Songs for Halloween
A
witch wears a long tall hat
Five
little pumpkins sitting on a gate
Gobbolino, the
witch’s cat
Hallowe’en is
coming
Have
you seen the ghost of Tom?
In a
dark, dark wood
Mrs
White had a fright
Old
mother witch
Out
on Halloween
Pumpkin,
pumpkin round and fat
The
witch has lost her broomstick
There
was an old witch
Witch, witch where do you fly?
Also
see
Last updated: 9/30/2014
1:58 PM
The songs below are part of ‘Away we
go’ compiled, adapted and
illustrated by Dany Rosevear
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To listen to music from these
songs click on O
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
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Another spooky
song that is best accompanied with a regular drum rhythm. I had thought
this was a traditional song as I had sung it to children since the 1970s but
on investigating in order to reply to a query found it was written by Dave
and Toni Arthur who wrote several songs at this time for various educational
publications. They also produced anthologies of songs and poems for the then
popular Thames Television Seeing and Doing programmes. |
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A witch wears a long tall
hat, A witch has a big black
cat. She sits on her broomstick
as she rides by And ‘Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh!’ is her cry. A witch wears long black
hair, A witch flies through the
air. She sits on her broomstick
as she rides by And ‘Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh!’ is her cry. A witch wears a long black
cloak, A witch disappears in a
puff of smoke. She sits on her broomstick
as she rides by And ‘Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh!’ is her cry. |
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A traditional
rhyme for Halloween. There are many chants and rap versions of this song but
for younger children I prefer a simple chant with lots of expression. 1. Put five fingers behind an arm. 2. One finger up
and then hands to cheek. 3. Two fingers up and point to the movement of the
witches. 4. Three fingers up then throw out hands. 5. Four fingers up then
hand make running movements. 6. Five fingers up then put hands on hips. 7.
Cover eyes. 8. Put up five fingers and then roll arms. |
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Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate, The first one said, “Oh, my it’s
getting late.” The second one said, “There are witches in the
air”. The third one said,” But we don’t care!” The fourth one said, “Let’s run, run, run” The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun!” “Whooooo!” went the
wind, And out went the light… And five little pumpkins went rolling out of
sight! |
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A song for Hallowe’en by G.C.Westcott
based on Ursula Moray William’s wonderful story for
children, find out more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobbolino,_the_Witch's_Cat
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One fine night in a
witch’s cavern, Two little kittens rolled
on to the floor; One, called Sootica, was black all over: The other, Gobbolino, had one white paw. Chorus Who’ll give a home to a
kitten? Who’ll give a home to a
cat? Gobbolino you may call me; I want just a fire and a
mat. One white paw and a sheen
of tabby, Two lovely eyes not green
but blue, None of the witches would
take this kitten … And neither did his mother
know what to do. Then one day, when the sun
was shining, Gobbolino found he was all alone. The witch had gone and deserted
him for ever, So Gobbolino
washed himself, then he left home. |
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A song for Hallowe’en by Ginglend and Stiles;
a great one to enjoy adding eerie creepy sounds. |
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Halloween is coming, Ha,
ha, ha! Halloween is coming, Hee, hee, hee! Spooks will prowl on Hallowe’en, Bats and goblins will soon
be seen. Ghosts will float right through
the air, Witches on broomsticks
will give you a scare. Halloween is coming, Ha,
ha, ha! Halloween is coming, Hee, hee, hee! Jack-o’-lanterns burning
bright Look out the windows on
Halloween night, Ghosts and witches,
goblins too, On Halloween night are out
to scare you. Boo! Halloween is coming, Ha,
ha, ha! Halloween is coming, Hee, hee, hee! |
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Make scary
sounds to enhance this round. When singing this song as a round you would not
use the chords suggested below. |
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Have you seen the ghost of Tom? Long white bones with the rest all gone, Oo-oo- ooh, O- oo- oo- ooh! Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on? |
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A creepy song
for Halloween. |
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In a dark, dark wood,
there was a dark, dark house, And in that dark, dark
house, there was a dark, dark cupboard, And in that dark, dark
cupboard, there was a dark, dark shelf, And on that dark, dark
shelf, there was a dark, dark box, And in that dark, dark
box, there was a GHOST! |
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An old
playground favourite adapted here for a Halloween theme by Dany Rosevear. Make up your
own rhymes for other colours – there are plenty more! |
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Mrs
White had a fright, in the middle of the
night. She saw a ghost, eating toast,
half way up a lamp-post. Mrs Red
went to bed, with a pumpkin on her head, Saw two
bats, chase a cat, right into her pointy hat. Mrs
Black in a mac, eating hop toads for a snack. Saw a
witch, in a fix, sitting in a muddy ditch. Mrs
Green on Halloween, went to supper with the queen. Saw a
spider, in her cider, oh dear me it’s now inside her. Mrs
Blue, yes it’s true, threw snails in a witchy brew. Added
stones, gave a groan, stirred it with a finger bone. Mrs Pink
gave a wink, drank a drink of fizzy ink. Saw a
wizard, in a blizzard, turning hailstones into lizards. |
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A circle game for
Halloween. One child the witch or wizard keeps the beat with a stick
(broomstick or wand) Those in the circle clap to the beat, On the word
‘Wham!’ the child in the circle chooses another to take their place by
tapping them gently on the shoulder. Sing wizard if a boy is chosen. |
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Old mother witch, Couldn’t sew a stitch, Rode her broomstick round and
round, Took another witch to town. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Wham! Old father wizard, Couldn’t find his lizard, Waved his wand round and
round, Took a wizard off to town. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Wham! |
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A lovely
spooky game in the minor key. Add more characters to the song as the fancy
takes you. Children each choose a Halloween character and move
in and out of each other in role without out touching. Stop opposite a
partner on the last line and scare each other. At the end of the song ask who
would like to show off their character and allow the audience to guess what
they might be. |
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Ghosts and ghouls and
skeletons, Witches, toads and
wizards, Prowl about on Halloween, Catching bats and lizards; Prowl about, prowl about, Catching bats and lizards. Chorus Out, out, out and about, Out on Halloween! Jack-o’-lanterns, goblins,
monsters, Scarecrows, owls and
spiders, Trick or treat on
Halloween, In and out the houses; Trick or treat, trick or
treat, In and out the houses. Chorus |
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A circle game
for Halloween. The dance below is the same one I use for ‘Bow wow wow, whose dog art thou?’ http://singinggamesforchildren.com/A%20Cluster%202.1%20HSAAWG/HSAAWG%20web%201-5%20creatures.htm Place hands on hips and
stamp feet; left, right, left. 1. Shake finger at each
other. 2. Hold hands, walk four
steps round exchanging places. 3. Stamp twice then jump to
make a half turn and face new partner. Repeat this sequence round
the circle each time meeting and greeting each new partner with a smile – it
comes naturally! Last verse:
jump to first partner, shake hands. |
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Pumpkin, pumpkin, round and fat, Turn into a jack-o-lantern Just like that! Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, Yummy, yummy, in my tummy,
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A song for
Halloween by Barbara Ireson and Christopher Rowe
from their delightful book ‘Over and over again’ – Poems and songs for the
very young. Move around on
broomsticks – pretend or otherwise! |
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The witch has lost her broomstick and can’t fly in the sky, The witch has lost her broomstick and only I know why, The witch has lost her broomstick and someone else will fly, And I know who that someone is – it’s I, I, I! |
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A song for Hallowe’en with an extra verse. This song will
be spookily enhanced by adding a variety of percussion instruments. |
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There was an old witch, Believe it if you can. She tapped at the window And she ran, ran, ran. She ran helter-skelter, With her toes in the air, Cornstalks flying, From the old witch’s hair. Chorus ‘Swish,’ goes the
broomstick, ‘Miaow,’
goes the cat, ‘Plop,’ goes the hop-toad Sitting on her hat. ‘Wee,’ chuckled I, ‘What fun, fun, fun!’ Hallowe’en night when the witches run. There was an old witch, Believe me, it is true. She knocked at my door Then she flew, flew, flew. She flew round the
chimney, With a cackle and a croak, Sparks all a-flying, From her smoky black
cloak. Chorus ...‘Wee,’ chuckled she, ‘I’m off, goodbye!’ For Hallowe’en
fun in the dark night sky.
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A poem by Rose
Fyleman. |
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Witch, witch, where do you fly? Under the clouds and over the sky. Witch, witch, what do you eat? Little black apples from Hurricane Street. Witch, witch, what do you drink? Vinegar and good red ink. Witch, witch, where do you sleep? Up in the clouds where the pillows are cheap. |
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