Song
cupboard M-N
Magic
penny
Make
new friends
May
Day in the morning
Me
grandfather died
Mole
in the ground
Morningtown
ride
My
Aunt Jane
My
big black dog
My
bonnie lies over the ocean
My
father had a horse
My
shadow
Nellie
the Elephant
Norwegian
milking song
Last updated: 5/23/2017
3:53 PM
The songs below are part of ‘Away we
go’
compiled,
adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
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for children’ home
To listen to music from these
songs click on 🔊
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
You are
free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the following
conditions:
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you must give the original author credit
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any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright
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Your
fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.
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Magic penny O
A favourite in
school assemblies with words and music by the wonderful Malvina
Reynolds. |
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Chorus Love is something if you give it away, Give it away, give it away. Love is something if you give it away, You end up having more. It's just like a magic penny; Hold it tight and you won't have any; Lend it, spend it, and you'll have so many, They'll roll all over the floor.(for) Chorus So let's go dancing till the break of day. And if there's a piper, we can pay. For love is something if you give it away, You end up having more. (for) Chorus |
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Make new friends O
A popular song
in the world of scouting where new friendships are there for making everyday.
It can also be sung as a four part round. Watch a very young
graduation class sing this song with actions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeVBzbELoS4
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Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long, I will be your friend. A fire burns bright, it warms the heart. We've been friends, from the very start. You have one hand, I have the other. Put them together, we have each other. Silver is precious, gold is too. I am precious, and so are you. You help me, and I'll help you And together we will see it through. The sky is blue, the Earth is green, I can help to keep it clean. Across the land, across the sea, Friends forever we will always be. |
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May Day in the morning O
Though this is
described as traditional and an American version of a Scottish rhyme in
Elizabeth Poston’s ‘The Children’s song book’ I have been unable to find
another version of this song on the internet. The words however pop up in
many folk songs. |
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There was a crane sat on a stone, He flew away and there was none; Another came and there was one, ‘Twas May Day in the morning. There was a cat skinned up a tree, To see whatever was to see, When he fell down, then down fell he, ‘Twas May Day in the morning. There was a rooster in a trough, Who got a touch of whooping cough, He sneezed his tail and feathers off, ‘Twas May Day in the morning. There was a farmer made a wish, That he could swim like any fish, They popped him in a chafing dish, ‘Twas May Day in the morning. |
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Mole in the ground 🔊
The version
below is for children, the classic song is by Bascom Lunsford. Find out more at: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=18014 Encourage children to make
up their own verses. |
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I wish I was a mole in the ground, Yes, I wish I was a mole in the ground, If I’s a mole in the ground, I'd root that mountain down, And I wish I was a mole in the ground. I wish I was a lizard in the spring. Yes, I wish I was a lizard in the spring, If I’s a lizard in the spring, I’d hear my darlin’ sing, And I wish I was a lizard in the spring. I wish I was a bird in the sky, Yes, I wish I was a bird in the sky, If I’s a bird in the sky, I’d spread my wings and fly, And I wish I was a bird in the sky. I wish I was a trout in the creek, Yes, I wish I was a trout in the creek, If I's a trout in the creek, Clear water I would seek, And I wish I was a trout in the creek. I wish I was a frog in the pond, Yes, I wish I was a frog in the pond, If I's a frog in the pond, I’d sing the whole night long, And I wish I was a frog in the pond. |
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A lullaby; words and music by Malvina Reynolds. This version was adapted by The Seekers. Add
children’s names to personalise this song in the second verse. |
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Train whistle blowin', Makes a sleepy noise; Underneath their blankets, Go all the girls and boys. Chorus Rockin', rollin', ridin', Out along the bay, All bound for Morningtown, Many miles away. Driver at the engine, Fireman rings the bell; Sandman swings the lantern To show that all is well. Chorus Maybe it is raining Where our train will ride; All the little travellers Are warm and snug inside. Chorus Somewhere there is sunshine, Somewhere there is day; Somewhere there is Morningtown Many miles away. x2 Chorus |
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I have been unable to find any information about this Irish song. I
originally got this adapted version from the BBC radio’s Music Box programme
in the 1980s.
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My Aunt Jane O
A skipping
song from streets of Belfast, many of the verses are not as ‘clean’ as these! |
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My Aunt Jane she took me in, She gave me tea out of her wee tin. Half a bap with sugar on the top, Three black lumps out of her wee shop. Half a bap with sugar on the top, Three black lumps out of her wee shop. My Aunt Jane she's awful smart, She bakes wee rings in an apple tart. And when Halloween comes round, For next that tart I'm always found. And when Halloween comes round, For next that tart I'm always found. My Aunt Jane has a bell on the door, A white stone step and a clean swept floor. Candy apples, hard green pears, Conversation lozenges. Candy apples, hard green pears, Conversation lozenges. My Aunt Jane she can dance a jig, Sing a song ‘round a sweetie pig. Wee red eyes and a cord for a tail, Hanging in a bunch from a crooked nail. Wee red eyes and a cord for a tail, Hanging in a bunch from a crooked nail. My Aunt Jane she never cross, She paid five shillings for an old wooden horse. She jumped on its back, the bones let a crack, You’ll play the fiddle till I get back. She jumped on its back the bones let a crack, You’ll play the fiddle till I get back. My Aunt Jane she took me in, She gave me tea out of her wee tin. Half a bap, a wee sugar top, Three black lumps out of her wee shop. Half a bap, a wee sugar top, Three black lumps out of her wee shop. |
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Described in ‘Just five’ pentatonic
songs by Dr. Robert E. Kersey as an English play song but I have been unable
to find a song associated with it. |
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Whoever took my big black dog, I wish they bring him back! He chased the big chicks over the fence And the little chicks through the crack! The big chicks over the fence And the little chicks through the crack! Whoever took my big black dog, I wish they'd bring him back! |
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You can find out more about this
popular Scottish folk song at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Bonnie_Lies_over_the_Ocean. For a lively bit of fun stand up or sit down each time a word
beginning with ‘b’ is sung.
Thereafter sing faster. |
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My bonnie lies over the ocean, My bonnie lies over the sea, My bonnie lies over the ocean, Oh, bring back my bonnie to me. Chorus Bring back, bring back, Oh, bring back my bonnie to me, to me, Bring back, bring back, Bring back my bonnie to me. Last night as I lay on my pillow, Last night as I lay on my bed, Last night as I lay on my pillow, I dreamt that my bonnie was dead. Chorus Oh blow ye winds over the ocean, Oh blow ye winds over the sea, Oh blow ye winds over the ocean, And bring back my bonnie to me. Chorus The winds have blown over the ocean, The winds have blown over the sea, The winds have blown over the ocean, And brought back my bonnie to me. Chorus |
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My father had a horse O
This sporting
song came from ‘Cornish dialects and folk songs’ by Ralph Dunstan who
recorded this from the singing of Mr. Jim Thomas in Camborne: October 21st
1931. Chords added
by Dany Rosevear. ‘jole’ is the
Cornish dialect for ‘jolt’. |
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Oh, my father had a horse, And my mother had a mare, My brother had a dog, And my sister had a hare. So t’was a ride on the horse, And a jole from the mare; Sporting with the dog, When a-chasing of the hare. My father had an ox, And my mother had a cow, My brother had a pig, And my sister had a sow; We had beef from the ox, And milk from the cow, And bacon from the pig, And piglets from the sow. Refrain My father had a rooster, And my mother had a hen, My brother had a robin, And my sister had a wren; The rooster he did crow, And we had eggs from the hen, A song from the robin, And another from the wren. Refrain |
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My shadow O
Shadow play is
great fun outside when the sun is shining; this song makes a good
introduction. The tune is a
familiar one ‘My Hat it has three corners’. |
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My shadow’s always with me No matter where I go. My pace it’s always keeping; If I move fast or slow. It’s size it’s always changing, Sometimes it shoots up tall; And then again it dwindles Until it’s very small. But though it’s very friendly, And loves with me to stay, My funny little shadow Has not a word to say. |
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Nellie the Elephant O
Written in 1956 by Ralph
Butler and Peter Hart and made popular by Mandy Miller on Children’s
Favourites where it was played many, many times in that and the following
decade. Sing it in a steady unhurried manner. |
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To Bombay a travelling
circus came, They brought an
intelligent elephant and Nellie was her name. One dark night she
slipped her iron chain; And off she ran to
Hindustan and was never seen again. Nellie the elephant
packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus. Off she went with a
trumpety-trump. Trump! Trump! Trump! Nellie the Elephant
packed her trunk and trundled back to the jungle. Off she went with a
trumpety-trump. Trump! Trump! Trump! Night by night, she
danced to the circus band. When Nellie was leading
the big parade, she looked so proud and grand. No more tricks for
Nellie to perform. They taught her how to
take a bow and she took the crowd by storm. Nellie the elephant
packed her trunk… The head of the herd
was calling far, far away. They met one night in
the silver light on the road to Mandalay. So Nellie the elephant
packed her trunk… |
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Norwegian milking song O
I was asked to
video and add this song to my website collection by a young mother from
Malta. I know nothing
about it apart from the words and music and would be very grateful for any
information about its Norwegian origin. It would be lovely to see
it in the Norwegian language and also to acknowledge the translator. Arrangement by Dany
Rosevear. |
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Come cows to the song of my calling, The day is done, the night draws near, Come cows for the shadows are falling, I call you one by one; Come Daisy, come Maisie, Come Marigold, Buttercup, Beautiful Sue, Come Milky and Silky and Flowering May, Come you, come you, come you. |
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