"K-I-S-S-I-N-G" or "Kay Eye Ess Ess Eye En Gee" is the (assumed) name of a playground song

Playground song

A playground song is a song sung by children, usually on a playground or other children's gathering place. Most such songs are traditional in nature and are passed, with constantly evolving regional variations, down the generations...

 or taunt. It really only achieves its desired effect—embarrassment

Embarrassment

Embarrassment is an emotional state of intense discomfort with oneself, experienced upon having a socially unacceptable act or condition witnessed by or revealed to others. Usually some amount of loss of honour or dignity is involved, but how much and the type depends on the embarrassing situation...

—when sung among children to a couple that is in romantic love. The embarrassment is derived from the prospect of romantic contact between a boy and a girl, usually an uncomfortable topic for young children.

The song is learned by oral tradition

Oral tradition

Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...

, yet is almost always recited as:

Max and Mia

sitting in a tree:

K-I-S-S-

I-N-G

First comes love,

then comes marriage,

then comes baby

in a baby carriage!

Occasionally, but rarely, a coda may be added:

That's not it!

That's not all!

The baby's drinking

alcohol

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

!

or

sucking his thumb
peeing his pants
doing the hokey-pokey dance!!

Any names may be used replacing Max and Mia.

Other languages

Another version of this song also exists in Spanish in which the couple is said to be "debajo de un árbol" or under a tree instead of sitting in one.

There is also a German version, where the couple is sitting in snow (der Schnee (with -ay sound at the end)), instead of a tree, due to the fact that the German word for tree (der Baum) doesn't rhyme with the "K-Ü-S-S-E-N-D", the literal translation of "K-I-S-S-I-N-G".

Pop culture

In The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

 episode Lisa the Tree Hugger

Lisa the Tree Hugger

"Lisa the Tree Hugger" is the fourth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 19, 2000...

 (s12e04) Bart sings this song about Lisa and Jessy (teenage activist). He sings the first two lines of the song. Homer also teasing Lisa sings the third line, but then forgets the text.

In Boston, there is a famous scene that takes place in the back of a car where the character A-O and Chrystally are seen K-I-S-S-I-N-G and then they vehemently deny it.

One scene in Ernest Goes to Jail

Ernest Goes to Jail

Ernest Goes to Jail is a 1990 Touchstone Pictures comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. It is the fourth film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell. It was shot in Nashville and Tennessee State Penitentiary. This is the second most successful of the Ernest films,...

(1990) where Security Guard Chuck performs this song to the notorious criminal Felix Nash who is mistaken for Ernest P. Worrell

Ernest P. Worrell

Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...

 when talking about Charlotte by saying "This guy is in love! L-U-V! Ernest is in love. Ernest and Charlotte sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Ernest pushing a baby carriage!".

In the Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray. The show aired for four seasons between 1993 and 1996 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town...

episode S.W.A.K., Heffer gets Rocko's letter to the mailwoman and he asks him to deliver it. After Heffer hears Rocko's orders, he sings,

Heffer: Rocko and Alisa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N...

Rocko: Just deliver the letter, Hef!

In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...

(2001), Jay (Jason Mewes

Jason Mewes

Jason Edward Mewes is an American television, film actor, and internet radio show host best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.-Early life:...

) whispers a dirty variation on the song to Silent Bob (Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith

Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...

) after being introduced to Justice (Shannon Elizabeth

Shannon Elizabeth

Shannon Elizabeth is an American actress and former fashion model. Elizabeth is well known for her roles in comedy films such as Scary Movie, American Pie, and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. She is also well known for her work in horror films such as Thirteen Ghosts, Cursed, and Night of the Demons...

), an animal-rights activist.

Jay and Justice sitting in a tree

F-U-C-K-I-N-G!

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...

One scene in Cars

Cars (film)

Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...

(2006) where Mater

Mater

*Mater is a formal term for mother, from Latin.*Mater : The dura mater and pia mater are membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord in humans.Mater may also refer to:-Australia:*Mater Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales...

 is making fun of Lightning McQueen

Lightning McQueen

Lightning McQueen, typically referred to by his surname McQueen, and occasionally called "Stickers" by his girlfriend Sally , is an anthropomorphic racecar and the main protagonist in the 2006 animated Pixar film Cars, and the deuteragonist of its sequel Cars 2...

 being in love with Sally. He sings,

McQueen and Sally parked beneath a tree

K-I-S-something-something-something-T!

In the episode Let There Be Light in the HBO series Sex and the City

Sex and the City

Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...

, Carrie sings "Miranda and Steve sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes... well actually, first comes baby", making fun of the fact that Miranda had a baby with Steve long before realising she was in love with him.

In the Little Manhattan

Little Manhattan

Little Manhattan is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed and written by husband and wife Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. Though Levin is credited as the director and Flackett as the writer, in the film's DVD commentary the two reveal that they collaborated on both tasks.Little Manhattan depicts...

 movie, there is the same mention of the song by Gabe. He uses it because he is jealous with Rosemary's karate partner Tim. (at 01:09:45)

In the SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...

episode "MermaidMan and BarnacleBoy III", BarnacleMan, The Dirty Bubble, and Man Ray are harassing two people in a car and they sing,

BarnacleMan, Dirty Bubble, Man Ray: John and Nancy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Also there is a mention of the song in the beginning of the film Flipped

Flipped (film)

Flipped is a 2010 romantic comedy drama film directed by Rob Reiner. It is an adaptation of the novel Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. It had a limited release in the US on August 6, 2010. The film had a wide release on August 27, 2010....

.

In Jack (1996), two children sing this song about Jack and his teacher Miss Marquez.

In Never Let Me Go (2010)

Never Let Me Go (2010 film)

Never Let Me Go is a 2010 British dystopian drama film based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Mark Romanek from a screenplay by Alex Garland. Never Let Me Go is set in an alternate history and centers on Kathy, Ruth and Tommy who are portrayed by Carey...

on the 31st minute, people are watching TV, showing some show in which the song is mentioned. Reply to what was like: "That is so not true... We weren't in a tree."

In Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series that airs on E!. The series premiered in October 2007. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of the members of the Kardashian and Jenner family. There will be a 7th Season to premiere in 2012.As of September 2011,...

 (Season 5, Episode 4) Khloe Kardashian

Khloe Kardashian

Khloé Kardashian Odom is an American businesswoman, television personality, radio host, socialite, and model...

 taunts Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian

Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is an American socialite, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for the E! reality series that she shares with her family—Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York...

 about her bodyguard Shengo singing "First comes love, then comes marriage, not in Kourtney's case, then comes the baby in the baby carriage" referring to her sister Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Mary Kardashian is an American businesswoman, socialite, model, actress and reality television personality who gained fame as a cast member of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami.She is the oldest child of Kris Jenner and...

 who had her baby Mason in 2009 with boyfriend Scott Disick without getting married.

In That '70s Show

That '70s Show

That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...

 (Season 5, Episode 06) Fez

Fez

Fez may refer to:*Fez , a brimless felt hat, once widespread in the Ottoman Empire*Fes, a city in Morocco**FEZ, the IATA code of Fes-Saïss Airport*Free Economic Zone*Fez , a painting by an American artist...

 sings to Hyde

Hyde

- Fiction :*Mr Hyde, character in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson*Mister Hyde , Marvel Comics supervillain*Steven Hyde, a character in the U.S...

his own version of the song:

Fez: [singing] Hyde and Jackie sitting in a tree, they're in love like two monkeys. Steven Hyde: That's not even how it goes. Fez: Well, is it making you mad? Steven Hyde: Yes. Fez: Then, that's how it goes.

It's mentioned on the TV show Criminal Minds, season 3, episode 14, "Damaged". The correct quote would be:

Morgan: What about Penelope?

Reid: I don't know.

JJ: (in sing-song) Garcia and Kevin sitting in a tree.

(she walks away)

Morgan: Get outta here. Are you serious?

Prentiss: Just when I thought nothing scandalous was ever gonna happen around here.

(Morgan walks away)

Reid: What? What does that mean?

Prentiss: Didn't you hear JJ?

Reid: The song meant something? No. No, I missed it.

Prentiss: It... it... it... You know what? Never mind.