November 1, 2025
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Where Does the Phrase, “The Birds And The Bees” Come From

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Several sources give credit to the great Cole Porter for coining the phrase. One of the legendary musician’s more famous songs was “Let’s Do It.” The 1928 standard contains the lyrics:

Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let’s do it, let’s fall in love

World Wide Words goes on to explain that the first “explicit use of the phrase” didn’t occur until 1939. An article on filmmaking from the Freeport Journal Standard stated: “A Frenchman was born sophisticated: he knows about the birds and the bees.” Hey, hey — vive la France!

The Straight Dope believes poet Samuel Coleridge was the likely originator. His poem, the cheerfully titled “Work Without Hope,” opens with:

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair–
The bees are stirring–birds are on the wing–

In other words, when the birds start moving and the bees start grooving, it’s on like Donkey Kong.While there’s no real consensus on how the term came about, most folks cite Mr. Porter. If you’d like a final opinion on the matter, we suggest you ask your health teacher.

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Where Does the Phrase, "The Birds And The Bees" Come From

B. John 376 Views , , , ,

Several sources give credit to the great Cole Porter for coining the phrase. One of the legendary musician’s more famous songs was “Let’s Do It.” The 1928 standard contains the lyrics:

Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let’s do it, let’s fall in love

World Wide Words goes on to explain that the first “explicit use of the phrase” didn’t occur until 1939. An article on filmmaking from the Freeport Journal Standard stated: “A Frenchman was born sophisticated: he knows about the birds and the bees.” Hey, hey — vive la France!

The Straight Dope believes poet Samuel Coleridge was the likely originator. His poem, the cheerfully titled “Work Without Hope,” opens with:

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair–
The bees are stirring–birds are on the wing–

In other words, when the birds start moving and the bees start grooving, it’s on like Donkey Kong.While there’s no real consensus on how the term came about, most folks cite Mr. Porter. If you’d like a final opinion on the matter, we suggest you ask your health teacher.

B. John

B. John Masters writes about democracy, moral responsibility, and everyday Stoicism at deep.mastersfamily.org. A lifelong United Methodist committed to social justice, he explores how faith, ethics, and civic life intersect—and how ordinary people can live out justice, mercy, and truth in public life. A records and information management expert, Masters has lived in the Piedmont,NC, Dayton, OH, Greensboro, NC and Tampa, FL, and is a proud Appalachian State Alum.