Songs that work magic with little ones

Subject: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: KT
Date: 15 Aug 00 - 11:51 PM

We have had some great threads on music therapy....I'm wondering what experiences you have had with music that has worked magic with young children? I know a great deal has to do with presentation, but I'm wondering what songs in particular? (aside from Barney and Sesame Street and all the other ones that they hear on TV) Stories to share, an

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mbo
Date: 15 Aug 00 - 11:57 PM

I sang "Goodnight" by the Beatles to Mrrzy boys...they seemed to enjoy it.

--M

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 15 Aug 00 - 11:57 PM

The hauling chantey "John Kanaka" always has a great effect on kids. It's easy, fun, and something they remember. Check the digitrad for it, if you don't know it already.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Bud Savoie
Date: 15 Aug 00 - 11:58 PM

Two that my own children never got sick of were "Lollypop Tree" and "Angus MacFergus MacTavish Dundee."

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: JenEllen
Date: 15 Aug 00 - 11:59 PM

The Buffalo Song. There's counting, wild animals, jumping on furniture, and death threats....kids love it!!

~Elle

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Elise
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 01:06 AM

I know you said no TV, but I babysat a one and five year old last Friday. The five year old popped in the Little Mermaid, and nearly died laughing when he discovered I knew the words to every song and sang along. The baby even laughed at me!

I didn't tell them that it's my favorite movie of all time.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: KT
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 01:18 AM

Oops! Don't know what happened to the original post, but that last sentence said, "Stories to share, anyone?"

I once worked with a preschooler who stopped whatever he was doing, whether it was happy, quiet play or a bit of a tantrum, if he heard John Denver's "Sunshine On My Shoulders."

And I have found that kids love Peter Yarrow's "Puff the Magic Dragon." (Although I wrote another verse for a happy ending)

Great suggestions! I'll have some new ones to learn! Keep 'em coming!

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 01:23 AM

Gordon Lightfoot "The Pony Man" was always a favourite of mine to sing to the kids. Yours, Aye. Dave

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Marymac90
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 02:15 AM

I used to be a nanny for 2 kids. To try to encourage the toddler to walk with me, when I needed her to do that, I'd sing "Side by Side". It was a lot better than nagging her, or getting into a battle of wills. She would kind of get into the idea that this was our "Walking Song"-most of the time!

Marymac

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Ana
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 03:26 AM

My kids' favourite memories (and now requested by their little ones!) are of "One misty moisty morning", and the mcGarrigles song of..."On my way to town, got my money in my secret pocket..." etc -sorry, can't remember the title. Ana oh yes, and Melanie Safka's - "I rode my bicycle..." etc again!

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: CarolC
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 03:38 AM

I think the title for the McGarrigle song might be "Je Suis Arrive" (Pardon my french spelling if it is bad.)

Carol

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: GUEST,Paul Crawte
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 04:26 AM

My 9 month old son loves the songs "Twa Corbies" and "Davey Louston". They help to get him to sleep, or if he's playfull he squeals with delight at the open verses. So, I'd recommend songs about death and dying.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 08:19 AM

Depends on the age of the kids. Bedtime songs for young kids can be just about anything that is melodious and non-threatening -- I used to sing my son "Sweet Baby James" at bedtime. If you want to be more interactive, in the 2-6 year old range, songs like "Bingo" (B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-o) work well. Or you can take any song and plug in the kid's name, and they love it -- for my son, "little Jackie Paper" became "little Michael Paper", "Johhny B. Goode" was "Michael B' Goode," etc., and suddenly the songs were about him). For school-age kids, I remember an acquaintance of mine years ago playing some of Shel Silverstein's poems set to music. I never knew if Shel had turned them into songs, or if my friend had done it on his own, but they were great fun -- "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out," "Hungry Mungry," stuff like that.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 08:33 AM

All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir (Bill Staines)
Waltzing With Bears (sorry, Art!)
The Marvelous Toy (Tom Paxton)

Those are the top 3 at my school, ages 5-11. I'll ponder some more and get back to this thread- timely, since school starts in 2 weeks!

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 08:33 AM

"There was old lady who swallowed a fly"
"James James Morrison Morrison" (explain that Mommy misbehaved)
"The Unfortunate Man"
The Golden Vanity - sad but my son loved to hear that he wasn't the only kid who got screwed.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 09:09 AM

My boys loved Angels Watchin' Over Me.

All night, all day,
Angels watchin' over me, my Lord,
All night, all day,
Angels watchin' over me.

(Don't harvest this one yet, Joe. I'll get all the words to submit with a midi.)

They learned it in Alabama, and could really rock out on the chorus. (Much like Mbo did one night in HearMe.)

When my daughter was only 5 years old I taught her the I, IV, V7 chords on the piano, and she wrote her own song. The title is Such a Pretty Day, and I still have a copy which she decorated and I laminated.

Can't wait for my new granddaughter to arrive...Have I told y'all about her yet?

Mary

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mbo
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 09:16 AM

I once taught a 4-year-old neighbor how to sing "Splish Splash!" by Bobby Darin. He loved it, even learned to sing a little of it after 5 minutes!

--Matt

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 09:35 AM

That reminds me...my daughter used to babysit a little fella who would spend 45 minutes in the bathtub singing Aretha Franklin's R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I think things would get pretty wild on the sock-it-to-me part.

Mary

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 09:38 AM

My wife and I do music with another family that has a large assortment of kids of various ages. The songs the preteens learn fastest and seem to like best are the old ballads,e.g., Two Sisters, Cruel Mother, Matty Groves, House Carpenter. Really. The higher the body count the better. The ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams has confirmed this phenomenon.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Pseudolus
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 10:06 AM

Cool thread. My story is either really strange or maybe it's just me, or both!! When we were expecting my oldest, we didn't get out much. My wife didn't have morning sickness exactly but the aroma of any kind of food would set her off. Consequently, we spent a lot of time watching TV and at that time, Cheers was on three times a night in syndication and on Thursday's the real one was on so potentially, we could see four episodes in a night. We were cheers fans so we generally watched them all. So time passes, we're blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby girl. When she's a year old, she's walking pretty well and we're still couch potatos pretty much watching Cheers whenever it's on. the funny thing is, when the theme song came on one night, Mandy came running up to the TV and stared at it until the song was over. We didn't take much notice to it at first but we found that she did this EVERY time the song was on. It occurred to us that maybe she's remembering the song from hearing it in the womb about a million times. We taped the show once, fired up the video camera, and taped her running in the room to hear the song.....it's one of my favorite tapes...

Frank

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Susan from California
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 11:38 AM

The "Cheers" phenomenon that you described happened with my youngest also--except not with the "Cheers" theme. My husband made up a nonsense song for her, and eveytime we sang it, no matter whether she was playing or crying, or eating or whatever she would stop and listen. This was VERY helpful when she was cranky. The song went like this, (wish I could post the tune, but it's done with a sort of Bo Diddley feel...) You might pick up on clues that tell you that Dad teaches Math and Physics...

Oh, Bonney, oh, Bonney do you have a purse? Do you have 25 pacifiers in it? One for Monday, one for Tuesday,8 for Wednesday, 12 for Thursday, one for friday, one for Saturday, and one very beautiful one for Sunday

Oh, Bonney, oh, Bonney I see you are a girl Do you know how lucky you are? Cause soon you'll be walkin', and then you'll be talkin' and then you'll learn to multiply and then you'll hate infinity, and you can be whatever you want to be.

Oh, Bonney, oh Bonney you're in our family Do you know how lucky we are? You have a Dylan named Dylan and a Britta named Britta, a doggie named Misty and a kitty named Meggie, a daddy named Daddy and one very beautiful mom named Mommy

Oh Bonney.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 12:09 PM

Funny thing about that, Frank; I had a similar experience with my daughter. She was born in 1983, when "Cheers" was a big hit, and my wife and I used to watch it on Thursday nights (we lived in Boston right down the street from the bar that the show was based on). My baby daughter loved that song. she also liked the opening music for "Magnum P.I.," a detective show starring Tom Selleck that preceded Cheers on the same channel. That was kind of generic "action adventure TV theme music," similar to what you might hear on other shows. But my daughter LOVED it, and would burst into tears a the end of the credits when the music ended. Fond memories.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: GUEST,Sheila
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 12:19 PM

Hi. You might check out: www.geocities.com/enchantedforest/glade/7438. Cordially, Sheila

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: KT
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 02:16 PM

Great song, Susan! Very sweet! And Whistlestop and Pseudolus, great stories!!!!! I have a similar one I'll try to share later...For now ...it's off to work!!!

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Quincy
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 03:16 PM

KT.....
when you get around to telling your story, can you also tell us the last verse you made up for "Puff the Magic Dragon" please?
It always makes me cry when I hear it so maybe I can convince myself that your verse was in the original?!!!

Songs for children should be happy....my grandmother used to sing me all the sad old Irish songs when I was a child going off to sleep!
I told her that making me cry to "A Bunch of Violets" or "Danny Boy" was a form of child abuse!!!

best wishes, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: celticblues5
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 03:23 PM

Depends if you wanta keep 'em busy or send 'em to the Sandman ;-)-

For entertaining them, I would recommend to one and all the songs of Barry Louis Polisar - wonderful, funny, some sweet but non-smarmy. Stuff kids can relate to, like "Stanley Stole My Shoelace and Rubbed it in His Armpit" and "I Don't Wanna Go to School (Tom said to his mommy)" - wherein Tom turns out to be the principal. One I've used with preschoolers that NEVER FAILS to get a great response is "Don't Stick Your Finger Up Your Nose." lol

There are lots of little songs and chants you can turn into action songs - Dance to Your Daddy, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, etc.
Or, with a year-to-two year old, a good knee-bouncing song is Pony Boy/Girl.

For getting 'em to sleep, lotsa good, repetitious, rhythmic stuff that goes well with rocking - Froggie Went A-Courtin', Stewball, Puff, Come by the Hills, Waltzing with Bears (obviously this has been mentioned before - just what is wrong with it, Art?). Rhythmic popular songs work well too - I remember my father singing "Gonna dance with the dolly with a hole in her stockin,' dance by the light of the moon" while rocking me. Even stuff that is moderately more upbeat works in combo with the rocking - Tell Me Ma, I've a Laddie in Americay, Leatherwing Bat, etc.

And, you are EXACTLY right, regarding pre-teens. My eldest, who generally hates folk music, absolutely SWOONED over Little Musgrave and listened raptly - it was soooooooooooooooooooo roMANtic! *vbg*

Sinsull mentioned James James Morrison Morrison - love that poem! (Remember my mother reading it to me, lo these many moons ago.) Kids are great consumers of this kind of stuff too. Another that always goes over well is Maurice Sendak's "Pierre" ("There once was a boy named Pierre/who only would say, 'I don't care.'"). Carole King & Maurice Sendak also collaborated on a kids' musical - really more of a series of songs strung together, although there is a title character & all - and she came up with a nice melody line for his "Chicken Soup with Rice." The name of the musical is "Really Rosie," and the sheet music for it has been published - don't know if it is still in print.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: bflat
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 03:23 PM

Waltzing With Bears is a favorite of big and little kids. Everyone loves it. The Teddy Bear's Picnic is another delight.

bflat

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: GUEST,shebamay
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 03:54 PM

"Howjadoo" by Woody Guthrie, "This Train" by Ella Jenkins on the new released CD "Seasons for Singing", "What'll We Do When the Baby Cries" and "Who Killed Cock Robin" from Jean Ritchie, and any version of "The Fox" are almost always winners when I lead a folksong class for children. Also any version of "The High Barbary" where pirates confront a beloved captain, "The Darby Ram", and "Once More A-Lumbering Go," are always for sure hits with my male students. All of March and April I heard kids singing "Macnamara's Band" while riding bikes after I taught it at a community sing. At the end of April, I received two additional verses from older adults as presents (verses they had recalled from childhood), and the mothers in town began to complain about the popularity (and rowdiness) of the song! The popularity exceeded my expectations!

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mbo
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 04:05 PM

Oh no!!! Chicken Soup With Rice! I must have written at least 45 parodies on those poems. They never fail to crack my mother and sisters up! And mine deal with things kids can relate to as well (I wrote them when I was 15), like hating algebra and not wanting to go back to school after the summer (something I can fully relate to today!). If ye ever want to see some, let me know.

Funnin' once
Funnin' twice
Fun in chicken soup with rice!

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: dwditty
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 04:11 PM

The two favorites in our house have been Swinging on a Star and Teddy Bears Picinic. Sometimes we just make up songs using our names or names of the kids friends. Gets pretty silly, but the kids love it. When there is a group of kids, I use a song that they can plug their own thought into, like (Now don't take offense anyone!) He's Got the Whole World in His Hands with kids plugging their own words for what He's got.

I was read A.A. Milne poems as a child. I gave my daughter a nice volume including Now We Are Six and When We Were Very Young when she turned 6. She took to them immediately, and got great joy in learning them by heart. Halfway Down the Stairs is her favorite. I highly recommend these poems to all kids (and parents, too). Now, if I could only figure out how to set them to 12 bar blues!

dw

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: celticblues5
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 04:14 PM

Mbo -

I still recall the doggerel I wrote in 10th grade geometry class -

In the bloodless hours of apathy
I sit among the stones
No thoughts from them, much less from me
Ennui invades my bones

LOL

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 06:04 PM

Ana, there is a tune to "Misty Moisty Morning?" any way to share it w/ me when I have no audio capacity and have not learned the "This program is worth the trouble of learning it" program?

For older kids, Rosalie Sorrels' "I'm Gonna Tell" can't lose, and you can encourage kids -- AFTER the program -- to help you write new verses.

and Mike Anderson's "They're Gonna Put me in Jail" song is my stock repertiore for school visits.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: CamiSu
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 07:05 PM

'Beans in your Ears', 'They did it cause we said NO' (from the Fantasicks, I can't recall the real name. A story, Owongalema, which is about animals trying to get, and REMEMBER a magic word. My friend learned it from a Danny Kaye record. But I once told that to a group of kindergartners. Several months later I was in the school again and one child came running up to me calling "I remember the word! Owongalema!" The teacher later told me that the child had been barely able to remember her name before I told the story.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mbo
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 07:31 PM

I love that song, Cam! "Why do the kids put beans in their ears? No one can hear with beans in their ears!"

--Matt

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 07:48 PM

Yeah, Beans in Your Ears works great with kids, especially if you shout "You'll have to speak up, I've got beans in my ears!" r-e-e-e-a-l-l-y loud. Swallowed a Fly works well, and so does Hole in the Bottom of the Sea - and I've actually found one kid who can sing it as fast as I can.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: Never Say No^^
From: celticblues5
Date: 16 Aug 00 - 08:58 PM

CS -

The song from The Fantastiks is "Never Say No"

(cho)
Oh, dogs got to bark and mules got to bray
Soldiers must fight and preachers must pray
And children, I guess, must get their own way
The minute that you say no

Why did the kids pour jam on the cat?
Raspberry jam all over the cat?
Why should the kids do something like that
When all that we said was no?

My son was once afraid to swim
The water made him wince
Until I said he mustn't swim
Been swimmin' ever since
Been swimmin' ever since, ohhhhhhh

(cho)

Why did the kids put beans in their ears?
No one can hear with beans in their ears!
After awhile the reason appears
They did it 'cause we said no

Your daughter brings a young man in,
Says, 'Do you like him, Ma?'
Just tell her he's a fool and then
You've got a son-in-law
You've got a son-in-law, ohhhhhhhhh

Sure as the June comes right after May
Sure as the sun comes right after day
You can be sure the devil's to pay
The minute that you say no!
Make sure you never say.......No!


Yup - kids love it - I've used it too. Thanks for reminding us.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Susan from California
Date: 17 Aug 00 - 01:03 PM

At Costco yesterday I saw "Wee Sing Folksongs" for $3.98. I didn't buy it then, think I'm going to go back today...

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Aug 00 - 01:26 PM

I used to put my son to sleep with "Bheir Me O"....and just made up nonsense syllables when I'd used up the real ones..and he also used to LOVE "Haul 'Em Away" (Little Sally Rackett)...now that he is 18 and understands the words, HE is singing it

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: KT
Date: 17 Aug 00 - 02:22 PM

I think there is a direct correlation between one's addiction to MUDCAT and one's frustration level when one's computer crashes!!!!!! ARRRGGGHHHH!! But, it's back! (And less expensive than last time!)

Yvonne, I'd be happy to share my verse to Puff. I hope Peter Yarrow doesn't mind.....

I wrote it after singing the song to a group of preschoolers....Their little faces dropped at the end of the song. I just couldn't leave it there, so the next day we sang it again. After Puff sadly slips into his cave, and we sing the refrain one more time to mull it over, then I ask "Is that the end?" And they all delight in saying "NO!" Then we sing the last verse, and they really belt it out!....

Many long years later, Puff was sleeping on the shore
He awakened to the laughter that he'd known so long before
There was Jackie Paper, now grown into a man
And he brought all of his children
To play with Puff again!

Happily ever after.........

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Quincy
Date: 17 Aug 00 - 06:22 PM

Thank you KT....it was worth waiting for!!
And I will confess - soppy thing that I am, it brought a tear to my eye!
I always listen hard to the words of songs and I have a really good imagination so I can picture it all too.

Now I will be able to see Puff sitting on the beach.......I just love the "Happy Ever Afters"

best wishes Yvonne

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: KT
Date: 17 Aug 00 - 07:35 PM

I'm glad you like it, Yvonne. Don't feel badly about the tear in your eye. I sing it for adults too and you're in good company....tears and all!! All the best......

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Kim C
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 12:12 PM

A friend's 3-year-old daughter always begs me to play what she calls "the Mexico dance." I haven't figured out exactly what the Mexico dance is, but she'll do it whenever I play the fiddle. Her favorite song is Rose of Alabama. Go figure.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: GUEST,Paul G.
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 12:52 PM

While this is not about specific tunes, I have two Florida performer friends who specialize in kids music (mostly done folk-style) who are absolutely wonderful. Kate Carpenter has a CD called Hug-A-Bug-A-Boo filled with child friendly songs that my wife's kindergarten class can't get enough of (she has a web site, but I can't remember the URL just now). The second is a woman called Shana...or Shanabanana for the kids. Her music can be found at MP3.com or at her web site www.shanabanana.com

pg

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mbo
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 12:59 PM

Kim, is that the same Rose of Alambama I know? The one where the guy's girlfriend puts such a huggin' & kissin' on him, that he drops his banjo in the river (oh NO!)

--M

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 01:04 PM

The Name Game if you can stand it.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 01:06 PM

KT,
Thanks for the additional verse. I still keep my own Puff tucked safely away in my room. Hated to think of Jackie's all alone in a cave. But for the record - most little boys never grow up.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Mbo
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 01:10 PM

Thanks Sins.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: Kim C
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 01:51 PM

Yep, Mbo, that would be the one...

We hugged so long I could not tell
But Rosie seemed to like it well
My banjo in the river fell
Oh Rose of Alabama!

Or as we say in Tennessee, Alabammy. :)

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: GUEST,Sean
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 05:26 PM

My kids like hearing Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow" and "The Wind." Also, the Eagles' "Desperado." For a lullaby, I sing "Golden Slumbers" and "The End," from Abbey Road, skipping all the stuff in between. MAG, Steeleye Span recorded Misty Moisty Morning, although I don't remember what album it was on.

Subject: RE: Songs that work magic with little ones
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 18 Aug 00 - 08:09 PM

Thanks; a good reason to go look through Steeleye Span LP - CD conversions.