing
Instead I got shot in my private thing (ding a ling?)
'96-99
Bridgeport/Stratford CT
I am white, there was an African American majority in the
community. Sung at elementary school. 3rd-6th grade."
****
38. Anonymous, June 15, 2023
"I am 32, born in 1990, grew up in Munhall/Homestead near The Waterfront and yeah.. i was 7 or so at a friends house and we would sing that all the time "gollard greens to go with my chicken wings"... didnt know until today the original song was R Kelly.. thats more frightening than the parodies.."
-snip-s
"Munhall"/"Homestead" are two communities that are located close to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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