Songs for kids to sing

Oct 3 18:04 UTC 1997

I've been a parent for a couple of years now, and I keep hearing
interesting kid's songs that my older kid picks up in school, or that I
learn to sing to my baby.  Heard any good ones lately?  Long ago?  Make up
any that you wouldn't mind sharing?

response 2 of 143:

Oct 3 18:43 UTC 1997

along came the good fairy and said
Little bunny foo-foo
I don't want to see you
Scooping up the field mice
And bopping them on the head...
<g>

response 6 of 143:

Oct 3 19:12 UTC 1997

Violent, Valerie?  I didn't see it as violent.

response 8 of 143:

Oct 3 19:55 UTC 1997

That's the tune mziemba had to sing to get out of prison at RenFest.

response 10 of 143:

Oct 5 16:54 UTC 1997

Well there's always "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns 'n Roses... :)

response 12 of 143:

Oct 6 05:19 UTC 1997

Don't set the cat on fire;
you only will annoy it.
The heat will make the beast perspire;
she surely won't enjoy it.
Likewise do not ignite the dog,
the snake, the gerbil, or the frog;
and never set the cat on fire.
 
<refrain>
 
Don't open up the cabin hatch;
the air is sure to leave it.
And air is very hard to catch;
you never will retrieve it.
And though you think that life's a bore,
don't open the reactor door;
Don't open up the cabin hatch.
 
<refrain>
 
Don't change the navigator's data;
someone's sure to see you.
You know the captain's view of that:
a very bad idea.
He doesn't want his ship to race
forever lost in endless space;
Don't change the navigator's data.
 
<refrain>
 
Don't start an interstellar war;
it has no helpful uses.
When people ask you what it's for,
you'll only make excuses.
If 30 trillion folks get hurt,
you'll goto bed with no dessert;
Don't start an interstellar war.
 
<Refrain:>
 
So mind your manners,
as circumstances may require;
and never set the cat on fire.

response 14 of 143:

Oct 6 15:40 UTC 1997

Puff the magic dragon
lived by the sea
and frollicked in the autumn mist
in a land called Honalee

Little jackie draper
Loved that rascal puff
and brought him strings, and sealing wax
and other fancy stuff

   ----

GLory, glory, Halelujia
Teacher hit me with a ruler
hid behind the door, with a loaded .44
and the teacher ain't no more

  sung to the tune of Battle hymn of the Republic

        ----

response 16 of 143:

Oct 6 18:51 UTC 1997

 When other and I were at the cider mill in Dexter yesterday, we 
 were standing in line behind a woman who was singing (in a rather
 sweet voice I was greatly enjoying...  ) a song with lyrics like 
 "My little baby loves shortenin', shortenin'...." and others I 
 cannot recall... I liked it..  <smile>

 I do not, however, like Little Buffy Foo-Foo.  I heard it for the
 first time not too long ago -- maybe a couple months...  I just don't
 like the whole chasing, bopping on the head kind of a thing....  ick.

response 18 of 143:

Oct 6 22:47 UTC 1997

        You can also sing The Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction' to 
The Battle Hymn of the Republic

response 20 of 143:

Oct 7 13:11 UTC 1997

#17: "Be Kind To Your Friends In The Swamp" was sung by Carol Burnette in
her variety show from the 1970's.

#19: I've been singing to my (now 16 month old son) since his birth.
"This Old Man" is a staple.  It's a great song for a baby because it's
repetitious.  "The Ants go marching" is another good one.

I've sung a number of strange songs to the little guy.  Half of the songs
I can sing are pornographic, and we've avoided those... however, I know
some of the marching songs I learned in Army basic training.  They're
repetitious, too, and also easy to sing, and he likes them.

I also know a song about Dungeons and Dragons (a game I used to play to
excess).  Use the music from "Ballad of the Green Berets":

Put a sword into his hand
He did join a lawful band
Killing stirges two by two
He was done in by an M-U

Fireballs are hard to fight
They give off heat, and lots of light
He didn't make his saving throw
He was crisped from head to toe

The moral's plain for all to see
When you're playing D&D
And you meet an evil MU
Kill him first, or he'll kill you

Cause fireballs are hard to fight
They give off heat and lots of light
He didn't make his saving throw
He was crisped from head to toe

I know, I know, violent as can be... but I didn't grow up in Ann Arbor,
and don't have the horror of violence that some of you have picked up.

response 22 of 143:

Oct 7 13:33 UTC 1997

RE #20 The aforementioned "Stars and Stripes Forever" parody was also the
closing theme for "Sing Along With Mitch," which was a popular show in the
early 1960's based on Mitch Miller's "Sing Along" LP's.

response 24 of 143:

Oct 8 15:10 UTC 1997

I don't know the lyrics to "Greensleeves".  I didn't know it had lyrics.
That's the very sort of thing I'm looking for, in fact.

It's surprising to me how interested I've become in such things as songs
for children.  Kids can have an impact on your life if you aren't careful.
(And I've been undiligent about limiting their influence on mine.)