If you have toddlers or have been anywhere near small children in the past two years then you may have heard the at first catchy, then increasingly annoying song known as "Baby Shark." The lyrics are, "Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo" on repeat while exchanging Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa shark for "Baby" in the following stanzas. Now, West Palm Beach hopes this tune can be used to drive away vagrants from a public park during night time.
The West Palm Beach Post reports that "the city of West Palm Beach has launched a music offensive, too, playing torturous sound loops all night long, of the children’s songs 'Raining Tacos' and 'Baby Sharks,' to keep the homeless from lying about the patio of the city’s Lake Pavilion."
The paper reports that "The city expects to rake in $240,000 from such events this fiscal year and wants customers to have a positive experience. They shouldn’t have to trip over bodies when they or community events staffers come to set up at 5 a.m., or when caterers or a bride leave at midnight."
“People are paying a lot of money to use the facility,” Leah Rockwell, Parks and Recreation director, told media. “Thousands of dollars. We want to make sure people paying this money had a facility that was clean and open and continue to use it in the future.”
The lyrics for the second song, Raining Tacos, seem just as irritating.
“It’s raining tacos from out of the sky
“Tacos, no need to ask why
“Just open your mouth and close your eyes
“It’s raining tacos
“Raining tacos out in the street
“Tacos, all you can eat
“Lettuce and shell, cheese and meat
“It’s raining tacos
“Yum Yum, Yum Yum Yummity Yum.”
Rockwell adds that the songs are working, "It has been effective and is a temporary measure to make the area accessible for those who have rented the facility and for future events. We are not forcing individuals to stay on the patio of the pavilion to listen to the music. The music is heard only if you are on the patio, a very small area relative to the rest of the waterfront."
West Palm Beach parks and recreation director Leah Rockwell tells the Palm Beach Post they're trying to discourage people from camping out along the glass-walled Lake Pavilion.https://t.co/JS5VmJmUFq
— FOX5 Las Vegas (@FOX5Vegas) July 17, 2019
Here's the Baby Shark song for those who want to get it stuck in their heads: