Seasonal songs

Spring T-Z

The best eggs

The birds’ roundelay

The butterfly song

The daisy rhyme

The donkey and the cuckoo

The fairy ball

The fairy ring

The fairy ring (2)

The gardening song

The leprechaun

The little brown bulbs

The winter now is over

This is my garden

Tirra-lirra-lirra

To people who have gardens

Twig by twig

 

Also find Spring poems and songs at:

Two little chickens

Little Tommy Tadpole

Pussy willow

If you see a daffodil

 

Last updated: 4/17/2023 10:13 AM

The songs below are part ofAway we gocompiled, adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear

Return to the ‘Singing games for children’ home page

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

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.


 

 

The best eggs 🔊

 

 


A cheerful nonsense ditty for and after the Easter treasure hunt.

I saw a sign for free range eggs on the way to the swimming pool and the bouncy walking rhythm set off this song.

Words and music by Dany Rosevear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The best eggs are free range eggs,

With chickens on the run;

A-picking and a-pecking

And having lots of fun.

Fun, fun! And having lots of fun,

Fun, fun, fun! Having lots of fun.

 

The best legs are free range legs,

They take you everywhere,

They skip along to silly songs,

And dance without a care.

Dance, dance! And dance without a care,

Dance, dance, dance! Dance without a care.

 

The best beds are cosy beds,

That do not groan or squeak,

But take you off to dreamland

As soon as you’re asleep.

Dream, dream! As soon as you’re asleep,

Dream, dream, dream! As soon as you’re asleep.

 


 

 

The birds’ roundelay 🔊

 

 


‘A joyous song full of bird music and other delights of Spring.’

From ‘The half-way house song book’ by Lucy M. Welch published 1953?

Tune: French folk song, ‘Aupres de ma blonde’ Words from the French.

Adapted and arranged by Dany Rosevear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


I see from out my window

The lilacs blooming fair;

With every wind of heaven,

Come birds a-nesting there,

From East and West come flying,

From mountain, moor and glen.

Chorus

Carol, merrily, carol,

Sing a roundelay, lay, lay!

Carol, merrily, carol

And sing to me today!

 

From East and West come flying,

From mountain, moor and glen,

The blackbird and the swallow,

The thrush, the dove and wren.

They sing for us my dear friends,

Their melodies so true.

Chorus

 


 

 

The daisy rhyme 🔊

 

 


A calendar circle dance from Somerset.

The daisy verse references an old Somerset saying, ‘If you can put your foot on twelve daisies at once Spring has really come.’

Adapted from ‘The posy rhyme’ which has a verse for each season, see below. It can be found in ‘The chime child’ or ‘Somerset singers’ collected by Rut L. Tongue. I plan to do one verse each season. Music adapted by Dany Rosevear as the original tune was too difficult for my meagre talents; I have written a simpler melody, hopefully more suited to the young.

Form a ‘slow’ circle ‘with an in-and-out walking step and swinging of arms.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The daisy, the daisy, she sits in the grass,

Where the little birds nest and the little lambs pass,

She grows, oh she grows, in a fine silver ring,

And when there are twelve, it is the sweet, sweet Spring.

 

The briar, the briar, she sits up above,

Where noone may pick her to give to their love,

She grows, oh she grows, all so sweet as any rose,

And sweetly she smells when that Summer is close.

 

The apples, the apples, a-hanging so red,

A-bending the branches that bow overhead,

They grow, oh they grow, and are sweet to the tongue,

Apples, fine apples, when September be done.

 

The holly, the holly, ashing to sight,

Its leaves they do glisten, its berries be bright,

It grows, oh it grows, at the ending of the year,

To cheer our houses when Christmas is near.

 


 

 

 

The butterfly song 🔊

 

 


Written by Mary Lu Walker.

We do not live by ourselves however comfortable that might be; we need each other and we need to work together to ensure we have a world is fit for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Once there was a caterpillar living in a shell,

Happy to be in a place where everything went well.

No one to bother him, no other worms to see,

Locked up in his dark cocoon he thought that he was free.

CHORUS

Hey little worm, don’t you see,

Only butteries are free.

Come out of your shell and y with me,

Only butteries are free.

 

Something shook that caterpillar, as he slept one day.

Woke him up and gave him wings and helped him y away.

People, too, can live in shells, afraid of being free,

But whatever changed that fearful worm can change both you and me.

 


 

 

The donkey and the cuckoo O

 

 


This German song ‘Der Kuckuck und der Esel’was loosely translated by Mabel Willson in her book Music Time. It was also recorded for BBC radio ‘Time and tune’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The donkey and the cuckoo,

They quarrel every day;

Who is the finest singer

In the merry month of May,

Who is the finest singer

In the merry month of May?

 

‘Cuckoo!’ the bird sings loudly,

Until his throat is sore,

And the donkey bellows proudly

With a gruff ‘Hee-haw, hee-haw!’

 

‘Cuckoo!’ ‘Hee-haw!’ together,

They make a lively din:

But they cannot hear each other,

So they don’t know which should win.


 

 

The fairy ball 🔊

 

 


Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations need leprechauns. You can find many more Irish themed songs at:(1) Irish songs for children - YouTube

I found this poem in ‘365 stories and rhymes for boys’ but without the book have not been able to discover the name of the author. Music by Dany Rosevear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Late at night when the moon is bright,

And the air is soft and still,

Pixies peep and fairies creep,

And goblins roam at will.

 

Elves sneak out, and slink about,

Leprechauns come leaping.

Little sprites wave magic lights,

While the world is sleeping.

 

Singing songs, they skip along,

Towards the forest glade.

Hung with lights, all twinkling bright,

While gentle music’s played.

 

They appear, from far and near,

A host of fairy folk.

This happy band dance hand in hand,

Beneath the ancient oak.

 


 

 

 

The fairy ring 🔊

 

 


A circle game for all seasons. The words are anonymous and the music was written by Herbert Wiseman for “A 3rd 60 songs for little children” published by OUP in 1960. It is also sometimes sung to “Twinkle, twinkle little star.”

Play as below or make fairy rings with hoops or rope circles. Accompany with bell percussion as children dance in and out of the circles. When the music stops, if a child is ‘caught’ inside the circle they pretend to fall asleep until the music resumes.

 

Children join hands and skip in a ring, one child could act as the Fairy Queen in the centre; move slowly for the first verse then faster for the second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Let us dance and let us sing,

Dancing in a merry ring;

We'll be fairies on the green,

Sporting round the Fairy Queen.

 

Like the seasons of the year

Round we circle in a sphere;

I’ll be Summer, you’ll be Spring,

Dancing in a fairy ring.

 

Spring and summer glide away,

Autumn comes with tresses gay;

Winter hand in hand with spring

Dancing in a fairy ring.

 

Faster, faster, round we go,

While our cheeks so rosy glow;

Free as birds upon the wing

Dancing in a fairy ring!

 


 

 

The fairy ring (2) 🔊

 

 


A poem by Margaret E. Johnson set around traditional folklore that I heard as a child.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Beneath the pussy-willow tree,

I found a fairy ring.

A ring of tiny toadstools,

Where fairies dance and sing.

 

I've heard that on a moonlit night,

Or on a sunny day,

The fairies come to dance and sing,

And make up games to play.

 

So if you find a fairy ring,

While playing out of doors,

Be very careful where you step,

For magic can be yours.

 

Now if you catch a Leprechaun,

And if you hold him tight,

He'll buy his freedom with a wish,

So wish with all your might.

 

And then you let him go again

To wend his merry way.

Be sure to watch for fairy rings

When you go out to play.

 


 

 

The gardening song 🔊

 

 


Gather your tools together and get planting. An action song.

 

1. Dig, rake and hoe. 2. Plant in the palm of your hand. 3. Tip ‘water’ onto palm and pretend to weed. 4. Wipe brow. 5. Hands under chin, mimic eathing and rub tummy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


First you take a shovel, a rake, and a hoe;

Plant a little garden, plant seeds in a row.

Water them and weed them,

All through all the summer heat

And then you'll have some flowers and vegetables to eat.

 


 

 

The leprechaun 🔊

 

 


This can be found in BBC Publications ‘Singing Together’, Spring 1974.

Possibly written by Robert Dwyer Joyce in 1873 but this is somewhat contentious see:  http://www.joe-offer.com/folkinfo/forum/975.html

A ‘cruiskeen’ is a small jug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In a shady nook, one moonlit night,

A leprechaun I spied;

With a scarlet cap and coat of green,

A cruiskeen by his side.

‘Twas “tic, tac tic” his hammer went,

Upon a weeny shoe;

And I laughed to think of a purse of gold,

But the fairy was laughing too!

 

With tiptoe step and beating heart,

Quite softly I drew nigh;

There was mischief in his merry face,

A twinkle in his eye.

He hammered and sang with his tiny voice,

And sipped the mountain dew,

And I laughed to think he was caught at last;

But the fairy was laughing too!

 

As quick as thought I seized the elf;

“Your fairy purse!” I cried.

“The purse,” he said, “’tis in the hand

Of that lady by your side.”

I turned to look: the elf was gone,

And what was I to do?

O! I laughed to think what a fool I’d been;

And the fairy was laughing too!

 


 

 

The little brown bulbs 🔊

 

 


How still can you stay until Spring comes tiptoeing along?

Music by Dany Rosevear.

This song is an adaptation of Margaret Prescott Montague’s poem; there are many versions of this delightful rhyme.

See the original at:  https://skokisok3.wordpress.com/tag/poetry/

 

Curl up small like a bulb, put a finger to lips at the right time and be ready to spring up like a flower at the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The little brown bulbs went to sleep in the ground,

In their little bed jackets they slept very sound.

Old King Winter he roared and he raged overhead,

But the little brown bulbs never stirred in their beds.

Yes, the little brown bulbs never stirred in their beds.

 

But when Spring came tiptoeing over the lea,

With finger to lips, just as soft as could be,

The little brown bulbs all lifted their heads,

Threw off their jackets and jumped out of bed!

Threw off their jackets and jumped out of bed!

 


 

 

The winter now is over 🔊

 

 


An Italian / Swiss folk song. Hear it sung in Italian at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSK4SoC0SZo .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The winter now is over,

And April rains are past;

I know I heard this morning

The cuckoo’s song at last.

Chorus

Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Oh, can’t you hear it too?

I know I heard this morning

The cuckoo’s song so true.

 

High up in the mountains,

The snow has gone away;

The cuckoo finds a nest

Where her little eggs can lay.

Chorus

 

L’inverno e passato

L’aprile non c’e piu

E ritornato il maggio

Al canto del cucu.

Cucu, cucu, l’aprile non c’e piu

E ritornato il maggio al canto del cucu.

 


 

 

This is my garden 🔊

 

 


Time to get planting - a Spring hand play.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Place hand palm up. Rake hand with fingers. Pretend to sprinkle seeds. Pat palm with fingers.

2. Circle arms overhead. Wiggle fingers downwards. Make fists then open fingers slowly. Stretch hands up high.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


This is my garden,

I’ll rake it with care

And then some flower seeds

I will plant there.

 

The sun will shine

And the rain will fall,

And my garden will blossom,

Growing straight and tall.

 


 

 

Tirra-lirra-lirra 🔊

 

 


This spirited song for the seasons is a traditional German folksong.

The English translation by John Erwin can be found in ‘140 Folk-songs’ from the Concord series published in 1922 by E. C. Schirmer Music Co.

 

Skip in a circle clockwise and then counter clockwise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Tirra-lirra-lirra, in the spring,

Orioles and robins sweetly sing;

From the leafy branches we can hear,

Tirra-lirra-lirra ringing clear!

 

Tirra-lirra-lirra, is our song,

When the lovely summer days are long;

Rowing on the river or the sea,

Tirra-lirra-lirra, sing with glee.

 

Tirra-lirra-lirra, soft and low,

Hear the brook in winter ’neath the snow;

Though the leaves are dead where e’er we look,

Tirra-lirra-lirra, sings the brook.

 


 

 

To people who have gardens 🔊

 

 


Written by Agnes Mure Mackenzie of Stornoway in 1921 with music arranged by Marjorie Kennedy Fraser. The version below has come from BBC School’s ‘Music Time’ Spring 1983. Dany Rosevear has added the chords.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


A day's work, a week's work, as I go up and down,

There are many gardens all about the town.

 

One that's bright with daffodils, one with children playing,

One that’s white with cherry flower, another red with may.

 

Kitten and a lilac bush, petals gently falling,

Later crimson roses, against a granite wall.

 

I have passed your garden gate, when you never knew,

And people who have gardens, I give my thanks to you.

 


 

 

Twig by twig 🔊

 

 


A Spring hand play.

Earlier this month I watched as a magpie flew regularly across our garden with a large twig in its beak, I was unable to follow it to its destination but could imagine what would happen next.

Words and music Dany Rosevear.

Verse 1. Hold up fingers one at a time. Cross hands at the wrist and flap. Hands make a nest. 2. Hold up fingers one at a time. Tap on hand. Open hands at wrist. 3. Hold up wiggling fingers one at a time. Open thumbs and forefingers. 4. Hold up fingers one at a time. Cross forefingers and fly away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


One twig, two twigs, three twigs, four,

Five twigs, six twigs, seven and more,

Carried by a magpie flying through the sky,

To make a sturdy nest in a tree up high.

 

One egg, two eggs, three eggs, four,

Five eggs, six eggs, seven and more,

Who is that a-tapping with a tippety-tap,

Now watch the little chicks as they start to hatch.

 

One worm, two, worms, three worms, four,

Five worms, six worms, seven and more,

Mother bird is feeding her very hungry brood,

Beaks wide open for their wiggly food.

 

One chick, two chicks, three chicks, four,

Five chicks, six chicks, seven and more,

Follow each chick as it grows each day,

Til each chick is big enough to fly, fly away.

 


 

 

 

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