Songs about colour A-O

Blue is the sea

Buck-eye Jim

Colour song

Down came a lady

Down on grandpa’s farm

Here goes the red bird

Ida Red

If you are wearing red

Jenny Jenkins

Little Miss Etticoat

Mary wore her red dress

Orange is a carrot

Over the rainbow bridge we go

 

There are also several songs about colour in:

Songs about colour P-Z

Seasonal songs

Leaves are falling

Mrs White had a fright

Yellow the bracken

Black snake, black snake

Cançó dels colors / Green, green, green

It’s snowing, it’s blowing

Red in Autumn

 

Last updated: 9/20/2021 10:34 AM

The songs below are part ofAway we go’ Round and about 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:

·       you must give the original author credit

·       you may not use this work for commercial purposes

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·       any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder

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


 

 

Blue is the sea 🔊

 

 


Look around and find colour here, there and everywhere. A colour hand play.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Move hands cross boby like waves. 2. Upright fingers gently rustle. 3. Move cloud shaped hands above head. 4. Open and close hand beak or flap elbow wings. 5. Hold up forearms with fingers spread. 6. Finger tips touching rock hands gently back and forth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Blue is the sea,

Green is the grass,

White are the clouds

As they slowly pass.

Black are the crows,

Brown are the trees,

Red are the sails

Of a ship in the breeze.

 


 

 

Buckeye Jim O

 

 


Make up your own colourful verses as there are already many versions of this song from the U.S.A., the most well known by Burl Ives. Lomax collected a version in the 1950s and you can find out more about its various forms at:  http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=53713

Roud number 10059.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Way up yonder above the moon,

A blue jay nests in a silver spoon.

 

Chorus

Buckeye Jim, you can't go.

Weave and spin, you can't go,

Buck-eyed Jim.

 

Way up yonder above the sky,

Blue jay rests in a green bird's eye.

 

Way up yonder in the quiet of night,

A black bird sang in the pink moonlight.

 

Way down yonder in a hollow log,

A redbird danced with a green bullfrog.

 

Way up yonder on a shooting star,

A bullfrog jumped, but he jumped too far.

 

If you don’t have wings, you can’t fly,

But you can dream if you darn well try.

 


 

 

Colour song  🔊

 

 


A circle game to encourage visual awareness and concentration. From ‘Up, up and away’ by Derek Pearson published 1987. You might recognise the traditional tune!

Game by Dany Rosevear.

 

Chidren walk or skip round in a cirle to the left. One child skips round the outside and when the first verse finishes taps the nearest child and sings, ‘Can you you think of something…(colour)?’ The tapped child answers pointing to something in the room and sings the next verse either with the help of the others or individually. That child then skips round the outside and the game continues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Red and yellow, green and blue,

Red and yellow, green and blue,

Red and yellow, green and blue,

Listen to my song.

 

Can you think of something red?

 

Yes, I can think of something red,

Of something red, of something red,

Yes, I can think of something red,

Let’s sing this song again.

 


 

 

Down came a lady O

 

This song is adapted from a spiritual. You will need to change the words as below to accommodate the gender of the child.

Children join hands in a circle and move clockwise. One chid stands in the middle as the others circle round. At the end of the song this child points to another in the circle and substitutes the colour the that child’s clothing for the word ‘blue’. The first child moves out of the ring and circles anticlockwise while the chosen child stays in the centre as the song begins again. Eventually all the children will be outside holding hands and walking anticlockwise round the last child and shout out the colour of his clothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Down came a lady,

Down came two,

Down came old Daniel's wife

And she was dressed in blue.

 

Down came a young man,

Down came two,

Down came old Daniel's friend

And he was dressed in blue.

 


 

 

Down on grandpa’s farm O

 

 


This song has its roots in the Argentinian song: ‘Mi Chacra’

 

Pretend to drive during the chorus and make animal noises for each of the verses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Chorus

We're on our way, we're on our way,

On our way to Grandpa's farm.

We're on our way, we're on our way,

On our way to Grandpa's farm.

 

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a black and white cow.

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a black and white cow.

The cow, it makes a sound like this: Moo! Moo!

The cow, it makes a sound like this: Moo! Moo!

 

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a little red hen…

The hen, it makes a sound like this: Cluck! Cluck!...

 

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a fat pink pig…

The pig, it makes a sound like this: Oink! : Oink!..

 

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a little white sheep…

The sheep, it makes a sound like this: Baa! Baa!…

 

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a big brown horse…

The horse, it makes a sound like this: Neigh! Neigh!...

 

Down on Grandpa's farm there is a little yellow duck…

The duck, it makes a sound like this: Quack! Quack!…


 

 

Here goes the red bird O

 

A circle game from Illinois. It has been adapted from ‘Take a little girl’ to ‘Take a little friend’ and ‘hip-sip-si-da’ to ‘hip-si-dip-sa’ to make it easier to sing!

 

Make a circle, join raised hands to make ‘windows’; a ‘red bird’ stands in the centre. The ‘red bird’ weaves in and out of the circle’s windows as it moves round in the opposite direction.

On ‘Take a little friend…’ this The game continues with the new child as the ‘red bird’.

The colour of the bird could match the dominant colour of the child’s clothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Here goes the red bird thru the window,

Thru the window, thru the window.

Here goes the red bird thru the window,

Hilum, diddle-um dee.

 

Take a little friend go, hip-si-dip-sa,

Hip-si-dip-sa, hip-si-dip-sa,

Take a little friend go, hip-si-dip-sa,

Hilum, diddle-um dee.

 


 

 

Ida Red 🔊

 

 


A Kentucky folk song and often played as a fiddle tune.

A song you can easily adaptet to include other colours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Chorus:

Down the road and across the creek,

Can't get a letter but once a week.

 

Ida Red, Ida Blue,

I got stuck on Ida too.

 

Ida Red, Ida Green,

Prettiest girl you've ever seen.

 

Ida Red, Ida Gold,

She is somethin' to behold.

 

Ida Red, Ida Red,

That girl's sweeter than gingerbread.

 

Bought me a horse and made me a sled,

Nobody can't ride but Ida Red,

Ida Red, Ida Blue,

I got stuck on Ida too.


 

 

If you are wearing red 🔊

 

 


Look carefully at and recognise the colours of items of clothing.

Remember to identify and help those that might be colour blind.

 

Actions should be obvious but younger children might need to be shown a picture of / or a cello and how it is played. Those not wearing white will be unable to resist joining in the last verse!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


If you are wearing red, shake your head,

If you are wearing red, shake your head,

If you are wearing red,

Then please shake your head,

If you are wearing red, shake your head.

 

…..blue, touch your shoe...

…..black, pat your back...

…..brown, turn around...

…..yellow, play a cello…..

……pink, give me a wink….

……green, bow to the queen….

……white, give me a fright….


 

 

Jenny Jenkins O

 

A classic American child’s folk song and a lovely song to sing when learning colour names.

Find fascinating notes about the traditional significance of certain colours at: http://www.alabamafolklife.org/content/history-behind-songs white for death, green for grief, red for joy, black for mourning, blue for sailors and constancy.

Find info on this as a game at: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=48821 and http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/R453.html

Traditionally it is played as a line song with two lines facing each other. The lines take turns to move forward then back singing the first couplet. The other line thinks of a rhyme and moves forward and back with the reply. It also works well as a car game on a long journey – there are an infinite number of colours!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Oh, will you wear red, oh my dear, oh my dear?

Will you wear red Jenny Jenkins?

I won’t wear red, it’s the colour of my head,

I’ll buy me a twirly whirly, sooky looky, Sally Katy,

Double lolly, roll-the-find-me.

Roll, Jenny Jenkins roll.

 

Oh, will you wear blue...

I won’t wear blue, it’s the colour of my shoe...

 

Oh, will you wear yellow...

I won’t wear yellow, my fine young fellow...

 

Oh, will you wear green...

I won’t wear green, I’m ashamed to be seen...

 

Oh, will you wear orange...

Orange I won’t wear, and it rhymes so there! ...

 

Oh, what will you wear...

Now what do you care if I just go bare...

 

More ideas

Pink – I’d rather drink ink

Brown – it’s all around the town

Grey – on such a sunny day

White – for the colour is too bright

 


 

 

Little Miss Etticoat 🔊

 

 


A riddle, a little teaser of a rhyme – what could it be?

Little Miss Etticoat,

In her white petticoat

And her red nose.

The longer she stands,

The shorter she grows.

Not so easy for modern children to identify if their only experience of candles is the coloured ones on the birthday cake. In the past it was the safe way to take you up to bed making wonderful shadows on the wall.

This song based on the traditional Mother Goose rhyme can be found in ‘Songs of childhood’ published in 1923.

I chanted the original rhyme regularly when candle dipping with the class walking around the table singing candle and Christmas songs as they waited their turn to dip the wick in a saucepan of hot liquid wax and watch their candle slowly growing over the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Little Miss Etticote

In a white petticoat,

Shorter and shorter she grows.

Oh, how she suffers while we with the snuffers

Are nipping her little red nose!

 


 

 

Mary wore her red dress O

 

Encourage each child to name a colour and item of clothing they are wearing. It is also a great way to learn the names of other children in the group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Mary wore her red dress,

Red dress, red dress,

Mary wore her red dress,

All day long.

 

Ethan wore his blue jumper,

Blue jumper, blue jumper,

Ethan wore his blue jumper,

All day long.

 

Daisy wore her purple wellies,

Purple wellies, purple wellies,

Daisy wore her purple wellies,

All day long.

 


 

 

Orange is a carrot O

 

 


A song that is easy to adapt to your topic of the day. I have added a last verse to draw the ideas together.

There are lots of lovely ideas for bookmaking to be found online. I love this video of a master bookmaker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHiY0iwPJQE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Orange is a carrot,

Yellow is a pear,

Purple is a plum,

Brown is a bear,

 

Green is the grass,

Blue is the sky,

Black is a witch’s cat,

And red is cherry pie!

 

Grey is a rain cloud,

Pink is a rose,

White is a snowman

With a long carrot nose!

 

Open up your eyes,

Look around with me;

The world is rainbow coloured

For everyone to see!

 


 

 

Over the rainbow bridge we go 🔊

 

 


There are rainbows everywhere at present to cheer us up in difficult times.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Here we go, to and fro,

over the rainbow bridge we go.

Treading softly, treading slow,

over the rainbow bridge we go.

Gathering light from sun and star,

gathering light from heaven afar,

Down to earth all things to greet,

sharing the light with all we meet.

Here we go, to and fro,

over the rainbow bridge we go.

Treading softly, treading slow,

over the rainbow bridge we go.


 

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