Autumn songs F-J

Fairy rings

Falling leaves

Falling, falling, falling leaves

Five golden leaves

Five little leaves

Five liitle squirrels

Five shiny conkers

For the golden corn

Give thanks for love

Glimmer lantern glimmer

Golden corn

Golden is the garden

Grey squirrel

Harvest time

Hedgehog “Goodnight!”

Here is an apple tree

I walk with my little lantern

Jack Frost comes creeping

John Barleycorn

Jolly October or Nutting

Jump in the leaves

Also find:

Pick up a leaf

The leaves are green

Last updated: 9/11/2023 9:49 AM

The songs below are part of ‘Away we go’ compiled, adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear

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Fairy rings 🔊

A simple circle game and action rhyme.

Autumn is a time for mushroom collecting; I remember doing this with my Polish father in Norfolk airfield as he remembered doing the same as a child in Poland. It is a good time of year to discuss the difference between mushrooms and toadstools.

From ‘We play and grow’ by Maisie Cobby, published 1954.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

Children choose to be a fairy, elf, pixie, goblin or any other named wee folk, They then crouch or sit in a circle with hands over their heads. One child weaves in and out of the circle and on the words, ‘We may find a tiny …’ taps the nearest child who identifies themselves and becomes the new traveller.

Toadstools here, toadstools there,

Toadstools growing everywhere.

If we lift one very gently,

And take a little peek,

We may find a tiny fairy

Sheltering underneath.

Falling leaves 🔊

A very gentle song for autumn. Great as a follow up to a lively session running around outside in the fallen leaves.

Challenge children to play an equally gentle accompaniment – how softly can they play? Work out which percussion instruments will make the right kind of sound and how to achieve this.

Leaves are falling gently,

Yellow, red and brown.

Wind is in the treetops,

Leaves are floating down.

Down, down, down.

Early in the morning,

All around the town.

Frost is on the window pane,

Mist is swirling round.

All around, all around.

Branches black and bare now

Stretch up to the sky

Floating on the water,

Leaves come drifting by

Drifting by, drifting by.

Rake the leaves together

Clear them from the ground

Flames are burning brightly,

Smoke is all around.

All around, all around.

Falling, falling, falling leaves 🔊

Move with scarves gently twirling and swirling downwards like the leaves, then run, tumble and lie still on the ground.

Falling, falling, falling leaves,

Falling thick and falling fast.

The trees stand bare against the sky,

Autumn is here, Summer is past.

Spinning, spinning, spinning leaves,

The Autumn winds they roughly blow.

Spinning, twisting, twirling round,

The leaves whirl down and off they go.

Five golden leaves 🔊

Change ‘golden’ to ‘Autumn’ if you have leaves in other colours.

Use fingers to show numbers of leaves or hold leaves in hand and drop one each time a verse is sung.

Alternatively children sit in a circle as five volunteers move inside like the leaves and settle on the ground one at a time as each verse is sung.

Five golden leaves hanging from a tree,

Dancing golden in the sun,

Then along came the wind and it blew through the town Whoosh!

One little leaf tumbled down to the ground!

Four golden leaves hanging from a tree,

Dancing golden in the sun,

Then along came the wind and it blew through the town Whoosh!

And another leaf tumbled down to the ground!

Three… Two….

One golden leaf…

And the last little leaf tumbled down to the ground.

Five little leaves 🔊

A hand play and learning the concept of ‘one less’.

Words by Dorothy Williams, tune by Dany Rosevear.

1. Hold up five fingers. 2. Wiggle fingers on one hand. 3. Cup hand round mouth and blow. 4. Roll one forefinger over the other downwards.

Five little leaves, so bright and gay,

Were dancing around on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

Whoosh!

And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Four little leaves…

Five little leaves so bright and gay,

Were lying down on the ground one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

Whoosh!

And five little leaves went flying all around.

Five little squirrels

A number hand play for Autumn. Learn an about secondary numbers.

We often see grey squirrels in our garden, especially at this time of year, running atop the wooden fence. We have many hazel saplings spread around, courtesy of our little friends giving us and the squirrels a new cache of nuts.

Hold up a finger each time. 1. Hold up five fingers each time. Ring eyes. 2. Point down. 3. Point to self. 4. Pretend to run. 5. Nod head. 6. Make squirrel with arms and hands and shake tail. Pretend to run.

Five little squirrels sitting in a tree.

The 1st one said, "What do I see?"

The 2nd one said, "Some nuts on the ground."

The 3rd one said, "Those are nuts that I found."

The 4th one said, "I'll beat you there."

The 5th one said, "All right, that's fair."

So they shook their tails and ran with glee!

To the nuts that lay at the foot of the tree!

Five shiny conkers 🔊

An Autumn hand play and number rhyme to learn the concept of ‘one less’.

Adapted by Dany Rosevear; for those that are not familiar with horse chestnuts leave out the ‘horse’!

1. Hold up and wiggle five fingers. 2. Make conkers with thumbs and fore fingers. 3. Move hand like the waves, bend down one digit. 4. Make squrrel with hands.

Five shiny conkers on a horse chestnut tree,

Beautiful and brown, don’t you all agree?

Along came the wind,

And down one fell,

And a squirrel came to find it in its green spiky shell.

For the golden corn 🔊

A song of thanks for meal times at the family table. Not suitable for food in front of the TV!

Written by Elizabeth Gould, music by E. Smith. Adapted and arranged by Dany Rosevear.

For the golden corn, for the apples on the tree,

For the golden butter and the honey for our tea,

For fruits and nuts and berries that grow beside the way,

For birds and beasts and flowers, we give our thanks today.

Give thanks for love 🔊

A simple hand play for Thanksgiving and any other time of the year.

Words and music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Each time ‘give thanks’ is sung place palms together. Shape sun then clouds. Cross hands at wrists. Make a crescent moon with thumb and forefinger. Shape a heart with both thumbs and forefingers.

2. Pretend to eat. Throw our hands and bring towards the heart. Make fingers twinkle . As before.

Give thanks, give thanks for the sun in the sky,

The clouds in the blue and the birds flying by;

Give thanks, give thanks for the moon up above,

Give thanks for love! Give thanks for love!

Give thanks, give thanks for the food that we eat,

Our family, our friends and the kind folk we meet;

Give thanks, give thanks for the stars up above,

Give thanks for love! Give thanks for love!

Glimmer lantern glimmer 🔊

A lantern song for the festival of St Martin. The eve of Martinmas is remembered in many households with a festival of lanterns carrying light through darkened homes and the singing of songs.

It is a great excuse to make your own lanterns.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer,

Little stars a-shimmer,

Over meadow, moor and dale,

Flitter, flutter elfin veil,

Pee-witt, pee-witt, tick-a-tick-a-tick,

Rou-cou, rou-cou.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer,

Little stars a-shimmer,

Over rock and stock and stone,

Wander tripping little gnome,

Pee-witt, pee-witt, tick-a-tick-a-tick,

Rou-cou, rou-cou.

Golden corn 🔊

Move up and down with the pitch of the music.

Find out the direction of each point of the compass so arms can swing that way.

The first verse is traditional and the second verse by Dany Rosevear.

The game below is for individual movement but would work well with children holding hands in pairs.

Curl up small on the ground. Line 1: Move upwards with hands stretched high. Lines 2. & 3.Swing arms to one side and then the other. Lines 4.& 5. Move down to the floor. Make up movements for the second verse.

Golden corn is growing so high;

The wind blows east,

And the wind blows west,

And the little brown mouse runs

Down to her nest.

Apple tree is growing so high;

The wind blows north,

And the wind blows south,

And the little red apples

Fall to the ground.

Golden is the garden 🔊

The harvest season in the UK comes towards the end of September or the beginning of October. Nowadays the date is fixed but in the past the harvest festival would change depending on when the harvest had all been brought in.

All about the UK harvest season (oddbox.co.uk)

British harvest: when is harvest day, plus history and traditions | Countryfile.com

The word 'harvest' is from the Old English 'hærfest', meaning autumn.

This old rhyme has been adapted and set to music by Dany Rosevear.

Each verse can be used as a stand-alone.

Golden is the garden,

Golden is the grain,

Golden, golden, golden,

It’s Harvest time again!

Golden in the treetops,

Golden in the sky,

Golden, golden, golden,

As a Harvest moon sails by.

Golden is the garden,

Golden is the glen,

Golden, golden, golden,

September’s here again.

Golden are the tree tops,

Golden is the sky,

Golden, golden, golden,

September’s passing by.

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel 🔊

Squirrels need to collect a store of food to survive a harsh winter but often they forget where it is hidden.

Last two verses by Dany Rosevear.

1: Cross forearms to make squirrel’s head and tail with hands, nod head up and down. 2. Move higher tail hand from side to side. 3. Touch toes and twitch nose. 4. As before. Other verses: Dramatize hiding and searching for food.

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel,

Swish your bushy tail.

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel,

Swish your bushy tail.

Wrinkle up your little nose;

Hold a nut between your toes,

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel,

Swish your bushy tail.

…climb up in the tallest tree,

Let your tail blow in the breeze...

…hide your nuts both near and far

But don’t forget just where they are…

…in cold winter you will need

To find those nuts so you can feed…

Harvest time 🔊

A beautiful early Autumn poem by Florence Mary Hoatson ( 1881-1964) for Carey Bonner’s ‘Child song’ published 1908.

New tune by Dany Rosevear.

When the golden sun is gleaming,

In the quiet noon,

When the tiny stars are dreaming

Round the harvest moon,

When the yellow corn is swaying

Where the poppies peep,

When the little bulbs are saying,

“Let us go to sleep!”

Autumn whispers, “I am here,

And the harvest time is near.”

When the baby seeds are falling,

From each flower and tree,

When the wind is softly calling,

Come away with me!”

When the swallows are departing

Into warmer lands,

When the fruit is ripe and ready,

For the little hands.

Autumn whispers, “I am here,

And the harvest time is near.”

Hedgehog “Goodnight!” 🔊

Hedgehog shuffles through the seasons.

Oh, how I miss the hedgehogs that regularly visited our town garden in Oxfordshire (and muntjack deer); in our Devon city garden we have foxes and badgers, sadly the latter do not co-exist with hedgehogs.

You can find many more hedgehog songs here:Good evening, hungry hedgehog - a song for the gardener's friend - YouTube

Words and music by Dany Rosevear.

Where does the hedgehog sleep when Autumn comes around?

Underneath a pile of leaves, yellow, red and brown.

Hurry scurry, hurry scurry, for the North Wind blows,

And snowflakes drift down to the earth below.

Hedgehog makes a perfect nest upon the forest floor,

Tiptoe and quietly pass if you hear it snore.

Sleep deep, sleep deep, for Winter is long,

Through a blanket of snow you’ll hear its soft song.

What does the hedgehog do when sun warms up the ground?

Lifts up its tiny head, hears sweet Springtime sounds;

Hurry scurry, hurry scurry, for the world’s awake,

Where worms, snails and slugs a good dinner does make!

In the soft spun morning light, dear hedgehog wends its way,

Summer’s come and all around busy insects play,

Eat well, grow fat, ‘til Summer takes flight,

And the birds flying south sing,

“Hedgehog, Goodnight!”

Here is an apple tree 🔊

A song for apple picking time. Music by Mary Thienes-Schunemann from her book ‘Sing a song of seasons’.

Here is an apple tree,

I look up and I can see

Big red apples ripe and sweet,

Big red apples good to eat!

Shake that big old apple tree,

See the apples fall on me!

Here's a basket big and round,

Pick the apples off the ground.

Here's an apple ripe and sweet,

That’s the apple I will eat!

I walk with my little lantern 🔊

A German song sung on the feast of Martinmas which falls on November 11^th.

Martin was the patron saint of beggars, drunkards and outcasts and was known for an unassuming nature and ability to bring warmth and light to those in darkness.

There are many versions of this song in German and in translation. This is my take.

It is a lovely time of year to make lanterns.

I walk with my little lantern,

My lantern, myself and I,

Above the stars are shining,

On Earth we are stars to the sky.

The rooster crows, the cat meows:

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

We walk with our little lanterns,

Our lanterns so shiny and bright,

We wind our way through the darkness,

A sea of twinkling light.

The pale moon cries as we pass by:

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

We walk with our little lanterns,

Our lanterns so shiny and bright,

We sing sweet songs in the darkness

Our voices so cheerful tonight.

As we walk round how good it sounds:

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

We walk with our little lanterns,

Our lanterns so shiny and bright,

We wander home through the darkness

With a flickering fading of light.

The flame grows dim but still we sing:

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

Hey! Hey! Hey!

La bimmel, la bummel, la bey!

Jack Frost comes creeping 🔊

An Autumn hand play.

By Anon and set to a familiar tune by Dany Rosevear.

1. Two fingers creep along the other arm. Shape moon. 2. Male brushing motion with hand. Warm upper arms. 3. Hand makes an up and down movement. Hand weaves in and out. 4. Wiggle fingers Point to feet. 5. Shout out “Jack Frost!”

Who comes creeping in the night,

When the moon is clear and bright.

Who paints the tree leaves red and gold,

When the autumn days turn cold;

Up the hill and down he goes,

In and out the brown corn rows,

Making music crackling sweet

With his little frosty feet? JACK FROST!

John Barleycorn 🔊

Collected in Somerset by Cecil Sharp. From OUP Sing Together published 1967.

Find out more about this song at: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=14888 .

Arranged by Dany Rosevear.

There came three men from out the West

Their fortunes for to try,

And they have taken a solemn oath

John Barleycorn should die.

Sing ri-fol-lol, the diddle all the dee,

Right fal-lee-ro-dee.

They took a plough and ploughed him in,

Laid clods upon his head,

And they have taken a solemn oath

John Barleycorn is dead.

So then he lay for a three long weeks

Till dew from heaven did fall;

John Barleycorn sprung up again

And that surprised them all.

But when he faced the summer sun,

He looked both pale and wan,

For all he had a spikey beard

To show he was a man.

But soon came men with sickles sharp

And chopped him to the knee.

They rolled and tied him by the waist

And served him barbarously.

Jolly October or Nutting 🔊

An out of doors follow my leader song.

‘Jolly’ is not usually an adjective associated with this month! A subscriber asked if I could find this half remembered song and lo and behold it appeared in ‘Songs for the nursery school’ published in 1938 by Laura Pendleton MacCarteney. The song called ‘Nutting’ is by Mary Root Kern and is arranged here by Dany Rosevear who also added a second verse.

Make lines of five or six and taking turns to be leader skip around weaving carefully in and out of other groups. Come together in a circle to finish.

Jolly October is here today,

Sun and wind are calling.

Follow your leader and come away,

See the nuts are falling.

Follow your leader and come away,

Sun and wind are calling.

Jolly October is here today,

See the leaves all flying.

Follow your leader and come away,

The Autumn winds are sighing.

Follow your leader and come away,

See the leaves all flying.

Jump in the leaves 🔊

Get active outside and appreciate how leaves can be made into compost to help plants grow.

Words by Derek Pearson to a traditional tune.

Oh, I love to jump in the leaves,

Let’s all jump in together.

Rake them up to make a big pile…

Let’s rake them all together.

In the sacks we pack the leaves…

To make them into compost.

And then when it is rotted down….

We’ll spread it round the garden.

Then we’ll watch the plants all grow…

To give us food and flowers.

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