Aunt Rhody

A sad children's song. So many children's songs seem to be about death.

Here it is sung by Lew Dite accompanied by a mountain dulcimer.

You can watch my video of the song here, and here are the lyrics.

Billy Barlow

This is an American descendant of a traditional English folk song called "The Cutty Wren" or "The Hunting of the Wren," which was about the ritual slaughter of a wren at the end of the year as a substitute for human sacrifice, which took place on Christmas day or boxing day after the winter solstice. The earliest known text is from 1776 though some scholars believe it goes back to the fourteenth century. There is also a Welsh version.

In the American version, first known in 1916, the wren has morphed into a small animal such as a squirrel, a rat or a possum.

Here is my video of the song.

The Bongaloo (Spike Milligan)

One of my favourite Spike Milligan poems. It was published in "Silly Verse for Kids", 1968

Terence Alan Milligan (1918-2002) dedicated his life to making people laugh, through his performances on radio and television, in shows such as :"The Goon Show" and "Q8". I remember hearing him perform his poems in regular short five minute segments, and loving every minute of it.

Here is my rendition.

The Cat Came Back (Harry S Miller)

A tall story about a very tough cat. Over the years various verses have been added to the song since it was written in 1893.

Here is Doc Watson's version of the song.

Here is my rendition. The lyrics are here.

The Frog Went a-Courting

Can a mouse and a frog live together in harmony? This is a better known variant of Kemo Kimo.

Here is Bruce Springsteen singing the song, and YouTube's songster, Lew Dite.

Or you can see me singing it above.

Here are the lyrics.

The Green-Eyed Dragon With the Thirteen Tails

(Words by Greatrix Newman, Music by Wolseley Charles)

This song, composed in 1926, was one of the songs that intrigued me in my childhood as I explored my parents' collection of 78 rpm recordings. I knew little about dragons, but I had a vivid mental picture of this thirteen-tailed monster.

The recording I knew was probably the one by John Charles Thomas. It was also recorded by Stanley Holloway, Jerome Hines and Joseph Shore.

Here is my interpretation of the song.

Kemo Kimo

This variation on The Frog Went a-Courting goes back hundreds of years and was known in both England and America. The Smithsonian Institute included Chubby Parker's version in its Anthology of American Folk Music.

This song is on my fourth CD, Pigs Might Fly. You can hear it here:



You can also watch my video of this song, and read the lyrics.

The Little White Duck

Another children's song. A sad ending again. Whatever happened to "happily ever after"?

I first heard this sung by Burl Ives, on a 78 record from my parents' collection.

Here is my video, and here are the lyrics.

The Marvelous Toy (Tom Paxton)

Though Tom Paxton was especially noted for satirical songs of social comment, he could also write delightful children's songs such as this one. It was popularised especially by Peter, Paul and Mary.

My performance here is dedicated to my second grandson, Axel. The lyrics are here.

The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

You can see hear a recording of Burl Ives singing this absurd story about a very greedy woman. Here is Judy Collins performing it on the Muppet Show.

And here is my performance of it. The lyrics are here.

Puff, the Magic Dragon (Peter, Paul and Mary)

This song was a big hit for Peter, Paul and Mary. It was widely misinterpreted as an allegory about drugs, despite assurances that it should be taken at face value. Peter Yarrow has always said it is about loss of innocence.

Here is my performance of the song and here are the lyrics.

The Teddy Bears' Picnic (J. W. Bratton / J. Kennedy)

This song began life in 1907 as an instrumental orchestral piece by John Walter Bratton. It was recorded by the Edison Symphony Orchestra in March 1908, on cylinder and promoted by "Edison Phonograph Monthly" as follows: "A characteristic novelty by a favorite composer of instrumental numbers. The music is at times 'spooky' in character and suggests a gathering or march of 'Teddy Bears.' The various instruments are used to advantage in suggesting large bears, small bears, and bears of all kinds. The bassoon is heard prominently at intervals in the rendition. "

The words were added in 1913 by songwriter Jimmy Kennedy. Since then it has become a classic children's song, though it was probably not originally intended for children. Indeed the words (and music) could give a sensitive child nightmares!

The story of how teddy bears became such a popular toy is interesting. Stuffed toys were becoming popular by the end of the nineteenth century, but the stuffed bear designed by a German company did not capture the general imagination until an American buyer put in an order for 3000 of the items. A year earlier, in 1902, the American President, Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt had made national news when he refused to shoot a bear cub while hunting in Mississippi. A famous cartoon of the incident was published in the Washington Post (November 16, 1902). Roosevelt agreed to his name being given to the new toy and thus the "teddy bear" was born. In no time at all every toy company was making them.

The best known early recording of the song was an EMI 78 by Henry Hall and His Orchestra in 1932, with Valarian Rosing (later known as Gilbert Russell) on vocals.

Among the many who have recorded it are Frank DeVol (1949), Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Dave Van Ronk and Gerry Garcia.

In Australia, a Teddy Bears Picnic is held each year as a charity event, to raise money for the Westmead Childrens Hospital in Sydney, where my grandson had a life-saving operation. So, this song is especially for little Felix, who already has enough teddy bears to organise a picnic.

Here is a video of my performance. Felix can read the words of the song here.

There's a Hole in the Bucket

This circular children's song has been recorded by Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Chubby Checker and, my favourite version, Harry Belafonte singing with Odetta (1960).

The song is probably of German origin. I remember Liebe Heinrich from my Form 2 German Book. It began "Wenn der topf aber nun ein loch hat ..." and it used the same tune as the English version. This was some time before Burl Ives' and Belafonte's versions were released. But in the German version the woman was the one asking the silly questions!

The above video is one of four I made with this lovely young lady from Brunei.

The lyrics are here.

Three Pigs

I first heard this children's song sung by Odetta. A fun song, but I can't say I agree with the message.

This song is on my second CD: Laws of Chance.

In the above video I am joined by a young friend in singing the song.

The lyrics are here.

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car (The Wiggles)

The Wiggles are a favourite of my grandson, Axel, so his father and I made this video for his first birthday. Due to Axel's heavy schedule, we only had time to do one take, so we didn't really get the timing right, but we're sure Axel will not mind.

Here is the song performed by The Wiggles themselves, and here is our attempt.