Lyr ADD: Animal Fair

Subject: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From:
Date: 18 Feb 97 - 05:05 PM

I'm looking for additional lyrics for a song I learned when I was a kid: "I went to the animal fair/ The birds and the beasts were there/ the big babboon, by the light of the moon/ was combing his auburn hair

The monkey he got drunk and sat on the elephant's trunk. The elephant wheezed and started to sneeze but what become of the monk?

Many or most of the above lyrics could be wrong -- has anyone heard of this song, or know its title?

Please reply to my email ([e-mail]) -- Thanks in advance.

-- Ned Balzer

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: rich r
Date: 18 Feb 97 - 11:33 PM

Supposedly this didn't go out, sorry if it ends up a duplicate. The words to ANIMAL FAIR found in the book "Animal Songs For Children" by Richard Carlin (1985 Amsco Publications) have only the words already posted with very minor variation. "Beasts" becomes "bees" (I think "Beasts" fits the context better) and "monkey" (alt. "the monk") repeats three times at the end and then you go back and do it all over again.

rich r

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: Anne Cormack
Date: 19 Feb 97 - 06:57 AM

Ned, this was a "camp song" in Scotland when I was a kid, we used the words "beasts" and "monkey" as described by Rich. I don't think there's any more.

Anne

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: Tim Rossiter
Date: 21 Feb 97 - 03:28 PM

I learned a bit more morbid last verse;

The elephant sneezed and fell to its knees and that was the end of the monk . . .

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: Dick Wisan
Date: 21 Feb 97 - 09:32 PM

I learned it (circa 1937) the way Rossiter has it. We ended, though, by repeating

the monk, the monk, the monk...

until you run out of breath.

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From:
Date: 06 Apr 03 - 10:33 AM

DT has the song, but without an author's name

DT Animal Fair

There are two versions at:

Animal Fair Version 1
Animal Fair Version 2

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Apr 03 - 07:02 PM

We sang, "The elephant sneezed and turned to green cheese."

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,Auburn haired Baboon
Date: 31 Jul 04 - 07:47 AM

What is all this about a 'monk'?

I know it as :

We went to the animal fair,
The birds and bees were there,
The big Baboon, by the light of the moon,
Was combing his auburn hair.

The monkey fell out of his bunk,
And slid down the elephant's trunk,
The elephant sneezed, and fell on his knees,
And what became of the monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey.....

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 31 Jul 04 - 02:01 PM

GUEST,Auburn haired Baboon:

The two other threads listed at the top of this one may provide a little more detail.

CHEERS

Nigel

Subject: RE: Lyrics Request: Animal Fair
From: Leadfingers
Date: 31 Jul 04 - 06:30 PM

Just to lower the tone my Tuppence worth is to say I prefer 'The Wild West Show' But I never did have any taste Did I ?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,littleval
Date: 12 Mar 08 - 06:56 PM

Here's how I learned it:

I went to the animal fair
The birds and the beasts (or bees) were there
The big baboon, by the light of the moon,
was combing his auburn hair.

The monkey, he got drunk
And sat on the elephant's trunk.
The elephant sneezed and fell to his knees
And that was the end of the monk, the monk
Oh, that was the end of the monk.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Dave Hunt
Date: 12 Mar 08 - 08:51 PM

Re; word from Aubern haired baboon above

We went to the animal fair,
The birds and bees were there,
The big Baboon, by the light of the moon,
Was combing his auburn hair.

The monkey fell out of his bunk,
And slid down the elephant's trunk,
The elephant sneezed, and fell on his knees,
And what became of the monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey

That's the one I use too - except the baboon has golden hair!
And you have two lots of kids singing it - group one sing it then continue the monkey, monkey bit whilst the other group sing the verse - and so on...........
Dr. Sunshine
www.sunshinearts.co.uk

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: The Walrus
Date: 12 Mar 08 - 08:55 PM

As a Wolf Cub (Cub Scouts, these days) we sang this as a round with the "monkey, monkey" repeated until the song finished (or your group repeated).
As for 'monk' or 'monkey' we sang 'monkey' but as two distinct and seperated sylables.
That was about 1965/6.

Tom

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Reiver 2
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 01:33 AM

As a small boy growing up in Wisconsin in the 1930s, my dad used to sing it to me. He sang it:

I went to the animal fair, the birds and the beasts were there,
The old baboon, by the light of the moon, was combing his auburn hair.
The monkey, he got drunk, sat down on the elephant's trunk;
Th elephant sneezed, fell down on his knees and that was the end of
the monk, the monk, the monk.

My dad used to sing in Barbershop Quartets, Glee Clubs, etc. when he was in H.S. and college but I have no idea where got that song.

Reiver 2

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 03:55 AM

The only time I've ever heard this one was when Richard Dreyfus sang it in the movie "The Big Fix." It's been a long time, but I think he was singing it to his two boys. The words were exactly as posted in the first post above.

Lin

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: EBarnacle
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 08:55 AM

The song can be found on a mid-50's album by Burl Ives, known as the Animal Fair, from Children's Record Guild. The lyrics are similar to those above. I believe it has been reissued on CD.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,Diana
Date: 16 Mar 08 - 09:43 PM

When I was a kid, I had a record of Animal Fair and the lyrics were the same as littleval's. I vaguely remember that the record had a cartoon character trying to find out what happened to the monk.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Reiver 2
Date: 17 Mar 08 - 05:38 PM

There were a number of other songs my dad used to sing me when I was a small boy. Songs that I've never run across anywhere else. I'll post what lyrics I can remember on new or separate threads which I'll list as:

The Day I Played Baseball
The earth's made of mud from the bottom of the river,
Looking For A Home
One More River to Cross

If anyone knows anything about any of these please post on the appropriate thread. (It may take a day or two to get them all up.) Thanks in advance for any information.

Reiver 2

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Reiver 2
Date: 17 Mar 08 - 05:58 PM

MY bad. I remember now that I'd posted the lyrics (what I could remember of them) to "The Day I Played Baseball" on a thread called Baseball Songs some years back. I got a couple of referrals (one for the Library of Congress) but have never been able to access them. So I'll go ahead and post the new thread anyway when I can get to it. (Hopefully tomorrow.)

Reiver 2

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Snuffy
Date: 17 Mar 08 - 08:30 PM

This one? One More River to Cross

And could Lookin' For A Home be this one? THE BOLL WEEVIL

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Reiver 2
Date: 18 Mar 08 - 05:20 PM

I knew that later as "The Boll Weevil," but it's not my dad's song. Lookin For a Home was a repeat line in the chorus of a Noah's Ark song... I don't know it that the real name of it or not. I'm just on my way to start a thread now under that name. One of the others I'll post is a kind of similar Noah song - don't know it's "real" name either.

Reiver 2

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Animal Fair
From: Bob Coltman
Date: 18 Mar 08 - 07:12 PM

About "Animal Fair" ... almost all the versions I have heard use the first verse only.

I have seen the following 2nd and 3rd verses but I doubt they're traditional. They sound more like the work of a clever camp counselor. Still they're pretty well done! Here's the whole thing:

THE ANIMAL FAIR

I went to the animal fair, the birds and the beasts were there,
The big baboon by the light of the moon was combing his auburn hair,
The monkey he got drunk and sat on the elephant's trunk,
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees, and that was the end of the monk! the monk!

The kangaroo was dressed in an elegant velvet vest,
The horse and pig were dancing a jig to the tune of the fiddler's best,
The seal began to sing, and swallowed his diamond ring,
The crocodile fell over the stile and the bell went ring-ding-ding.

The lion raised a row when he tried to kiss the cow,
With terrified moos the cow refused, it made the lion howl,
The parrots in the trees were chaffing the chimpanzees,
The chimps were shy and covered their eyes, and fell in a bucket of greaze, of greaze.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: Reiver 2
Date: 18 Mar 08 - 07:22 PM

Hey, That's great, Bob. I think, like you that the extra verses are later additions. Probably, as you say, by a clever camp counselor.
:-) Thanks a heap! "Rig-a-jig-jig and away we go..."

I hope you'll look at my other post on the songs I mentioned earlier on this thread.

Reiver 2

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Mar 08 - 08:55 PM

And I have, ala my mother,

We went to the animal faire, all the birds and the bees were there
And the big baboon, by the light of the moon, was combing his auburn hair.
And the monkey he got drunk, and fell in the elephant's trunk.
And the elephant Sneezed... and fell to his kneeees
And what became of the monk, the monk, the monk?
And what became of the monk?


And, Yes, after a 7 year, childbearing absesnce, I'M BACK!!!
Catfeet

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 19 Mar 08 - 04:55 PM

This was one of a number of whimsical "novelty songs" popular during the 1930's and 1940's in the U.S. Most musical groups had one or two in their act. Some acts lived off them.

Some of the others I can recall are:
"Mairzy Doats"
"The Merry Go Round Broke Down" (theme song for Warner Bros.
                                 Cartoons)
"Open the Door Richard"
"The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B"
"I Like Bananas"
"I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts"
"Yes, We Have No Bananas"
"Nellie, the Nudist Queen"
"Der Fuhrer's Face" (and almost anything else by Spike Jones)
"Lydia, The Tattooed Lady"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,AnnieK
Date: 17 Apr 10 - 06:21 PM

Also...

I went to the animal zoo
To see the new gnu
The new gnu said, "how are you?
...Kachoo, ka-choo, ka-choo!"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,AnnieK
Date: 17 Apr 10 - 06:32 PM

Also...here is Captain Kangaroo singing a version slightly different from the lyrics above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fr5nhxcL88&feature=related

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST,Catmandodo
Date: 21 Aug 12 - 03:11 PM

When I was in the US Navy we had a sailor who we called MONK. When we got bored or drunk, which was often, we sang this version of the song to him.

We went to the Animal Fair,
The Birds and Bees were there,
The Big Baboon by the light of the moon was combing his Auburn Hair.
You should have seen the Monk,
He ran up the Elephants trunk,
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,
and what became of the Monk, the Monk, the Monk, the Monk

We would sing this ad nauseatum, until we either fell asleep or someone threatened to shoot us.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Animal Fair
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Apr 13 - 05:46 PM

It's the gay baboon