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Songs we were made to sing in school...
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Subject: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 14 Feb 07 - 05:49 PM One of the difficulties of getting through childhood was being made to sing some pretty weird songs back in primary school...songs which most of the children would probably rather not have sung, I suspect, although it remains debatable. Most of the boys in particular were reluctant to join in, as I recall. One was "Bingo". "There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-O! B-I-N-G-O...B-I-N-G-O...B-I-N-G-0...and Bingo was his name-O!" You sing that again and again and again till the teacher has mercy and finally lets you stop...or the bell rings. Singing it more than ten times in a row could really get to be a pain! It's even worse when they make you do it as a "round", and I suspect that they may do something rather like that in Chinese prisons to this day to break down the will of prisoners who won't confess. Then there was "Reuben and Rachel", a really insidious little number because it required the boys to sing one part and the girls to sing the other, back and forth, thus presumably assisting us in establishing our future societal gender roles... Girls: "Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking...what a fine world this would be...if the men were all transported far beyond the Northern Sea" Boys' answer: "Rachel, Rachel, I've been thinking...what a strange world this would be...if the men were all transported far beyond the Northern Sea" It gets even worse after that! Most of us boys would rather have eaten sawdust for a week than sung that song...but we had no choice about the matter. You could not pass Grade 3 without singing the stupid thing. Anyone else got some golden memories along this line? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 14 Feb 07 - 05:51 PM Oh damn. I should've put this thread in the music section. Can someone in the management please move it there? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 14 Feb 07 - 06:51 PM Here's one I remember from elementary school {the younger grades} I call it the "Good Morning" song. I don't know what it's title really is but I still remember it was the song we sang after standing and doing 'the pledge of allegiance': Good morning to you. Good morning to you. We're all in our places with sun shining faces. Oh, this is the way to start a new day. -snip- Of course, I sang this song to my children. They didn't learn it in school. I don't think they even had a Good Morning song. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 14 Feb 07 - 07:04 PM Oh gee willikers! {that's the extent of my cursing} I do know the difference between it's and its. I learned it in school after singing the good morning song. Since I'm here, let me share another song. I remember being in one of the younger grades {maybe 2nd or 3rd grade} and there was this outdoor event for which each grade had to perform a song for the entire school, plus parents. I remember sitting high up in the bleachers listening to the performance. One grade of "little kids kids" sang this song: I know a little pussy Her coat is silver grey She lives in the meadow not very far away Although she is a pussy she'll never be a cat for she's a pussy willow. Now what do you think of that? Meow meow meow! Scat! -snip- It was many years before I figured out why some big kids sniggered at the word "pussy". I also remember that some other big kids sang "you big rat!" at the end of the song. I think they added that for its rhyming effect-notice I wrote "its" and not "it's" :o) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 14 Feb 07 - 07:45 PM Thanks, Azizi. I never heard of those two songs before. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 14 Feb 07 - 08:54 PM Not only are the songs we were required to sing in school degrading, they were loaded with nonsense, fallacies, and disinformation that it took many of us years to get over. Consider the song "The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea": First, how can there be a hole in the bottom of the sea? If there's a hole in it, then it's not the bottom of the sea! The bottom of the sea is, by definition, the lowest point on the seabed. Well, if there's a hole at the lowest point, then it's the bottom of the hole that's the lowest point. The bottom of the hole in the bottom of the sea is, in fact, the bottom of the sea. There can be a hole in the seabottom, but the seabottom and the bottom of the sea are not the same thing. Then there's the matter of the frog on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea. There are so many things wrong with that picture they're hard to enumerate. First, a frog is an amphibian and breathes air as an adult and, we must presume, the frog in question is an adult since he is specifically called a "frog" and not a "tadpole". So, the frog must breath occasionally and, while most frogs can stay underwater for pretty good lengths of time, no frog can hold his breath long enough to dive from the surface of the sea all the way down to the bottom of the sea, perch upon a log, and swim back up to catch another gulp of air. Even if he tried, he'd either die of the bends or be crushed by the enormous pressure of the water. And we won't even mention the fact that frogs live in fresh water and will die if immersed in salt water. Then we have the matter of the hair on the frog on the log in the bottom of the sea. Frogs don't have hair. Period. I don't care about that old saw about "Fine as frog hair". It's a joke. I could spend an hour deconstructing that one but I've got better ways to spend an hour. And the flea. Yes, the flea on the hair on the frog on the log in hole in the bottom of the sea. Not only do frogs not have hair, they don't have fleas. And even if they did, the flea would be subject to the very same set of circumstances that make the frog's life on a log in a hole in the bottom of the sea so untenable. Even with its hard exoskeleton a flea cannot survive the horrendous pressures at the bottom of the sea. And we wonder why our kids do so poorly on standardized tests when we allow them to be exposed to such obviously non-scientific tripe as "The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:22 PM LOL! Bee-dubya-ell, that's a classic post. It oughta be framed! If there's not a Mudcat thread to archive classic posts like that one, there should be. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Mooh Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:29 PM Oh Canada, God Save The Queen, and Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimey Gopher Guts, the last one unofficially on the playground...but as songs they are related...somehow. Jakob's ladder, Une Canadien Errant, and whatever else from the typical '60s songbooks. Too bad they didn't use the Canadian Book Of Penguin Folksongs. Peace, Mooh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:30 PM Yeah, but what about the bump on the log? I distinctly recall a bump. The frog was sitting on the bump. And there was also a wart on the frog. You're right, Bee-dub, it's gross disinformation. I think it's a conspiracy. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Elmer Fudd Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:37 PM I remember all those songs, except O Canada.. How did we miss that one ; > ) The alternate way we sang: Reuben Reuben I've been thinking What on earth have you been drinking? Tastes like water, smells like wine, Oh my gosh it's turpentine! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Elmer Fudd Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:39 PM Oops LOOKS like water, tastes like wine, Oh my gosh it's turpentine. Duhhhhhhh.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:45 PM What about the funny version of "Batman/Jingle Bells"? How did that go? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Joe_F Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:45 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. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:52 PM I intentionally left out the bump on the log and the wart on the frog because they actually make sense. And I didn't bring up the matter of the log being in the hole in the bottom of the sea in the first place because even though it's pretty unlikely, I don't suppose it's impossible. By the way, regardless of what it says in the song "This Old Man", it's pretty much agreed nowadays that dogs shouldn't be given bones. Rawhide chew strips are much healthier. Unfortunately, "Give a dog a rawhide chew strip" neither scans nor fits the rhyme scheme. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Rapparee Date: 14 Feb 07 - 10:00 PM We had singing classes. There was one about a tailor and his mouse. We also sang things like "America" "America the Beautiful" "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." But the real bit, when we REALLY got down, was in church. Every morning, the nuns would herd us all to Mass. There we would endure a Low Mass, usually, but once in a while there was a High Mass. THEN we'd all belt out such all-time hits as "Tantum Ergo" and "Gloria" in Gregorian Chant! Yes! From grades 1 through 8, we were singing...Latin! The really good stuff come at funerals, IF we were allowed to attend. THEN they'd sing "Dies Irae" and we'd all get funky from the incense! I won't even go into the Solemn High Masses or siging the Litany of the Saints (in Latin, of course) during our walks around the block during Rogation Days or the Stations of the Cross during Lent. Oh, man. Woodstock was nothin' to my grade school days! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: number 6 Date: 14 Feb 07 - 10:04 PM doh, ra, me, fa, so, la, te, doh. biLL |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: KT Date: 14 Feb 07 - 11:37 PM There was a tailor and a mouse Hi diddle um cum feedle They lived together in one house Hi diddle um cum feedle Hi diddle um cum ty rum tum tum Through the town of Ramsey Hi diddle um cum over the lea Hi diddle um cum feedle. That one, Rap? I could go on but....you get the picture.....and htat should be enough to have it stuck in your head for a while. KT |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Peace Date: 15 Feb 07 - 12:34 AM The National Anthem. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Elmer Fudd Date: 15 Feb 07 - 01:06 AM Azizi, we used to sing the good morning song: Good morning to you! Good morning to you! You look kind of drowsy, In fact you look lousy. Is that the right way To start the new day? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Wordsmith Date: 15 Feb 07 - 01:53 AM Rapaire, you take me back. I was recently watching a travel program on PBS, and there was this Cathedral...I think it was in Spain...I wasn't really paying much attention to the show...but, I perked up when I saw eight men swinging up and down on these ropes that were pulling the largest incense container I've ever seen! Talk about nausea! How could anybody breathe in that place? We used to look forward to funeral masses...less school time. I did love the Dies Irae. But let's not talk about Lent. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Joe Offer Date: 15 Feb 07 - 02:38 AM I hated hand-motion songs. I thought they were dumb, maybe because I could never get the motions straight. And the dumbest of all was "Under the spreading chestnut tree" because both the motions AND the song were dumb.
Where I knelt down upon my knee We were as happy as could be Under the spreading chestnut tree spreading - spread arms above head chest - strike chest nut - knock on top of head But hey, I can sing "Hole in the Bottom of the Sea" really fast. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Wilfried Schaum Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:06 AM We had singing lessons at school and sang some really fine folksongs, or poems by famous poets. Often we started the English lesson, after a look out of the window, with: Good morning, good morning, Oh what a sunny morning! We laugh and play And sing all day This sunny, sunny morning. Sunny was replaced by rainy or foggy, depending on the wheather outside. I must say, I enjoyed this song. We had an excellent and motivating English teacher (R.I.P.) |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Jean(eanjay) Date: 15 Feb 07 - 04:08 AM We used to sing Clementine in Latin. My mission for today is to find the words. We also sang Quand trois poules vont aux champs. I loved: From the Cotswolds and the Chilterns From your fountains and your springs Flow down o London river To the seagulls' silver wings etc. Actually, I loved some (not all) of the songs we had to sing at school. What was disappointing for me was not being allowed in the choir at primary school - it gave me a complex for ever after, however it didn't stop me joining in. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Scrump Date: 15 Feb 07 - 04:36 AM Good morning to you. Good morning to you. We're all in our places with sun shining faces. Oh, this is the way to start a new day. That reminds me of the Laurel & Hardy film Pardon Us, where they end up in jail for bootlegging, and attend a prisoners' class where they all sing: Good Morning to you Good Morning to you Good Morning dear Teacher Good Morning to you One of my favourite L&H films, is that :D |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Metchosin Date: 15 Feb 07 - 04:43 AM Generally, when I was little, I really enjoyed the weekly musical escape from regular class stuff, but whoever set the curriculum for some of the songs was a bit bent. Why anyone would expect to get a class containing 10 and 11 year old boys and some naughty girls, through the verse, Ahoy, Ahoy, the balls whistle free from HMS Pinafore, without snickers and guffaws is beyond me. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:34 AM LOL! Unless you were a student in the school I attended, it's interesting to know that other schools had their students sing that Good Morning song. I love your parody of it. I can't remember kids making up one in my school. But at least we came up with a 'risque' jingle from our principal's last name. His name was Mr. Ushry. So kids would sing "Mr Ush-er-ree/toilet flush-er-ree". {repeat as many times as you dared}. I'm not sure if Mr. Ushery ever heard that chant. If he did, I hoped he smiled at our creativity and didn't get angry about it. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Jean(eanjay) Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:54 AM What does LOL stand for? I haven't liked to ask before in case I seem stupid! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Scrump Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:55 AM "Loads of Laughs" |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Scrump Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:59 AM or "Lots of Laughs" (etc.) Talking of singing the wrong words to songs, I don't remember doing that in school music lessons - we would have got whacked for that! But we used to sing different words to hymns during school assembly. I can't remember any for the moment, but I can remember during teh hymn "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" we used to sing "...ever flows their thirst to a sausage" (instead of "to assuage"), which for some reason, usually caused many of us to "corpse" (to borrow an acting expression). Can anyone remember any other hymns being 'adapted' in this way? |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Linda Goodman Zebooker Date: 15 Feb 07 - 08:02 AM In Girls Glee Club we were forced to sing a sachharine song which included the words, "like a zephyr through the window". We replaced it with "like a heifer through the window". Linda |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 15 Feb 07 - 08:11 AM Hey, we were lucky, I guess. I never thought of any of the songs as ones we HAD to sing. The ones that I remember most are: Oh, I am a lonesome cowboy, all on the western plains (pretty much the same version as the one on the Anthology Of American Folk music A Spanish Cavalier, while on his retreat, on his guitar played a tune, dear Barnacle Bill The Sailor (with the boys singing in a very manly voice) Do ye Ken, John Peel Sweet Betsy From Pike Sante Fe Trail ( Plod along plod, on the Sante Fe Trail) I thought that they were all good songs then, and I think that they still are. They gave me a love of folk music, as just another part of my life. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 15 Feb 07 - 08:14 AM Oh yeah, and how can I forget Erie Canal? It was one of my favorites, and is still fun to sing. And I've Been Working On The railroad. I was in a wonderful workshop at the North Country Folk Festival in the Northern Penninsula of Michigan many years ago with the great title: "Songs We All Know, But Are Too Cool To Sing." My friend Jerry Rau did A,B,C,D,E,F,G. He is a wonderful man with absolutely no discernible ego. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: muppitz Date: 15 Feb 07 - 08:20 AM Oh my most classic Primary School songs were along the lines of: "5 little speckled frogs, sat on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs (Yum, Yum)...." "10 green bottles hanging on a wall...." Anything by the Beatles, although at the time we were too young to have a clue who they were and in my school assemblies most notably we used to sing "Wind in the Willows" which I was told to sing in a session at Sidmouth by one of my teachers who happened to be there. I was about 10 years old and petrified! muppitz x |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Fidjit Date: 15 Feb 07 - 09:09 AM LOL Lots of Love surely?? Chas |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Flash Company Date: 15 Feb 07 - 10:52 AM The Talor and the Mouse quoted earlier I remember, also a very bowdlerised version of The Crab Fish. Billy boy came out as............ And me Nancy tickled me fanny, FC |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: mack/misophist Date: 15 Feb 07 - 11:02 AM No one's mentioned the song I remember with the most affection, The Keeper. I could sing up a storm in the third grade. No longer. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Pig O'Malley Date: 15 Feb 07 - 11:03 AM Loved the deconstruct of Frog, Log, Flea, bottom of Sea. Dreary old "God Help the Queen", or something similar. Then there was that curious, repetitive, thumping one, which we got for a couple of years; "Dah-Dahs-Dah-Dah, Dah-Dahs-Dah-Dah, Dah-Dahs-Dah-Dadah, Dah-Dahs-Dah-Dadah..." and so on, right up to, "Twelve-Twelves-are-Adadadah...." |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Feb 07 - 12:07 PM We used to sing "Barnacle Bill" too, with the boys and girls divided up, of course. Like you say, the boys were expected to sing Bill's part in very manly voices. That was the children's song which, more than any other, lent itself to obscene parodies composed later by nasty young men in their spare time as an extracurricular activity. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Dave Hunt Date: 15 Feb 07 - 12:36 PM From: Little Hawk - PM Date: 14 Feb 07 - 09:45 PM What about the funny version of "Batman/Jingle Bells"? How did that go ======================================= Jingle bells Batman smells,Robins gone away Catwoman lost her knickers on the M6 motorway LOL = I always understood as Laughing Out Loud See:- LOL - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia LOL (Internet slang), meaning "Laugh(ing) Out Loud"; from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOL" ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOL AND :-http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,88686-page,1/article.html Dave |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Dave Hunt Date: 15 Feb 07 - 12:41 PM Songs in school - I do remember -(well a bit of it) a turgid song called Hope the Hermit Once in a blithe green wood Lived a hermit wise and good Whom the folks from far and near For his counsel sought Knowing well that what he taught The dreariest of hearts would cheer YUK! Dave |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Rapparee Date: 15 Feb 07 - 12:55 PM That's the one, KT. Of course we did "I'm a Little Teapot" and "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" in Kindergarten. Poor Mr. Barrett, who taught Phys Ed, was known far and wide as Mr. Bare Ass. We also sang at home and while riding in the car. THOSE were better songs: Ach, du Lieber Augustine Red River Valley Du, Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen (sorry if I'm butchering the German) Clementine Down in the Valley On Top of Old Smokey Sailing Down the River Shine on, Harvest Moon Billy Boy She'll be comin' round the mountain Frere Jacques Sur la pont, d'Avignon and lots of others. Still, there was nothin' like a good funeral! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Feb 07 - 01:03 PM The Batman version I recall was: "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg! The Batmobile has lost its wheel, and...(?)" I can't remember how it finished. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: saulgoldie Date: 15 Feb 07 - 01:35 PM I always thought that LOL was "laugh out loud." There is also LMAO, and ROFL, and the combination: ROFLMAO. (Laught my ass off; roll on the floor laughing.) I fergit, but there are several Internet places where they define most of the popular acronyms. Or "initialisms" as they are more properly called. (An acronym can be pronounced as a word, while an initialism is just the first letters of a series of words. Don't give me any of that! I am a charter member of the grammar police force, and I can have you arrested! ;-) ) And now, back to the thread which is already in progress. (Antelope Freeway, 1/4 mile...Shadow Valley condoms: if you lived here, you'd be home now...) |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Bubba Date: 15 Feb 07 - 01:54 PM Farmer in the Dell, Pop Goes the Weasel, Old McDonald, can't remember more right now. This was grade school in the US in the early 50's. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 15 Feb 07 - 02:13 PM Anyone mentioned "Found a Peanut" yet? I don't recall ever being led in its singing by a teacher, but I remember some teachers allowing students to pick and lead songs of their own choice, and it was a favorite. It is totally abhorrent, sadistic, and without redeeming social value. In other words, it's just the sort of song kids love. To the tune of "Clementine": Found a peanut, found a peanut Found a peanut just now I just now found a peanut, Found a peanut, just now. It was rotten, it was rotten... (continues as above) Ate it anyway, ate it anyway... I'll spare you any further lyrics, but after eating the rotten peanut, the kid got sick, called the doctor, died, and went to heaven. Well, you'd think it would end there, wouldn't you? Wrong! The song can be drug out until eternity by making up one's own verses. And, since the made up verses in question usually come from the minds of eight-year-olds, there's no requirement that they make a lot of sense. Wanna have the kid be reborn, make his little sister eat a worm and succumb to irreversible diarrhea? No problem! I remember one of my grade-school teachers banning the song from being sung in her class. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Feb 07 - 02:15 PM Wow. That is downright horrifying. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Ferrara Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:10 PM yeah Bee-dubya-ell, there were an awful lot of verses including Went to Heaven Got Thrown Out Went the Other Way Got put to work Started Shoveling Found a Peanut ... and it all starts over I always reserve LOL for "Laughed Out Loud." I'm with Jerry Rasmussen, I enjoyed almost all the songs we sang in elementary and middle school. Only trouble was, until I started taking piano lessons I had absolutely no sense of the difference between one pitch and another! So I was the only kid in third grade who had to miss recess while the music teacher tried to teach me the difference between singing higher and singing louder! Well the piano lessons made the difference for some reason. Some of my favorites that I still remember were John Peel White Coral Bells, and Tulip, which was another round The Vesper Hymn (also a round) The Quilting Party (I still play and sing that one, also John Peel) Old Folks at Home We did a lot of singing in the car and my father taught us the Hole in the Bottom of the Sea, and Oh You Can't Get to Heaven, etc, and various cousins taught us things like "There were three jolly fishermen." There were three jolly fishermen (2) Fisher Fisher men-men-men (2) There were three jolly fishermen ... The sailed away to Amsterdam Amster Amster dam-dam-dam etc ... of course we loved saying "dam-dam-dam" and not getting scolded for it! This is not precisely how it went,it's just to give the idea. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Ferrara Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:11 PM Hmmm... I am sure there were songs in school that bored me to death but I think I have just forgotten them and kept the ones I liked best. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:43 PM Well, I admit that I used to think LOL meant "Lots of Love" and was thrilled when someone included that in messages he wrote to me. But then I learned that acronym's real meaning, and was devastated, I tell you I was truly devastated. ;o) |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Alec Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:45 PM Lots Of Love to ya Azizi. :-) |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: danensis Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:55 PM I seem to recall a song about a cook who had one eye on the pot and the other up the chimney? John |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Gerry Date: 15 Feb 07 - 06:23 PM Concerning "Bingo", the song in the message that started this thread, did you just sing the same verse over and over? We did it as a "progressive" song, if that's the right word: the first time, we spelled out B-I-N-G-O, then the second time we didn't say the B (but left a space for it - I guess you could call it a quarter note rest, not that any of us would have known what that meant: ( ) - I - N - G - O), then ( ) - ( ) - N - G - O, until the 6th time it was There was a farmer who had a dog And Bingo was his name-o ( ) - ( ) - ( ) - ( ) - ( ) ( ) - ( ) - ( ) - ( ) - ( ) ( ) - ( ) - ( ) - ( ) - ( ) And Bingo was his name. I never sang this at school, but on the bus on the way to day camp in the summer. If we really got into it, we'd do a few more verses, bringing the name back, one letter at a time. I was astonished when Jerry wrote that he sang Barnacle Bill at school - the only version I've ever heard is the obscene one, and I couldn't imagine a teacher having a class sing that. I wasn't aware that the version I knew was a parody. I don't remember a lot of songs we sang "officially" at school. There was this one: We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing He chastens and hastens His will to make known The wicked oppressing Cease them from distressing Sing praises to His name He forgets not His own. There was a second verse, now forgotten. The first verse was torture for the lispers, with all those esses. I was puzzled at the time as to why the author felt obliged to point out that the Lord didn't forget His own name, but eventually I got what he meant. The only one I remember that they made us sing that I didn't like went like this: If I had the wings of a turtle dove Back to one-fifty-two I would fly [this was Public School 152] And there I would play with those students I would play til the day that I die. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Feb 07 - 06:33 PM Yeah, now that you remind me, we did drop the letters out of Bingo in the manner you explained...and then go back again. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:02 PM Thanks, Alec. Learning the true meaning of LOL was almost as devastating as learning that there was no such person as Santa Claus. :o}} ** Gerry, I also remember that "We gather together" song. We sang that song and "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" every year during the school Thanksgiving program. It came after the principal gave a speech about how the Pilgrims had to endure hunger during their first year in this country. Notice that while we were in school we sang songs that mention God. Unless kids go to a religious school, they won't be singing any songs that mention God while they're in school. Those days are over. I can see the point of discriminating against children whose families are atheist. But still I think children are missing out on some wonderful songs. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:14 PM Gerry, that 2nd verse to "We Gather Together" just popped into my head: The words are something like: Besides us to guide us our God with us joining. Ordaining maintaining His kingdom divine, And from the beginning the fight we were winning. The Lord be ever praised Oh Lord make us free. [or something like that] Okay...I decided to look online. Here's the words as found on http://wilstar.com/holidays/wegather.htm We Gather Together We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing, Sing praises to His name: He forgets not his own. Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine So from the beginning the fight we were winning; Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine! We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant, And pray that thou still our defender wilt be. Let thy congregation escape tribulation; Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free! -snip- My memory wasn't too far off...If I was grading myself, I'd give me a "B". Btw, that website also has a midi and midis go this one isn't too bad. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Ken Brock Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:15 PM I was in 4th grade in 1961, the beginning of the US Civil War Centennial. We sang a few folk songs, including Goober Peas, Sweet Betsy from Pike (bowdlerized to make Ike her husband), The Kerry Dancer, The Keeper and The Erie Canal (aka Low Bridge - not the Weavers' song). Also a few show tunes for recital - Getting to Know You from King and I and Oklahoma! title song. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Azizi Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:27 PM On second thought, I realize I was being too tough on myself. I'd give myself an "A" for remembering just about all the words to that 2nd verse of "We Gather Together". I don't think we even sang that third verse. So maybe our teachers took that last line from the 3rd verse and made it the last line of the 2nd verse. I'm sure that's the way it happened. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ** Here's a song that I learned as a member of the junior high school choir: If I eat too much jam Mother look how young I am. Parents dear, isn't it true, You were that way too. If I'm hard on my clothes and I do not wipe my nose. Parents dear, please recall that at one time you were small. Tiddley Yum Tiddley Yum Tiddley yum tum tum tum tum We're the younger generation and the future of the nation. -snip- I think there was at least one other verse. I remember the fun we had performing this in front of students, teachers, and parents. Does anyone else know this song? I'm not even sure what its name is. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: bobad Date: 15 Feb 07 - 08:01 PM If you haven't heard of the Langley Schools Music Project check it out here: http://www.keyofz.com/keyofz/langley/>http://www.keyofz.com/keyofz/langley/ "The Langley Schools Music Project is a 60-voice chorus of rural school children from western Canada, untrained but captivated by melodic magic, singing tunes by the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Bay City Rollers, and others. The students accompany themselves with the shimmering gamelan chimes of Orff percussion, and elemental rock trimmings arranged by their itinerant music teacher, Hans.Fenger." The NPR links tell the whole story - Fascinating. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: bubblyrat Date: 16 Feb 07 - 05:38 AM The very idea of singing "Barnacle Bill" ,without the advice as to the appropriate course of action to be taken should a pregnancy result from Bill and the lady's amourous liaisons, is unthinkable !! The 'three jolly fishermen' metamorphosed into the Three Jews from Jerusalem,being an account of the mis-adventures of three itinerant Semites,Isaac,Joseph & Abraham, whose disastrous decision to embark upon a coach-trip resulted in their hospitalisation. When I was at school, the Beach Boys,Paul McCartney,David Bowie,& the Bay City Rollers hadn"t been invented, so we had to make do with such gems as 'Green grow the Rushes-O " , " Some Folks like to Do", and a rather satisfying and VERY politically -incorrect sea-song, "Jonny Come Down to Hilo ", which certainly could NOT be sung by children today without some careful editing ! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: jimlad9 Date: 16 Feb 07 - 06:19 AM In my schooldays in Lancashire (aka Gods Own Country) we were made to sing 'Wha wouldna fecht for Chairlie' ,'Wha'l buy caller herrin' and 'Scots wha hae wi wallace bled' .We were all typical post war[just about] with britches arses hangin out and flat caps and we thought we were being prepared to learn a foreign language. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Darowyn Date: 16 Feb 07 - 08:54 AM I was a fluent and avid reader by the time I started Junior School at the age of seven. It must have been pure mischief therefore which made me persuade my classmates that there was no such thing as a "pilgrim" and that the word on the hymn sheet (a big flip chart thing on an easel at the front of the Hall) was meant to be "Penguin" So the whole class sang:- "There's no discouragement, will make him once relent, His first avowed intent, to be a penguin" At a later school, I remember a very un-PC song "Sally Brown, she's a bright Mulatto, Way hey Roll and go! She drinks rum and chews tobacco Spend my money on Sally Brown." Cheers Dave |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Scrump Date: 16 Feb 07 - 11:50 AM I seem to recall a song about a cook who had one eye on the pot and the other up the chimney? That's "The Drummer and The Cook" (lyrics are in DT) |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: The Sandman Date: 22 May 07 - 09:13 AM more interesting were the songs we were not supposed to sing in school but did,for instance to the tune of Colonel Bogey,Hitler only had one ball,and the Good ship Venus to the Girl I left Behind me. Boney was a warrior,was one we had to sing,130 years after his death,the schools still thought it was necessary to indOctrinate us with anti napoleon songs. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: HouseCat Date: 22 May 07 - 10:30 AM LittleHawk - Jingle bells, Batman smells Robin laid an egg Batmobile lost its wheel Commissioner broke his leg. I always found the last line a bit lame, far more interesting Batman characters to choose from. "Don Gato" was by far the favorite among the Ist -5th grade set. I do recall singing "Age of Aquarius" in 6th grade for some kind of last day of school program. Odd, looking back on it. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: pitheris Date: 22 May 07 - 03:12 PM In the mid 1950s. The earlyist song I remember from kindergarten: There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile, He laid a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile. . . I remember these from elementry school: Old Black Joe Camptown Races Cape Cod Girls Reuben America The Beautiful Tingalayo And holiday songs: Over The River And Through the Woods Angels We Have Heard On High Oh Hanukkah |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Rog Peek Date: 22 May 07 - 04:01 PM 'God Save The Queen'.......damn it! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Rog Peek Date: 22 May 07 - 04:03 PM .........and it seems after all these years that he did!......damn it! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Herga Kitty Date: 22 May 07 - 04:59 PM My Love's an Arbutus, Annie Laurie, Riding on a donkey... Kitty |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,mg Date: 22 May 07 - 05:41 PM Most were really nice like the Ash Grove..but the one I hated and every year it came up was the keeper did a shooting go...what a wierd song..Jackie Boy Master fair ye well very well...mg |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Rabbi-Sol Date: 22 May 07 - 06:06 PM I remember "The Bear Came Over The Mountain", he found a box of ExLax and after eating it he made another mountain. SOL |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Mike B. Date: 22 May 07 - 06:55 PM "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" - a silly, nonsensical kids song with no social relevance whatsoever (right??) that we sang in elementary school music class. To this day, I haven't figured out what a cigarette tree is. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Joe_F Date: 22 May 07 - 08:18 PM Cigarette trees grow in paradise. Cf. Oleanna, Fiddler's Green, etc., etc., a tradition going back to antiquity. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Muttley Date: 23 May 07 - 08:18 AM Geez Bee-dubya-ell can the "Hole In the Bottom of the Sea" be any worse than "Rattlin Bog"????? I mean, consider THAT bloody thing for a minute. There was a flea on the feather of the bird IN the egg in the nest on the . . . . you get the picture! How the flying F**K did a FLEA get onto a feather of a bird IN that double-damned egg in the first place????? Have you any idea what that kind of conundrum DOES to the thought processes of a VERY literal-minded 6-year-old Asperger??? I mean - "Hole" did cause me sleepless nights - not wondering about how the frog got to the log and back to the surface and return to the log on a regular basis against all the odds of pressure at deep ocean levels; No! MY concern was twofold - HOW did the log get into THAT particular hole and WHY wasn't the sea leaking (?Pouring) OUT through the hole some silly bugger had put there! Then it hit me - and I've been reluctant to go near a beach since (mind you a very healthy fear of sharks doesn't help either)- that bloody log got sucked into that hole by the ocean as it WAS pouring out through the bottom and disappearing into 'God-knows-where' Try coping with BOTH of these scenario's as a six-year-old - especially when they were two of the teacher's favourite songs!!! Muttley PS - you're not an Asperger as well, are you? |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,buspassed Date: 28 May 07 - 02:03 PM Used to enjoy a good sing-up in morning assembly at school, still amazed I can remember the words to many of the hymns we sang and was greatly pleased recently when Coope Boyes & Simpson and Waterson:Carthy both recorded my all time favourite 'Diadem'. But then we were introduced to that double barrelled spectre that has haunted me for the past 50 years, 'Gilbert & Sullivan'. Not only were we supposed to dress up in frocks but cricket net practice was often cancelled [in Yorkshire!!!] to make way for rehearsals! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Penny S. Date: 28 May 07 - 03:09 PM We were not made to sing a certain French folk song. A student started us off on it (in secondary school), but the French head of department banned it. Naturally I went in search of it, and found it. It began (excuse my French) Il etait un petit navire, (bis) Qui n'avait ja-ja-jamais navigue (bis) Il entempris un longue voyage Le long de co-co-cote de Guinea Au bout de cinque a six semaine Le vivres vin-vin-vinrent a manque On tira a la courte paille Pour savez qui-qui-qui serai mange Le sort tomba a le plus jeune Qui n'avait ja-ja-jamais navigue On le manga a la sauce blanche Avec des sal-sal-salsifis par cuit. This is different from the version in the Digitrad. Which version she was worried about I don't know. Given that she had worked in the Resistance in France during the war, she might have felt death not suitable for joking. Penny |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: sapper82 Date: 28 May 07 - 06:40 PM We were lucky enough to have the BBC for Schools "Singing Together" when I was in Newbiggin Colliery Junior School. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: RangerSteve Date: 28 May 07 - 07:55 PM We sang one in Kindergarten that I'm sure isn't sung anymore. To the tune of Frere Jacques (Start with both your hands behind your back) Where is Thumbkin, Where is Thumbkin Here I am (bring your left hand out with thumb raised) Here I am (right hand out, the same way) How are you this morning? (Left thumb bows to right thumb) Very well, I thank you (Right thumb bows back) Run away (Left hand behind your back) Run away (Right hand behind your back) Repeat with "Pointer" (Second finger), "Middle finger".. we were too young to see why that was wrong, and our teacher was obviously not very worldly. Hard to bellieve we were being asked to give each other the finger and we did it happily. I don't remember going home and singing it for my parents, but I probably did. Sorry, Mom and Dad, I didn't know it was a bad thing. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Muttley Date: 28 May 07 - 08:04 PM Oh yes! "Where is Thumbkin" - I remember having that one inflicted upon us as well. Anf then when I had safely thought I had forgotten about it - it started cropping up on that 'Pre-schoolers Program of Choice' on TV - - - Playschool! Finally I ended up as a serial offender as I tended to inflict it on Prep and Grade One children when I was teaching in those rooms and ran out of other inspiration! May God have mercy on my soul Muttley |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Dave'sWife Date: 28 May 07 - 11:18 PM I was lucky enough to have gone to public school in New york State during the 1970s when there was a mandate to teach folk songs to grade school kids. I think our school system even had that 25 record set. I remember specifically being taught the Eerie Canal song in the 4th grade {The one that goes "I've got a mule named sal.." and 'low bridge! Everybody down!) Years later, when I was an archeologist working on a site within spitting distance of the second incarnation of the Eerie Canal, I taught it to all the undergrads and we sang until we hated it. Anything to pass the time! I wish I could remember what other songs were part of the program besides 'This Land is Your Land' but at the moment I just can't. Oh wait, we leared the Boweevil song! and... 'The Blue Tail Fly'. There was a set of songs for each grade and it went grades 4 thru 6. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Joe Offer Date: 29 May 07 - 12:30 AM Besides the Gregorian Chant, I remember two songs - Long, Long Ago and Goober Peas. "Goober Peas" was OK, but didn't really affect me. I've always loved "Long, Long Ago," and I still sing it. And I still sing the Gregorian Chant, whenever I find a place with terrific acoustics. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: JennieG Date: 29 May 07 - 05:08 AM We sang English folk songs - great stuff for kids in an Ozzie country town in the late 50s-early 60s. Early one morning D'ye ken John Peel No John no and probably more, much of which has escaped through the holes in my brain. In high school I joined the choir. Now this was a co-ed high school but singing was not considered cool by the boys except for one or two hardy souls (who, I believe, still remain unmarried to this day) so the choir was pretty much girls only. We sang songs like: The ash grove Tritsch Tratsch Polka (tune by one of the Strauss family) Stout Hearted Men from "New Moon" by Sigmund Romberg....I kid you not.....a choir of 14 year old girls......I can still sing it! And in French class we sang Frere Jacques, Il etait une bergere, Au claire de la lune, but we didn't learn Alouette. Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Ebbie Date: 29 May 07 - 07:26 PM In the commercial pole bean-picking yards in Oregon, where families labored to make the money for the upcoming school year, we used to sing 'Oh, my darling, you can't love one, etc, etc, etc' (Don't like it to this day). However today another verse has been added. It's called 'New River Train' and it's quite popular. Why? Somewhere on the 'Cat I previously recounted this story: In 1942 in first grade, I learned a song that used to surprise me with its sophistication. I didn't realize until years later that Mrs. Harrison must have taught to the older kids and I learned it by osmosis. It was a one-room country school. The part I remember: Once a giant came a-wandering Late at night when the world was still Seeking for a stool to sit on He climbed a little green hill. When he reached the highest part of it Sat him down on its very peak Little Hill cried out at once In a faint and far away squeak: Giant, giant, I am under you Move or this is the last of me But the giant answered Thank you! I like it here, don't you see. This was in 1942, remember. I have no doubt that it was a protest song but I'm not sure which country it was protesting. Germany? Russia? The US? |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Chris Date: 30 May 07 - 05:26 PM At school in the UK in the fifties I learned things like Bobbie Shaftoe, Oh Susannah and the Wild Colonial Boy. I remember a teacher in the French lessons teaching us "La Mer". Bobby Darin had just recorded it and it was very popular. But most of all I remember learning "Shenandoah", I loved the song then and over fifty years later I have recently recorded it, singing as part of the maritime group Four 'n'Aft. There are some songs that just don't go away. Chris |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: JennieG Date: 31 May 07 - 03:51 AM I had forgotten "Bobby Shaftoe", thank you Chris! That was another of our not-very-Ozzie repertoire. Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: TRUBRIT Date: 31 May 07 - 10:12 PM I remember in primary school learning Flanders and Swan - The Bold Hippopotamus (of all things) and something called, I think, Marianina (Marianina, Marianina, come, oh come, and turn us into foam....... ?or words to that effect....... This memory of Flanders and Swan dates both them and me.........; now I am old and gray I am so appreciative of having gone to school in both England and Scotland where singing was not considered a waste of time (The Minstrel Boy, anyone.....) And of course there were the hymns -- religious assembly every day and Church most Sundays surely set those songs in my head. Can still sing Jerusalem without blinking -- all verses!! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Crystal Date: 01 Jun 07 - 06:02 AM We had hymn books a blue one and a green one, everyone in the class got one or the other unless you were handing them out when you could take one of each and not share! Most of the songs were (to me) highly objectional ones of the "God is great" variety, but one song was very popular, it was called Autumn Days and included the shouted line "And a win for my home team!". When we got a singing assembly on a Friday (where we just sang hymns rather than getting talked at) it was always requested. Another rather nice song was a round called Shalom. No-one else really liked that one though. I'm sure the hymn books were something to do with BBC schools as there was sometimes a radio program to accompany them. Any other children of the 80's and early 90's remember them? |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,jude Date: 01 Jun 07 - 07:57 AM Please help - I'm looking for lyrics to 'From the Cotswolds to the Chilterns' |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Ruth Date: 15 Jun 07 - 02:00 PM I remember the little pussy song as well. I taught it to my granchildren and to many other children that I know. At the same time I learned that I learned this one as well; Naughty pussy cat, You are very fat! You have butter on your whiskers, Naughty Pussycat! Scat!!! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Jim Date: 16 Jun 07 - 12:47 PM I remember The Ash Grove. I didn't care for it in 1954, but love to play it now. I taught school for 30 some odd years and some of the ones my students liked were: Hopalong Peter, Watermelon song, Barnyard Dance, Boodle-Am-Shake, Coney Island Washboard... |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Ron Davies Date: 16 Jun 07 - 01:51 PM I'm with Jerry on this. We sang a lot of songs in elementary school-- never thought of them as songs we were forced to sing. I really liked doing it. I liked hearing how harmonies worked in rounds--like White Coral Bells. I liked the pictures I imagined in "Over the River and Through the Woods". I liked singing foreign languages--Alouette. I liked "Some Folks Do"--Stephen Foster--and remember thinking of the contrast between that song and his life, which we also heard about. I also think that if we're concerned about brainwashing kids through these songs, we need not be. Kids learn to be skeptical--and cynical---fast enough. After all, we sang all these songs--and we sure did start questioning everything. Of course, I'm sure cynicism comes early to anybody who watches commercials--as we sure did in the US. I remember one song we sang around Columbus Day. In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue For many weeks he was at sea With sailing ships that numbered 3 CH (Yo, ho, yo, ho, yo ho my lads yo ho) And so he steered his little band Until at last they sighted land Today we honor him with song Columbus, hero, brave and strong. CH) We've sure learned about the downside of that. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST Date: 16 Jun 07 - 02:49 PM Not at school, but at summer camp: I loved the one to the tune of Did you ever see a Lassie: One tent would sing out: Did you ever see a butter fly, a butter fly, a butter fly? Did you ever see a butter fly? Now you tell us one. Then the wait for one of the other tentfull of kids to sing one back to us. LIke a Pillow slip. a board walk, etc. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST Date: 16 Jun 07 - 02:58 PM And then there were the hymn titles. AS teenagers, in church, when we were bored with the sermon, we would keep each othe on the verge of giggles, mentally adding "under the blankets" to the title of hymns like What a Friend........ Leave it there..... O Love that wiil not let me go..... Go Down Moses...... I want to be ready.... You get the idea. Did any of you ever do this? |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,Anne K. Date: 16 Jun 07 - 04:27 PM Little Hawk- Here's how we used to sing it and now my nephews do: Jingle bells Batman smells. Robin laid an egg. Batmobile lost its wheel And Joker got away! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 16 Jun 07 - 04:59 PM I was lucky. Our grade school music teacher was talented, and she selected anthologies with good music. I think some of the dreary songs listed here were inflicted on kids by teachers who could hardly play piano and by school systems which didn't want to buy music books. My husband, for example, still shudders at "This Land Is Your Land" and "If I had a Hammer." Does "If I Had a Hammer" even HAVE chords? |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Desdemona Date: 16 Jun 07 - 05:07 PM Are you kidding? I would have been grateful for "This Land Is Your Land!" When I was in grade school (mid '70s) we had a crazy music teacher who made us sing stuff like "One Tin Soldier" and the theme song from "The Posidon Adventure!" I still have nightmares... ~D |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 17 Jun 07 - 01:19 PM Shudder! Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, along comes Desdemona with a tale to curdle one's blood. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Little Hawk Date: 17 Jun 07 - 02:12 PM The one that bugged me the most was "Reuben and Rachel". Yes, leeneia, "If I Had a Hammer" does have chords. It sounded quite rousing when done by Peter, Paul, and Mary in the early sixties...but it's the kind of song that has a fairly short shelf life, and probably should not be performed by anyone except the original act. Mike B. - A cigarette tree is a tree on which grow cigarettes ("Nature's Own" brand), fresh and ready to smoke, and best of all, free! This was apparently a hobo's dream back in the time depicted in that song. Soda water fountains? Same deal. Lemonade springs? More of the same. Is it a silly song? Yeah, but it's supposed to be whimsical. Burl Ives used to sing a lot of such whimsical songs, and they were thought of as "folksongs" at the time. There were so damn many songs about hobos back then...I don't know why people were so fascinated with that theme...but it may have partly had to do with all the people who bummed their way out west during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Mr Red Date: 18 Jun 07 - 06:39 AM Killarney - offered as Folk - not quite right but what did we know at the age of 10? Not heard it since neither. Read it in a songbook once. |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: John MacKenzie Date: 18 Jun 07 - 06:53 AM Der Schwei Grenadieren, The Servant's Song, from Don Giovanni, D'ye Ken John Peel. This was in a school about 15 miles from Glasgow! Giok |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: CharlieA Date: 18 Jun 07 - 08:30 AM I remember a lot of the songs were good but one that I remember as being rubbish was about colours of the rainbow - cos everyone knows that rainbows are: "Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue. I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too" Awful song! It was so twee too! |
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Subject: RE: Songs we were made to sing in school... From: Fliss Date: 18 Jun 07 - 09:43 AM Ive always loved singing right from an early age. We sang lots of folk songs in school from all regions of the UK. I enjoyed them all especially a whacky one called The Great Meat Pie. I thought Id dreamed it, but found it on the internet some time ago. At senior school we had hymn practice once a week and the best time was practicing the unusual carols from the Oxford Book of Carols. I love 'Quelle est cette odeur agreable'. I taught in Croydon in the early 70s and thoroughly enjoyed singing songs with the children. I expect they now cant face 'Puff the Magic Dragon', and 'The Fox went out one chilly night'. I also enjoyed the BBC Time and Tune programmes. I had a whole collection of the books when they were being cleared out of the cupboard at the school. Dont know where they are now. Anyone remember - 'In my fathers garden the Lortils are at play' to the tune of 'Auprès de ma Blonde'? Guess what... Time and Tune is still going strong... http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/music/timeandtune.shtml fliss
-Joe Offer- |
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