Animal Songs

Subject: RE: Animal Songs
From: eftifino
Date: 20 Jun 17 - 09:11 AM

Beat Farmers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEZtII8rt_Y

Pretty sure there is a thread dedicated to 'The Wild West Show"

We had an intro which went over well: (Shout the words in caps)

ROLL UP ROLL UP! See the fat lady standing on the skinny man's
COCK your eye over here and see the leopard with the 14 spots on his
MICKEY close the door theres a draught comin in from the elephant's
HOLE(d) your tickets for the next performance please.

We're off to see the Wild............

Subject: RE: Animal Songs
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Apr 20 - 01:02 PM

a good thread to refresh, it appears to me,
when we're looking for relief from cabin fever or what have you.

Subject: Lyr Add: FAY TEMPLETON'S WOODCHUCK SONG
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 May 21 - 01:40 PM

This song seems to be the origin of the familiar tongue-twister:
Lyrics transcribed by me from the sheet music images at Baylor University. I was not able to find a recording of the song.

FAY TEMPLETON'S WOODCHUCK SONG
“Sung by Miss Fay Templeton in Messrs. Schubert and Nixon & Zimmerman’s Production ‘The Runaways’ at the Casino Theatre, New York”
Words by Robert Hobart Davis, music by Theodore F. Morse, ©1903.

1. There am heaps of knowledge in old Yale College,
And in Harvard Universitee,
But I ain’t yet found, nowhere around,
Not even down in Tuskegee,
A full-fledged college graduate
What could right offhand ‘lucidate
Or anywheres near stipulate to me—

CHORUS: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck,
If a woodchuck would chuck wood?
And how much wood would a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck only could?
If a woodchuck could make good and would—
But dere ain’t no reason why he should—
But how much wood would a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck would chuck wood?

2. I’se a strong suspicion, a supposition,
That some white man surely ought to know,
Fo’ when I shout, dere ain’t no doubt
I’m heard clean out to Chicago,
Where dose professors speculate,
And figure and anticipate,
And git right down and calculate to show—CHORUS

3. I’se an intimation dat education
Am something ev’ryone don’t sell,
But I’m de moke what tried to soak
Dis woodchuck joke on old Cornell.
Dem students couldn’t regulate
On dis hyear problem complicate;
You ought to seen dem hesitate to tell—CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: HOT FROGS ON THE LOOSE (Fred Small)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 May 21 - 05:17 PM

This song was mentioned by Marymac90 on 26 Dec 99.


HOT FROGS ON THE LOOSE
As recorded by Fred Small on “Everything Possible: Fred Small in Concert” (1993)

[singer:] Frogs! Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Hot frogs on the loose!

By the light of a Tennessee moon,
From the bilious bubbles of a black lagoon,
They make a hound-dog howl, a swat team swoon.
Hot frogs on the loose!

They’ve multiplied since fifty-three,
Slurping nuclear debris,
Amphibious fabulous fancy-free.
Hot frogs on the loose!

Hippity-hoppity, here they come,
Radioactive, lookin’ for fun.
If you kiss ‘em, look out for the tongue.
Hot frogs on the loose!

[singer:] All right, frogs! Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Hot frogs on the loose!

They got little skinny legs and big bug-eyes.
Fraternizing’s not advised.
They like you like they like flies.
Hot frogs on the loose!

They got a chicken-nugget body an’ a whopper leap.
In your bedroom, while you sleep,
They’ll make your Geiger counter beep.
Hot frogs on the loose!

Hippity-hoppity, here they come,
Radioactive, lookin’ for fun.
If you kiss ‘em, look out for the tongue.
Hot frogs on the loose!

[singer:] all right, frogs! Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] hot frogs on the loose

You can put the pedal to the metal till the rubber squeals,
Squish ‘em with your tires, you got hot wheels.
Now you know how it feels
To be a hot frog on the loose.

Please do not keep them as pets.
Sautéing them may bring regrets.
Make a citizen’s arrest
Of a hot frog on the loose.

Frogs for peace, frogs for defense!
Don’t be nervous; don’t be tense.
We’ve got a sure-fire three-foot fence
To keep the hot frogs from gettin’ loose.

Hippity-hoppity, here they come,
Radioactive, lookin’ for fun.
If you kiss ‘em, look out for the tongue.
Hot frogs on the loose!

[singer:] Come on, frogs! Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Guck! Guck! [audience:] Whoo!
[singer:] Hot frogs on the loose!
Hot frogs on the loose!
Hot frogs on the loose!
Hot frogs on the loose!
Hot frogs on the loose!
Hot frogs on the loose!

* * *
[“Guck” is my attempt at a phonetic spelling of Fred’s frog sound. I see Marymac90 spelled it “gurk.” Of the transcriptions I found online, one spelled it “glub” and another simply omitted that part of the song.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I’M PROUD TO BE A MOOSE (Willie Nininger)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 26 May 21 - 06:20 PM

This was mentioned by Emily Rain on 22 Dec 99. My transcription from YouTube. It’s also on Spotify.


I’M PROUD TO BE A MOOSE
As recorded by Willie Nininger on “Almost Home” (1993)

All the animals laugh at me—
(I wasn’t kidding) Ask me what I’d rather be.
I patiently explain:
I want to stay the same.

I’m proud to be a moose.
There’s nothing else I’d rather be.
Just take a look at me and you will see:
I’m as happy as an animal can be.

I’d rather be a moose than a duck or a dog,
Eagle or seagull or a polliwog.
A bird can fly, but I don’t mind.
Nobody else has got ears like mine.

I’m proud to be a moose.
A moose is what I would rather be.
Just take a look at me and you will see:
I’m as happy as an animal can be.

Never had a wish to be a fish.
Tried to be a cow; wouldn’t know how,
And if you tried to make me be a goose,
It wouldn’t be no use, ‘cause I’d rather be … [audience:] a moose!

Right! I’m proud to be a moose.
A moose is what I want to be.
Just take a look at me and you will see:
I’m as happy as an animal can be.

Moose jam! Let’s go! Whoo!
[Instrumental break]

Never had a care to be a hare,
Lion, tiger, penguin or a bear.
I have no whim to swim upstream like a salmon,
‘Cause can’t you tell by now that I’m happy as I am an’

I’m proud to be a moose.
Yeah, moose is what I will always be.
The reason is, you see:
I’m as happy as an animal can be

I’m proud—so are you, I’m sure—to be a moose.
I’m proud to be a moose!

Subject: Lyr Add: DEEPEST AFRICA (from Chenille Sisters)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 May 21 - 07:17 PM

CupOfTea mentioned this song on 05 Mar 16:


DEEPEST AFRICA
As recorded by The Chenille Sisters on “Teaching Hippopotami to Fly!” (1996).

I was in deepest Africa; yes, I was; yes, I was.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching elephants to dance.
Don’t look askance, for elephants love to sing and dance
In their fancy hot pants.
I was in deepest Africa teaching elephants to dance.

I was in deepest Africa; yes, I was; yes, I was.
I was in deepest Africa, watching a toucan can-can.
When in the Sudan, a toucan can can-can better than
Any two toucans can.
I was in deepest Africa, watching a toucan can-can.

I was in deepest Africa; yes, I was; yes, I was.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching a g-nu to k-nit.
Each stitch that g-nu k-nit,
He would throw a fit like a g-nu k-nitwit.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching a g-nu to k-nit.

Knit one, purl two; knit one, purl two.

I was in deepest Africa; yes, I was; yes, I was.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching a baboon to croon.
Each tune that baboon would croon
Made the she-baboon loonier than moon goon.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching a baboon to croon.

I was in deepest Africa; yes, I was; yes, I was.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching hippopotami to fly.
Don’t sigh; look up in the sky.
Hippopotami will be flying by.
I was in deepest Africa, teaching hippopotami to fly.

Subject: Lyr Add: CHIPMUNK WITH A DEATH WISH
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 May 21 - 06:13 PM

This was mentioned by JenEllen on 27 Dec 99. My transcription:


CHIPMUNK WITH A DEATH WISH
As performed on YouTube by Dan Maher.

1. I’m a rodent by the side contemplating my last ride.
Chipmunk with a death wish!
Who would guess that my desire is to be one with your tire?
Chipmunk with a death wish!
I need a driver with the nerve,
Who’ll hit the gas and will not swerve,
But with all these PC types,
I could be here all night.

CHORUS: I’m a chipmunk with a death wish,
A chipmunk with a death wish.
Chipmunk with a death, chipmunk with a death, with a death wish.

2. Those chickens are so snide standing on the other side.
Chipmunk with a death wish!
But they’re just full of talk; takes a chipmunk to jaywalk.
Chipmunk with a death wish!
Your car won’t show a dent,
No indication that I went.
If you want a souvenir,
You’d better hit a deer. CHORUS

BRIDGE: Wheels go round in my eyes.
So easy to be hypnotized.
Nietsche would not be surprised. CHORUS

3. My mom whom I adored was flattened by a Ford.
Chipmunk with a death wish!
My cousins in a bevy jumped a fifty-seven Chevy.
Chipmunk with a death wish!
Would you think I was a snob
If I waited for a Saab?
What a classic way to go,
Getting hit by a Peugeot! CHORUS

4. Better polish off the china at Billy’s road-kill diner.
Chipmunk with a death wish!
Who would think those little critters would make such tasty fritters?
Chipmunk with a death wish!
Bet you can’t wait to wrap your jaws
Around these chewy little paws,
A bed of pasta underneath.
Just spit out the teeth. CHORUS

* * *
YouTube has another live performance by Leah Kaufman.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BEAR (Richard Digance)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 May 21 - 10:51 PM

This poem was mentioned by Alex, from Odessa, on 04 Jan 09:

I found this poem on an Angelfire web page called More TEDDYS!!!--not one I would normally consider a reliable source, but the words correspond pretty closely to those recited by “Poppy, aged 8” on YouTube. Those are the only two sources I could find.


THE BEAR
Richard Digance

When a bear held a fancy dress party,
Just about everyone went.
Each animal went as another.
Well, at least that was the intent.

The bat and bull went as a cricket
And the bison went as a bath.
The viper sat on the hyena's head
And they went as a laughing giraffe.

The eagle went as a birdie
And the birdie went as a parr.
(A parr is an under-aged salmon,
In case you don't know what they are.)

The panda turned up like a penguin,
Though he hadn't quite mastered the walk.
No one could tell the difference
When the butterfly dressed like a stork.

The hedgehog turned up as a buffalo
(Hedgehogs not being that bright),
But everyone said that he'd tried very hard
And he had an enjoyable night.

He almost came second for trying,
But it went to the hippo instead.
He dressed up as a fairy-tale unicorn,
With a ice-cream stuck on his head.

The oyster, disguised as a jewelery box,
Sang when his shell opened up.
A good try by oyster but not good enough
To take home the fancy dress cup.

The skunk was most unconvincing,
Sprinting in like a gazelle.
It's hard for a skunk to be anything else,
When they have that distinctive smell.

It was time to declare the cup winner
And first place went to the cat,
Who covered his tail with red rubber
And hung from a tree like a bat.

Subject: RE: Animal Songs
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 31 May 21 - 07:03 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7220zzl0_k
Nasty Spider, by Jeremy Taylor, lyrics posted previously in this thread.
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=7306