Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 16 Jan 20 - 04:01 AM

THE Simon Mayor Mandolin Quartet mesmerised a capacity audience at the Courtyard. The encore – a spoof on ‘Home, Home on the Range’ and entitled ‘The Spider in the Shed’ – was gruesomely hilarious and reminiscent of Belloc’s ‘Cautionery Tales’.

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Jan 20 - 03:23 PM

Here's a link to Pete Seeger's "The People are scratching."

http://www.lyricsochords.com/The-People-Are-Scratching-Lyrics-Tab-Pete-Seeger-303182

Joe F, I believe your "Flea Fly" is from Ogden Nash.

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 12 Jan 20 - 05:11 PM

Hybrid form of 2 Child Ballads 'Lady Isabel' and 'Burd Isabel'.




I'll get me coat!

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 12 Jan 20 - 12:58 PM

Black Widow by Michelle Shocked

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 12 Jan 20 - 12:55 PM

A GEM HERE
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: Stewie
Date: 09 Jan 20 - 11:15 PM

My apologies, the 'Black Fly Song' was mentioned early in this thread with a link to the lyrics but not to a performance. Youtube also has videos of the song performed by Bill Staines, Hemsworth himself and several others.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: Stewie
Date: 09 Jan 20 - 10:57 PM

I don't think this one has been mentioned. Here is Murray McLachlan singing Wade Hemsworth's 'Black fly song'.

Black fly

--Stewie

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 07 Jan 20 - 04:52 PM

Nasty Spider by Jeremy Taylor. Great song.

Subject: Lyr Add: NEVER SWAT A FLY (DeSylva-Brown-Henderson
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Jan 20 - 01:54 PM

This was mentioned by Tiger on 03 Aug 99:

NEVER SWAT A FLY
Words by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson, ©1930.

As sung and danced by Marjorie White and Frank Albertson in the film "Just Imagine" (1930). You can see the clip on YouTube. (However, the recordings listed below are better musically, but less complete lyrically.)

[Verse 1] Love has made me tender; I now appreciate
Ev'ry little creature on this earth that has a mate.
Once I hated crickets; I couldn't stand a bee.
Now here is the motto that I follow faithfully:

[Chorus 1] Never swat a fly.
He may love another fly.
He may sit with her and sigh
The way I do with you.
Never harm a flea.
He may have a fav'rite she
That he bounces on his knee
The way I do with you.
Never stop a bee if he is going anywhere.
You may be concluding some terrific love affair.
Be careful!
Don't step on an ant
In the middle of a pant.
He may want to but he can't
The way I do with you.

[Verse 2] I'm the same as you are; tears come to my eyes
When I see professors chasing helpless butterflies.
Fishermen are hateful; they lead a wicked life.
Why, ev'ry day they separate some husband from his wife.

[Chorus 2] Never swat a fly.
He may love another fly.
He may sit with her and sigh
The way I do with you.
Never spray a nit
With a great big can of FLIT.
He may think some nit has "it"
The way I do with you.
Never stop a moth as he is gliding through the air.
He may have a date in someone's flannel underwear.
Be careful!
Don't you dare to slay
Two mosquitoes while they play.
They may want to make "hey-hey"
The way I do with you


There were other early recordings by:
Cotton and Morpheus, 1930-08-01.
Abe Lyman and His California Orchestra, 1930-09-17.
Allstar Californians, 1930-10-01.
Billy Uke Carpenter, 1930-10-01.
Varsity 8, 1930-10-14.
McKinney's Cotton Pickers, with vocal by Billy Coty, 1930-11-04.

Another chorus fragment collected from some recent recording:

Never take a chance
Treading on a pair of ants.
They may want that sweet romance
The way I do with you.

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 20 Aug 16 - 05:44 AM

Can we include sealife...?    Plankton.


Hannah Werdmuller's Diurnal Migration -

Much of the ocean is not yet explored
Though submarines pootle about the sea floor
Discovering new species wherever they go
Such as elephant-like-squid and eels that glow.

The following formula's certainly true
Of predation dynamics down in the blue:
From the tiniest plankton to the biggest species yet,
One thing they eat, by another are ate.

Here is where a dilemma arises
For the noble phytoplankton photosynthesises
And is thus confined to where the sun shines through,
And so by necessity what eats them too.

But in the photic zone it is easier to see -
The surface is a dangerous place to be.
The darkness it offers substantial protection
From becoming some predator's tasty confection.

So to the surface fishies travel at night
When there's less chance of being espied in the light
But during the day to escape predation
They return deeper down, and that's diurnal migration.



from Pre​-​Apocalyptic Love Song: Limited Edition album, released January 1, 2011

all rights reserved

hear/buy
Diurnal Migration - Hannah Werdmuller

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: GUEST,Senoufou
Date: 20 Aug 16 - 03:12 AM

Two silly children's songs:-

1) (Sung in a silly baby voice with a pronounced lisp)

I'm.....taking home a baby bumble bee!
Won't my mummy be surprised at me?
I'm taking home a baby bumble bee!
Ow! Eee! It's stung me!
I'm...squashing up this baby bumble bee!
Won't my mummy be surprised at me?
I'm squashing up this baby bumble bee!
Ugh! Eee! There's blood all over me!

2)
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I think I'll go and eat worms.
Big fat juicy ones, little skinny-linky ones,
See how they wriggle and squirm!
You...BITE off their heads, SUCK out the blood,
And throw their skins away.
Nobody knows how much I thrive
On worms three times a day!

I also quite like the verse from the very macabre 'Whenever You See A Hearse Go By':-


The worms crawl in,
The worms crawl out.
They crawl in thin
And they crawl out stout.
Ha ha ha! He hee hee!
How happy we shall be!

Sadly, I have a rather juvenile taste in silly songs!

Subject: Lyr Add: BUZZIN' THE BEE (Jack Wells, 1916)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Aug 16 - 12:34 AM

You can hear an Edison recording of this song made in 1917 by Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan, at the USCB Cylinder Audio Archive.

The following lyrics are from the sheet music at University of Illinois at Chicago:


BUZZIN' THE BEE
Words and music by Jack Wells, ©1916.

1. I heard a woodland melody,
As I sat down beneath a tree;
And then a bee came winging, singing, singing,
And he stopped in front of me.
Just then another bee flew 'round,
And they both sat upon the ground;
Then I heard one say, "I'll show to you,
Something strictly new."

CHORUS: First you sip the honey from your baby's lip,
Then you buzz around and take another sip;
Then you twirl her on her toes,
Like a bee around a rose,
Then take a tumble,
And do the bumble;
Get a little closer as you start to sway,
If she whispers "no sir," then you jump away,
Buzz your busy baby to the melody,
And you keep on, keep on buzzin' the bee.

2. You need a simple melody,
Just like the buzzin' of a bee;
And then you get excited, so delighted,
With that charming harmony.
You take your girl upon the floor,
And get the band to play some more,
Then you spin her like a great big top,
Till she hollers, "stop!"

Subject: RE: Songs about bugs, insects, spiders, snails, worms
From: Joe_F
Date: 19 Aug 16 - 09:22 PM

The ants go scouting thru the grass.
They hunt about as on they pass.
If they should march across a worm,
They tickle him and make him squirm.

Sung in grade school, California, 1940s.

Subject: Lyr Add: BUMBLE BEE BLUES (Memphis Minnie)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Aug 16 - 07:19 PM

BUMBLE BEE BLUES
As recorded by Memphis Minnie, 1930.

Bumble bee, bumble bee, won't you please come back to me? (2x)
He got the best ol' stinger any bumble bee I ever seen.

He stung me this mornin'; I been lookin' for him all day long. (2x)
He had me to the place once, I hate to see my bumble bee leave home.

I can't standing(?) him, buzz, buzz, buzz.
Come in, bumble bee; I want you to stop your fuss.
You're my bumble bee, and you know your stuff.
Oh, sting me, bumble bee until I get enough.

Mmm, stinger long as my right arm. (2x)
He stung me this mornin'; I been lookin' for him all day long.

Sometimes he makes me happy, then sometimes he makes me cry. (2x)
He had me to the place once, I wished to God that I could die.

Subject: Lyr Add: CHINCH BUG BLUES (Blind Lemon Jefferson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Dec 13 - 11:07 PM

"Chinch bug" is an alternative name for "bed bug."

These lyrics copied from WeenieCampbell.com and checked by me, as far as possible—but the acoustics are poor, and the enunciation bad, too, so these lyrics should be regarded as tentative, in my opinion. But I can't improve on them.


CHINCH BUG BLUES
As recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson, 1927.

I never did feel uneasy; I know how you left your tricks.
I never did feel uneasy; I know how you left your tricks.
You leave town today and it's ten days; you've got your business well fixed.

I wonder if the chinches bite in Beaumont, oh, like they do in Beale Street town.
I wonder if chinches bite in Beaumont, like they do in Beale Street town.
The first night I stayed in Memphis, chinch bugs turned my bed around.

I had to get 'ceitful with the bedbugs, to keep the chinches from takin' my life.
I had to get 'ceitful with the bedbugs, to keep the chinches from takin' my life.
Because the chinches got my number, wrote three letters to my wife.

My wife caught me easin', way 'cross that rich gal's room.
I said my wife caught me easin', way 'cross that rich gal's room.
The next time I go to slip out, I ain't gonna leave on the light anymore.

My wife has quit me, and my rich pigmeat gal is too.
I say my wife has quit me, and my rich pigmeat gal is too.
Oh, and I'm lyin' in this cold bed alone, hey, with these chinch bug blues.

Subject: Lyr Add: MEAN OLD BED BUG BLUES (Ernest Tubb)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Dec 13 - 04:18 PM

Tubb apparently used the original tune, or something very close to it, and wrote new words:

MEAN OLD BED BUG BLUES
As recorded by Ernest Tubb

Did you ever see a bedbug that looked just like a whale? (2x)
Well, if you never did, you never been in a real jail.

These bugs are drivin' me crazy; I don't know what to do. (2x)
I could turn my bed over, but they're all over that side, too.

[Yodel]

There's a boy in here with me with ninety-nine years to go. (2x)
Boy, these doggone bedbugs will get fed up on him, I know.

This here old jailer sure is a mean old man. (2x)
All he brings me is beans in my little old bent-up pan.
(Spoken: Looks like a little ol' dog's pan.) [Yodel]

Got a letter from my baby; she didn't have much to say.
I got a letter from my mama; she didn't have much to say.
She said: "Son, don't let them bedbugs whittle my daddy away."

Well, I'll soon be leavin' and I'll be so glad to go (2x)
'Cause these doggone bedbugs done got me whipped, I know.

[Yodel]

Subject: Lyr Add: MEAN OLD BEDBUG BLUES (Lonnie Johson, etc
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Dec 13 - 03:48 PM

MEAN OLD BEDBUG BLUES
As recorded by Lonnie Johnson, 1927.

Man, a bedbug sure is evil; he don't mean me no good. (2x)
He thinks I'm a woodpecker, and he takes me for a chunk of wood.

When I lay down at night, I wonder how can a poor man sleep (2x)
When some holding your hand while the other ones eat your feet.

Bedbugs big as a jackass will bite you and stand and grin, (2x)
And drink up all the bedbug poison, then come back and bite you again.

Something was moanin' in the corner; I tried my best to see.
Something was moanin' in the corner; then I walked over to see.
It was a mother bedbug prayin' to the good Lord for some more to eat.

I have to set up all night long; my feet can't touch the floor, (2x)
'Cause the mean old bedbugs told me that I can't sleep there no more.


[Verse 1 transcribed as sung, but it makes more sense as "He thinks he's a woodpecker..." and some others sing it that way.]

[Bessie Smith sings similar lyrics, but she substitutes this last verse:]

Got myself a wishbone; bedbugs done got my goat.
Got myself a wishbone; wish they'd cut their own doggone throat.

[Bobby Leecan & Robert Cooksey add this verse:]

I came home this mornin', staggered in my door. (2x)
Bedbugs met me, said, "Hot papa, you can't come in here no more."

[The Rhythmakers (of which Fats Waller was a member) sing this additional verse:]

I had a quart o' moonshine layin' on my dresser drawer. (2x)
Two big bedbugs come and drink it and bit me 'cause there wasn't no more.

[Other early recordings were made by Betty Gray, Furry Lewis, Kitty Waters, and Vic Lewis & Jack Parnell's Jazzmen.]

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Bettynh
Date: 01 Aug 11 - 01:39 PM

Red Hot Chili Peppers do "Flea Fly Floo"

Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxter do "Flea and a Fly in a Flue"

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: The other Hank
Date: 07 May 11 - 10:43 AM

I rocked a little with my Telecaster on "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider". I changed the words some and inserted the names of my Grand-Children. I don't know how to post it but I can attach it to an e-mail. [e-mail]. My daughter said it was a "hit with a bullet".

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Haruo
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:33 PM

Sorry. Entomographical.

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Haruo
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:31 PM

Don't see a reference here to the Entomological Hymnody thread, including my Potato Bug Hymn...

Haruo

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Apr 11 - 04:12 PM

Tinker posted a version of "Flea Fly" here that's close to the version I know. The Digital Tradition has a buggy version of Pink Pajamas - I wish it had better spelling...

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Joe_F
Date: 26 Apr 11 - 04:04 PM

A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
   Said the flea, "Let us fly!"
   "Let us flee!" said the fly.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Apr 11 - 02:00 PM

This thread was refreshed by a [now deleted] Spam message. I have to admit that the first "buggy song" that came to my mind was "Surrey With the Fringe on Top."

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Aug 10 - 04:55 PM

Blue Tail Fly ( Jimmy Crack Corn )

When I was young I used to wait
On master and hand him his plate
Pass him the bottle when he got dry
And brush away the blue-tail fly

Chorus
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care
Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care
Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care
My master's gone away
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

When he would ride in the afternoon
I'd follow him with my hickory broom
The pony being rather shy
When bitten by the blue-tail fly

Chorus

One day he rode around the farm
Flies so numerous that they did swarm
One chanced to bite him on the thigh
The devil take the blue-tail fly

Chorus

Well the pony jumped, he start, he pitch
He threw my master in the ditch
He died and the jury wondered why
The verdict was the blue-tail fly

Chorus

Now he lies beneath the 'simmon tree
His epitaph is there to see
"Beneath this stone I'm forced to lie
The victim of the blue-tail fly"



Another bug song..... I don't like Spiders and Snakes by Jim Stafford

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 03:30 PM

I knew an old woman who swallowed a fly! Perhaps she'll die!

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 13 Apr 10 - 09:52 PM

Ted Edwards 'Ladybird' is probably the nicest 'bug'song I do !

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 13 Apr 10 - 09:06 PM

Our friend Alan Eaton, entymologist and folk singer, has written a useful rap, uh, "song" entitled, "We're the Ticks".

It teaches tick lifecycle, safety precautions, etc. (and he sometimes threatens us with a quiz afterwards).

Linn

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: open mike
Date: 13 Apr 10 - 08:48 PM

is this about songs about insects or horse-drawn carriage type buggies?

I recently rc'd a c.d. by Ellis Paul with kids' songs including the

Dragon Fly Races.

I used to sing a song at camp about a buggy..

Horsey, horsey, on your way,
We've been together for many a day
So, let your tail go swish
and your wheels go round
Giddy up we're home ward bound

I like to ride a horse and buggy
I like to ride all over town
I like to hear old Dobbin go clip clop
I see those wheels go round

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LOUSE HOUSE OF KILKENNY
From: Gweltas
Date: 17 Jun 09 - 09:58 PM

The Louse House Of Kilkenny
(Trad)

Oh, the first of me downfall I set out the door
I straight made me way on for Carrick-on-Suir
Going out by Rathronan 'twas late in the night
Going out the West Gate for to view the gaslight
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

I went to the town's hall to see the big lamp
And who should I meet but a bloody big tramp
I finally stepped over and to him I said:
"Will you kindly direct me to where I'll get a bed?"
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

'Twas then he directed me down to Cooks Lane
To where old Buck St John kept an old sleeping cage
From out of the door was a small piece of board
Hung out on two nails with a short piece of cord
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

I looked up and down till I found out the door
And a queerer old household sure I ne'er saw before
Then the Misses came out and these words to me said:
"If you give me three coppers, sure I'll give you a bed"
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

Well I then stood aside with me back to the wall
And the next thing I saw was an oul cobbler's stall
And there was the cobbler and he mending his brogues
With his hammers and pinchers all laid in a row
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

Then she brought me upstairs and she put out the light
And in less than five minutes I had to show fight
And in less than five more when the story was best
The fleas came around me and brought me a curse
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

'Twas all around me body they formed a march
'Twas all around me body they played the Death march
For the bloody oul major gave me such a pick
That he nearly made away with half of me hip
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

Now I'm going to me study, these lines to pen down
And if any poor traveller should e'er come to town
And if any poor traveller should be nighted like me
Beware of Buck St John and his black cavalry
Radley fal the diddle ay
Radley fal the diddle airo

This concerns the hazards and fun of boarding houses in the 19th century. The fleas (black cavalry) have fun on the body of the boarder. See also The Black Cavalry.

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,Al
Date: 17 Jun 09 - 03:03 PM

Here's a you-tube puppet version of Flea Fly Flo. (I do it differently than them--the folk process does its work!) Found this (and others) by googling "flea fly flo"

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,AL
Date: 17 Jun 09 - 02:57 PM

Here's a call-and-response camp song:

Flea!....(Flea!)
Flea Fly!...(Flea Fly!)
Flea Fly Flow!...(Flea Fly Flow!)
COO-ma-law-da, COO-ma-law-da, COO-ma-law-da VIsta! (rpt)
Oh, no, no-no, la vista! (rpt)
EX-ah meany DEci meany OO-ah, low AH-la meany! (rpt)
BEE billy OATen doaten OO-ah, low AH-la meany! (rpt)

The repeat the whole thing. 1st three lines spoken (or shouted), next four sung. Each repetition can be faster or slower, louder or softer, but it's a good idea to make the last one the soft one....

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Joe_F
Date: 17 Nov 08 - 10:58 PM

Another itsybitsy:
thread.cfm?threadid=2582#10699
Another spider in the bath:
Detail.CFM?messages__Message_ID=1587277

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,Peg
Date: 17 Nov 08 - 02:42 PM

The way my grandmother said it was:

Little fly upon the wall
him ain't got no mom at all
him ain't got no shimmy shirt
him ain't got no petty skirt
(deliver next line slowly, with feeling)
him ain't got to mom to comb his hair
(lightly)
him no care, him got no hair!

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,Henryp
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 04:13 PM

Wallabug from the Anne and Frank Warner Collection

I bought a cow from Farmer Jones
She were nothing but skin and bones
Fattened her up just as fine as silk
She jumped the fence and she skimmed her milk

Wallabug, wallabug you can't fool me
I'll be as good as good can be
If you see a wallabug night or day
Make a noise like a wallabug and fly away

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,frape family
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 04:04 PM

little fly upon the wall???? the way we heard it was;

little fly upon the wall,
aint you got no clothes at all,
not a little shimmy shirt,
or a blouse or a skirt,
blimey aint you cold

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 08:40 PM

If anyone is seriously interested in all the many verses to "The Spider and the Fly" I might be encouraged to post them.

But "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" is beyond the pail.

My mother once got a children's book published titled BUG CITY which was full of outrageous puns.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 05:01 PM

Nana Mouskouris 'Butterfly'
"Come into my parlour" said the spider to the fly!
The Surrey with the fringe on the top! (Well it is a buggy!)

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 04:53 PM

Litle fly upon the wall
Aint you got no home at all ?
Aint yo got no mum nor dad ?
Fly Bastard !!

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: topical tom
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 03:57 PM

Maybe this song was already mentioned if so please ignore!

            The itsy-bitsy spider went up the water-spout.
            Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
            Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
            And the itsy-bitsy spider went up the spout again.

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,gemfly
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 03:43 PM

Does anyopne have the chords for the 'never swat a fly' song? would be great to get them. Thanks g x

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Rog Peek
Date: 22 Jun 07 - 01:32 PM

'Surry with the Fringe on Top'?

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,DCliff
Date: 22 Jun 07 - 01:25 PM

That was pretty good, Bertie, but that ain't the way I heered it!
...The way I heered it went:

"Little fly upon the wall,
Ain't you got no clothes at all?
Ain't you got no little shirt?
Ain't you got no little skirt?
Gush! [rhymes with push]
Go to God!!"

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Howard Kaplan
Date: 02 Apr 07 - 10:26 PM

The NFB has posted a video of its 1991 animated short, "Blackfly", on its web site at http://www.nfb.ca/animation/objanim/en/films/film.php?sort=title&id=25968. There's no charge to watch it, but I can't see any way to download it, only to watch it in the supplied viewer.

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: SPIDER IN THE BATH (Marcus Turner)
From: GUEST,Soundcatcher
Date: 30 Mar 07 - 06:25 AM

Here's one I've frequently dined out on by the brilliant Marcus Turner

    Spider In The Bath      Marcus Turner

¥        Am           E                 Am
¥        Here I am - is anyone about?
¥                      Dm                               Am                             E         Am E
¥        I'm down beside the plug-hole and I   can't get out, and
¥                Am                           E                   
¥        I've been here an hour and a half.
¥                    Am                    Dm           Am           E            Am
¥        Can't anybody help a little spider in the bath?

C                             F                     C                                E
I woke up feeling hungry in the middle of the night.
F                    C                                     Dm                  E
I saw a moth go by and thought "there goes a tasty bite".
F                                        C                          Dm               G              C
I chased it up the mirror and along the window-sill,
   F                                        C                        Dm                        E
Around behind the toothpaste - and then I tripped and fell, and...

C                                                    F                             C                                E
The sides are steep & slippery Ôcos the bath has just been cleaned,
F                            C                                     Dm               E
And everything is cold and wet and Avocado Green.
F                                                C                  Dm    G    C
There's a long lumpy Loofah, some pumice in a dish,
        F                        C                        Dm                     E
And all I have to talk to is this purple plastic fish, and...

C                                                     F                                     C                        E
There's no need to be scared, 'cause I won't do you any harm.
        F                                    C                             Dm                          E
Just take me to the garden where it's nice and safe and warm,
         F                                C                  Dm               G              C
Then put me down real gently and I'll run back home to Mother,
F                        C                        Dm                        E
One leg after the other after the other after the other after the
F                G                                        Am                        Dm
other..after the other after the other after the other!! And...
        Am            Dm                   Am    E            Am
Can't anybody help a little spider in the bath?

Regards John

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 30 Mar 07 - 12:29 AM

Matt McGinn's "The Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede" even beats the "Blackfly" song.
Incidently, I saw the "Blackfly" cartoon thing on the telly last night. Not as good as the "Logdriver's Waltz" but a real joy to see it again, just the same.

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: GUEST,Mike Goldberg
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 11:32 PM

What a great forum this is---
How about "Jimmy Crack Corn, and I don't care"
You can explain to the kids what a "blue-tail fly" is.
Have fun!

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Howard Kaplan
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 11:06 PM

I can offer two of my own peculiar songs.

Scarab beetles are featured in "The Buffalo, the Beetle, the Bouncing Kangaroo, and the Bufo marinus Cane Toad". Here's an excerpt:

  Though individually small, they transport ton by ton
  And bury dung that otherwise would bake hard in the sun,
  While mites that hitch a ride on beetles' bodies start to eat
  The eggs of flies that otherwise would for the dung compete.

Earthworms are not a bugs but do qualify as creepy-crawlies, according to the original posting. Here's an excerpt from "Hermes and Aphrodite", concerning the sex lives of these hermaphroditic creatures:

  Each worm has all the organs to participate in sex. It
  Produces sperm in segment ten, while through fifteen they exit.
  Receptacles in nine and ten receive the sperm of mating,
  While in thirteen, the eggs, still immature, remain in waiting.
    Though earthworms, one by one, are small, together they are mighty,
    And every one heeds Hermes' call, for each is Aphrodite.
  

You can follow the blue links to songsheets with the complete lyrics, music, and chords.

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Stringsinger
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 04:07 PM

"Bed bugs are mean and evil, sure don't mean me no good" (2X)
Fate's a woodpecker and I'm just a block of wood".

"Laid right down and tried to take my sleep" (2X)
"Saw a bedbug in the corner prayin' 'give me some more to eat'".

La Cucaracha is not about a literal cockroach as in
"marijuana no fumar".

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: Buggy songs?
From: Vixen
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 03:36 PM

How about the following from Hugh Blumenfeld?

Hugh's Website


THE SNAIL

I am the snail
I don't move fast
But if you look again
I won't be where you found me last

I am the snail
pale as a memory
I am the roaring in the labyrinth
beside the sea

I am a helmet on a shoe
I am the secret smell of you
I am the voices in your ear
that call your name year after year

I am patience
I am proportion
I am progress without fortune...

And if I love,
who would know
Even for a slow lover I am slow


And if I dream
how could you dream it
All your flash of inspiration
only chars the spirit

In a world of salt
in a world of glass
I have spent a whole night
climbing up a blade of grass

I am the snail
I will get where I'm going
I am the speed your hair
and nails are growing

I am the snail
Because I move, all of creation's moving
I know that it's a minor point
but it's still worth proving



© 1997 Hugh Blumenfeld/Hydrogen Jukebox Music (ASCAP)

Hugh - guitar & vocal
Mark - string bass