Song cupboard R-Sn

Rabbit run on the frozen ground

Raccoon has a bushy tail

Ring ding dong Johnny

Risha, rasha, rusha

River

Robin-a-Thrush

Sail away, ladies

Sandy River bells

Say, bonnie lassie

Scarborough Fair

Shady Grove

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o

Shanghai chicken

Shine like the sun

Shortnin' bread

Simple gifts

Sing a song of spaceships

Sing ivy

Last updated: 7/24/2023 9:50 AM

The songs below are compiled, adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear

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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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Your fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.

Rabbit run on the frozen ground 🔊

A Kentucky call and response folk song collected by Jean Thomas.

Add other woodland creatures such as squirrel and deer.

Rabbit run on the frozen ground! Who told you so?

Rabbit run on the frozen ground! How do you know?

I caught a rabbit, uh-huh!

I caught a rabbit, uh-huh!

I caught a rabbit, uh-huh!

Then I let it go!

Foxy run on the frozen ground! Who told you so?

Foxy run on the frozen ground! How do you know?

I caught a fox, uh-huh!

I caught a fox, uh-huh!

I caught a fox, uh-huh!

Then I let it go!

Bear run on the frozen ground! Who told you so?

Bear run on the frozen ground! How do you know?

I caught a bear, uh-huh!

I caught a bear, uh-huh!

I caught a bear, uh-huh!

Then I let it go!

Raccoon’s got a bushy tail 🔊

A folk song from Virginia and Mississippi.

Racoon’s got a bushy tail,

Possum’s tail goes bare,

Rabbit’s got no tail at all

Just a little old bunch of hair.

Raccoon is a mighty man,

He rambles through the dark,

You ought to see him hunt his den

When he hears old Rover bark.

Possum up the persimmon tree,

Raccoon on the ground,

Raccoon says to possum,

"Won't you shake them simmons down?”

Rabbit’s on the pine tree stump,

Raccoon in the hollow,

Possum in the potato patch,

As plump as he can wallow.

Racoon’s got a bushy tail,

Possum’s tail goes bare,

Rabbit’s got no tail at all

Just a little old bunch of hair.

Ring ding dong Johnny O

Another song that tells the story of Noah and the flood.

This one is from the BBC television’s Music Time Spring 1983.

Move around the room at different speeds – quickly each time the chorus is sung, more slowly for each verse.

There was a house of wood

A-floating on the sea.

Ring ding dong Johnny,

Dance along with me.

The rain had caused a flood,

There was no land to see.

Ring ding dong...

And every kind of beast

Had joined the company.

Ring ding dong...

And Noah steered the ark,

A brave old man was he.

Ring ding dong...

And when the floods had gone

They landed cheerfully.

Ring ding dong...

.

Risha, rasha, rusha O

This was translated by Mabel F. Wilson from words by G. Götze and the music is by G. Falke 1853-1916,

Risha, rasha, rusha,

The hare is in the bush!

Risha, rasha, rusha,

The hare is in the bush!

With his beady eye he’s watching,

He’s afraid you’ll try to catch him,

Risha, rasha, rusha,

The hare is in the bush!

Risha, rasha, rusha,

The hare is in the house! ...

Quickly run and catch his tail

Before he’s off o’er hill and dale,

Risha, rasha, rusha,

The hare is in the house!

Risha, rasha, rusha,

Oh have you caught him yet? ...

What, he’s run into the meadow?

Oh, you are a silly fellow!

Risha, rasha, rusha,

Oh have you caught him yet?

.

River 🔊

This song by the wonderful Bill Staines resonates as one grows older and reflects on life’s journey – the river of life.

I was born in the path of the winter wind

And raised where the mountains are old.

Their springtime waters came dancing down;

I remember the tales they told.

The whistling ways of my younger days

Too quickly have faded on by.

But all of their memories linger on

Like the light in a fading sky.

Chorus: River, take me along;

In your sunshine, sing me your song.

Ever moving and winding and free,

You rolling old river, you changing old river,

Let’s you and me, river, run down to the sea.

I’ve been to the city and back again;

Been moved by some things that I’ve learned.

Met a lot of good people, and I’ve called them friends

Felt the change when the seasons turned.

I’ve heard all the songs that the children sing

And listened to love’s melodies;

I’ve felt my own music within me rise

Like the wind in the autumn trees. Chorus

Someday when the flowers are blooming still,

Someday when the grass is still green,

My rolling waters will round the bend

And flow into the open sea.

So, here’s to the rainbow that’s followed me here,

And here’s to the friends that I know,

And here’s to the song that’s within me now;

I will sing it wherever I go. Chorus

Robin-a-Thrush O

A tale of a decidedly undomesticated wife. There is a longer version of this song (http://www.joe-offer.com/folkinfo/songs/795.html ); the shorter version and tune below comes from ‘140 Folk Tunes’ by Dr. Archibald T. Davidson and Thomas Whitney Surette published in Massachusetts in 1915 for teachers.

Oh, Robin-a-Thrush, he married a wife,

With a hoppety, moppety, mow, now;

She proved to be the plague of his life,

With a hig jig jiggety, ruffety petticoat,

Robin-a-Thrush cries mow, now!

Her cheese when made was put on the shelf,

With a hoppety, moppety, mow, now;

And it never was turned till it turned of itself;

With a hig jig jiggety, ruffety petticoat.

Robin-a-Thrush cries mow, now!

It turned and turned 'til it walked on the floor,

With a hoppety, moppety, mow, now;

It stood upon legs and walked out the door;

With a hig jig jiggety, ruffety petticoat.

Robin-a-Thrush cries mow, now!

It walked 'til it came to Banbury Fair,

With a hoppety, moppety, mow, now;

The dame followed after upon a grey mare;

With a hig jig jiggety, ruffety petticoat.

Robin-a-Thrush cries mow, now!

This song, it was made for gentlemen,

With a hoppety, moppety, mow, now;

If you want any more, you must sing it again;

With a hig jig jiggety, ruffety petticoat.

Robin-a-Thrush cries mow, now!

Sail away, ladies 🔊

A popular old time fiddle tune from Kentucky / Tennessee and later a lively song sometimes sung at camp sessions.

I went to a party recently and a friend played this on her mountain dulcimer - I was smitten!

Find out about its origins here: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/excerpts-from-two-mudcat-folk-music.html and https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=97649

It ain't no use to sit and cry.

Sail away, ladies. Sail away.

You'll be an angel by an' by.

Sail away, ladies. Sail away.

Chorus:

Don’t you rock 'em? Die-di-o,

Don’t you rock 'em? Die-di-o,

Don’t you rock 'em? Die-di-o,

Sail away ladies. Sail away.

I got a home in Tennessee. Sail away...

That's the place I wanna be. Sail away...

If I ever get my way, Sail away...

Tennessee is where I'll stay. Sail away...

Chorus

If ever I get my new house done. Sail away...

I’ll give my old one to my son. Sail away...

If ever I finish this porch and stairs, Sail away...

I’ll lie around in my rockin' chair. Sail away...

Chorus

Hush, little baby, don't you cry. Sail away...

We’ll all be angels by and by. Sail away...

Never mind what your daddy say. Sail away...

Shake your little foot and fly away. Sail away... Chorus

Sandy River bells 🔊

Sandy River bells is a popular fiddle tune but the music for the sung version here is a little different. The words below are from the Cecil Sharp's Appalachian collection as sung by Lucy Cannady, Endicott, VA, 22/8/1918:

I came across it in Shan Graebe’s book of traditional children’s songs ‘Rosy Apple’ 2014. The suggestion of singing it in different keys is hers.

Sandy River bells keep jingling, jingling,

Sandy River bells keep jingling, jingling,

Sandy River bells keep jingling, jingling,

I've got no use for Sandy River bells.

Say, bonnie lassie 🔊

This is an alternative to ‘Old MacDonald’s Farm’ and is another song from the wonderful ‘Music Box Songbook’ published in 1987.

It is classed as traditional Scottish though there is very little that can be found when researching on the internet, the closest is an American song from Winston-Salem in 1926 ‘Come, says Harry, will you gang with me to the merry, merry woods I own’, see https://archive.org/details/frankcbrowncolle03fran p.176. There is another on p.176 with a similar structure from Nebraska called ‘The banks of Holland’.

Say, bonnie lassie, will you gang with me

To the bonnie, bonnie house of Aaron?

Say, bonnie lassie, will you gang with me

To feed my father's ducks?

With a quack, quack here and a quack, quack there,

Here a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack, quack,

Say, bonnie lassie, will you gang with me

To the bonnie, bonnie house of Aaron?

…To feed my father's geese?

A queen-quawn here and a queen-quawn there,

Here a queen, there a quawn, everywhere a queen-quawn…

A quack-quack here and a quack-quack there…

(Continue with turkeys: gibble-gobble; chickens: cluck-cluck; sheep: baa-baa; etc.)

Scarborough Fair 🔊

A Child ballad #2; an American variant in the dorian mode. This one from ‘Sail Away -155 American folk songs to sing, read and play’, published in1981.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Remember me to one who lives there,

For once she was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Without any seams or fine needlework,

Then she shall be a true love of mine.

Tell her to wash it in yonder well,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

Where never sprung water nor a drop of rain fell,

And she shall be a true love of mine.

Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,

Then she shall be a true love of mine.

Now he has asked me questions three,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

I hope he'll answer as many for me,

Before he shall be a true love of mine.

Tell him to find me an acre of land,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

Between the salt water and the sea sand,

Then he shall be a true love of mine.

Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

And sow it all over with one peppercorn,

And he shall be a true love of mine.

Tell him to reap it with a sickle of leather,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;

And bind it up with a peacock's feather,

And he shall be a true lover of mine.

When he has done and finished his work,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme:

Oh, tell him to come and he'll have his shirt,

And he shall be a true love of mine.

Shady Grove O

A traditional North American song that I enjoyed singing in the 1960s.

Shady Grove my little love

Shady Grove I know;

Shady Grove my little love,

Bound for the Shady Grove.

Cheeks as red as a blooming rose,

Eyes are the deepest brown;

You are the darling of my heart,

Stay till the sun goes down.

Went to see my Shady Grove,

She was standing in the door,

Shoes and stockings in her hand,

Little bare feet on the floor.

Wish I had a big fine horse,

And corn to feed him on,

Pretty little girl stay at home,

Feed him when I'm gone.

Shake that little foot, Dinah-0 🔊

A song from Texas. This version comes from ‘Animal folk songs for children’ selected and arranged by Ruth Crawford Seeger, published in1950.

For more versions visit: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/information-about-several-early-lyric.html

Old Aunt Dinah went to town

Riding a billy goat, leading a hound,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o.

Hound dog barked, billy goat jumped,

Set Aunt Dinah straddle of a stump,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o.

Sift the meal and save the bran;

Give it to the old cow to make her stand,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o.

Old Aunt Dinah, sick in bed,

Sent for the doctor, doctor said,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o.

Get up Dinah, you ain’t sick,

All you need is a hickory stick,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o,

Shake that little foot, Dinah-o.

Shanghai chicken 🔊

A play party song of African-American origin. I have as yet to find the play party game but there is a Kodaly egg passing game which looks complicated but fun at Music a la Abbott.

Shanghai chicken grows so tall, few days, few days;

Almost reach the top of the wall and I’m goin’ home.

I have a home over yonder, few days, few days.

I have a home over yonder and I’m goin’ home.

Shanghai chicken grows so tall, few days, few days.

Take that egg a month to fall, and I’m goin’ home.

Great big fish they call a whale, few days, few days.

Swallowed Jonah head and tail, and I’m goin’ home.

Shine like the sun 🔊

A good morning song and hand play.

In soft morning light, the stars fade away,

The birds soon awake, this is a new day.

Awake! Awake! Shine like the sun,

Give light and love to everyone.

Down is the earth, up is the sky.

Here are my friends and here am I.

Good morning to you, and good morning to me.

Shortnin' bread O

This children’s folk song with its great rhythm was regularly sung in UK classrooms in the 1960s and 70s.

I taught in Handsworth, Birmingham around this time and with its wonderful swing was very popular with the second generation children of West Indian immigrants in my classes.

It also featured in BBC radio’s Autumn term 1965 Time and Tune, albeit with one verse and chorus.

Find more about the origins of this lively song at: http://pancocojams.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/versions-of-shortnin-bread-1900-1950.html

Two little children lying in bed,

One jumped up and bumped his head.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,

Mama's little baby loves shortnin' bread.

Mama's little baby loves shortnin', shortnin',

Mama's little baby loves shortnin' bread,

Mama's little baby loves shortnin', shortnin',

Mama's little baby loves shortnin' bread.

Put on the skillet, put on the lead,

Mama's gonna make a little shortnin' bread.

That ain't all she's gonna do,

Mama's gonna make a little coffee too.

Simple gifts O

Composed by Joseph Brockett in 1848 it was written as a dance song: http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/JosephBrackettSimpleGifts.htm

I first came across this song in the 1960s; the delightful tune became a very familiar one in school assemblies as ‘Lord of the dance’ by Sidney Carter. I added it to my class music collection from a BBC Publication ‘Singing Together’ Spring 1974 to where it was described as an American ‘Shaker’ song; I have omitted the second verse as it was not in the original version.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be;

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.

To turn, turn, will be our delight,

'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Sing a song of spaceships O

Children are fascinated by the solar system and the concept of space travel.

The words of the first verse are by June Tillman and the second by Dany Rosevear to celebrate the most recent episode of astronauts braving a space rocket to do research at the space station as it circles the Earth.

Sing a song of spaceships,

Rockets zoom off high,

Sing a song of spaceships,

Sparkling in the sky.

Sing a song of spaceships,

Going to the moon,

I hope the spaceships will be safe

And come back very soon.

Sing a song of spaceships,

Wave as they pass by,

Astronauts are floating,

Busy way up high.

To keep the old space station

Circling round and round.

I wonder if they can see me

Down here on the ground.

Sing ivy 🔊

There are many versions of this song; The words of this one with slight changes come from ‘What the children sing’ harmonised by Alfred Moffat and was published around 1915.

My father he left me an acre of land,

Sing ovey, sing ivy.

My father he left me an acre of land,

Sing holly, go whistle and ivy.

I ploughed it one morning with a ram's horn,

Sing ovey, sing ivy.

I sowed it all over with two pepper corns,

Sing holly, go whistle and ivy.

I harrowed it next with a bramble bush...

And reaped it all with my little penknife...

The little mice carried it into the barn...

I threshed it there with a fine goose quill...

The cat she carried it into the mill...

The miller he said that he’d work with a will...

.

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