Song
cupboard My-N
My
Aunt Jane
My
big black dog
My
boat / a little stick
My
bonnie lies over the ocean
My
father had a horse
My
little puppy / Kerb drill
My
nipa hut
My
shadow
My
singing bird
Nellie
the Elephant
Nellie
Bly
Never
smile at a crocodile
Noah’s
ark shanty
Nora
Lee
Norwegian
milking song
Last updated: 7/11/2022
1:29 PM
The songs below are part of ‘Away we
go’
compiled,
adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
Return to the ‘Singing games
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
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you must give the original author credit
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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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My boat, a little stick 🔊
This Russian
folk tune is used in Stavinsky’s Firebird music.
The song comes from ‘Sing
around the world’ published by the Cooperative Recreation Service. |
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Little river, ever flowing, ever going, Through the meadow to the forest there below; But beyond how far? And where do you go? Here my boat, a little stick I send a-floating, It would travel for a hundred miles or more; Who will find it there as it goes ashore? |
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My bonnie lies over
the ocean O
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 little puppy / Kerb drill 🔊
Learn to distinguish the
difference between left and right. Like us, puppies need to be
trained to keep safe near roads. The original first line is
‘Timmy my puppy’, change it to a chosen name if you wish. This rhyme written by Maisie
Cobby is from ‘We play and grow’ published in 1954. Music by Dany Rosevear. |
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My little puppy Is wise, wise, wise, He uses his brains And his eyes, eyes, eyes. When he crosses the road He does as he’s told; First he looks left, And then he looks right, And walks across quickly If there’s nothing in sight. |
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My nipa hut 🔊
A song
from the Phillipines. ‘Bahay
Kub’ means cubed house but the translation refers to the nipa palm leaves and bamboo from which it is constructed.
These houses have just one room. The song was composed when the first
American teachers, arrived in the Philippines. |
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My nipa hut, is very small, But the plants in the garden grow healthy and
tall; There are turnips and eggplants, and beans in a
row, And tomatoes and garlic we grow. There's pumpkin, squash, yellow, orange and white, Peanuts, radish and onion all give us delight. Ginger, mustard, cucumber, and tender green peas, And around plants with sesame seeds. |
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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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My singing bird 🔊
An Irish folk
song that was very popular in the 1960s. The melody is
from a Munster folk tune and the words by an Irish poet, Edith Wheeler. |
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I have seen the lark soar high at morn Heard its song up in the blue. I have heard the blackbird pipe its tune, And the thrush and the linnet too. But there's none of them can sing so sweet My singing bird as you, Aah-aah-aah-aah, aah-aah-aah-aah, My singing bird as you. If I could lure my singing bird From its own cozy nest, If I could catch my singing bird, I would warm it on my breast. For there's none of them can sing so sweet… |
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Nelly Bly 🔊
Stephen Foster wrote the
original version of this song in 1850. Nelly Bly also
became the adopted name of the famous globetrotter, journalist and feminist
Elizabeth Cochran. It became popular and adapted easily as
a playground ditty; it is possible that the second two nursery rhyme verses
below known as ‘Nellie Bligh’ were already familiar to Foster: http://www.rhymes.org.uk/a124-nelly-bligh.htm
, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=99147
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Nellie Bly, shuts her eye, When she goes to sleep; And in the morning, when she wakes, The frog begins to peep, Chorus: “Hi Nellie! Ho Nellie! Come along with me, I’ll sing for you, I’ll play for you, The sweetest melody.” Nelly Bly caught a fly, Tied it to a string. Let it go, to and fro, Poor little thing. Buzz wuzz was that little fly And how he loved to roam, Up and down the mantelpiece And that he called his home. |
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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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Never smile at a crocodile 🔊
A Disney tune
by Frank Churchill from ‘Peter Pan’ released in 1953; the wonderful lyrics by
Jack Lawrence were never used in the film. Find out more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Smile_at_a_Crocodile
. |
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Never smile at a crocodile, No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile; Don't be taken in by his welcome grin, He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin. Never smile at a crocodile, Never tip your hat and stop to talk awhile Never run, walk away, say “Good-night”, not
“Good-day” Clear the aisle and never smile at Mister
Crocodile. You may very well be well bred, Lots of etiquette in your head, But there's always some special case, time or
place to forget etiquette. F’r instance - Never smile at a crocodile, No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile; Don't be taken in by his welcome grin, He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin. Never smile at a crocodile, Never tip your hat and stop to talk awhile Don't be rude, never mock, throw a kiss, not a
rock, Clear the aisle but never smile at Mister
Crocodile. |
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Noah’s ark shanty 🔊
A halyard shanty. How did the dog get a cold nose? This is the song
that will answer your question. Animal parts could be acted
out by children – though it could easily get out of hand! I originally found
this in The Revels book of ‘Chanteys and sea songs’ compiled by John
Langstaff. There are so many variants as in all good folk songs; verse two
and three here are from different sources but both took my fancy! You can
easily find the classic Cecil Sharp one on any decent search engine. |
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In ‘Frisco Bay there were
three ships, To me way-ay-ay-yuh! In ‘Frisco Bay there were
three ships, A long time ago-wuh! And one of them ships was
Noah's old ark… All covered all over with
hickory bark… He boarded some animals,
two of each kind… Birds, snakes and
jiggy-bugs, he didn't mind… The bull and the cow, they
started to row And the little black dog
went ‘rowdy-dow-dow!’ Then said old Noah with a
crack of his whip… “Come stop this row or
I'll scuttle the ship”… But the bull put his horn
through the side of the ark… And the little black dog
he started to bark… So Noah took the dog,
shoved its nose in the hole… And ever since then, dog’s
nose has been cold… It's a long, long time,
and a very long time… A long, long time, and a
very long time… |
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Nora Lee 🔊
An Irish folk song. In the
USA it is sung as ‘Aura Lee’, a minstrel
song from the American Civil War which was published in 1861, and more
recently as the more familiar ‘Love me Tender’. Find out more at: https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8275
. |
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All beside a small green
hill, 'Neath a rowan tree, Sang a blackbird low and
sweet, Sang of Nora Lee. Chorus Nora Lee, Nora Lee, Laughing through the fair, Springtime goes the way
you walk And swallows in the air. In your blush the rose was
born, In your voice a song, Your soft eyes a bright
blue star, Lost its light among. When the mistletoe is
green, Midst the winter snows, Sunshine in your face is
seen, In your cheeks the rose. Though beside the small
green hill, No glad bird may sing, In my heart your song
endures, Take my golden ring. |
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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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