When Mom and Dad have such eclectic taste, the happy result is kids that know all kinds of songs.
Since I remember not knowing a lot of songs when I started Kindergarten that everyone else seemed to know, and since one of my favorite things in life is to sing sing sing my heart out (usually in the privacy of my Toyota minivan) I go out of my way to provide "kid mix" music for car rides and Daisy meetings. The challenge for me is finding versions of children's songs that I can tolerate, and also slipping in "Mom Songs" that I want my kids to like. It's interesting that there is no accounting for taste. Kids like what they like. I remember that Princess E had song favorites as an infant, not my imagination, truly a fact. She didn't like slow songs, I believe because she felt she might be being tricked into sleep, but she did like "Beyond the Sea" when it played on commercials on TV, so I downloaded it and learned it. It came in handy during the 3am to 7am wakefulness she was prone to have her first several months of life. With Iz, she just seems to soak up songs, sing parts of them to me, and tell me that she wants me to "get them" for her. She has a vague and general grasp of itunes and my ability to "make" a CD. She knows that if she can jump into my seat, songs are just a click away.
So, here is the current Kid Songs play list (Songs For Daisy Meetings, as well)
[All of these songs are available on itunes except the Beatles tune, bummer eh?]
Baby Bumblebee -I am not crazy about this song, but boy does Iz love it, she loves to say, "won't my Mommy be so proud of me!" Daisies seem pretty keen on it as well.
Ladybug Picnic- Elizabeth Mitchell I adapted this song to my kids names when they were babies, I love the album I found this on, her versions of popular children's songs were awesome.
Crawdad- Elizabeth Mitchell I was walking with E one day. I wanted to draw her out and she wanted to be sullen and ignore me. So I sang, "You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey," I waited, then I kept singing "You get a line and I'll get a pole Babe" still no response, so I kept going "You get a line and I'll get a pole and" She pursed her lips and moved her mouth, then sang, "we'll go down to the crawdad hole!"
You Are My Sunshine - Elizabeth Mitchell If you look You Are My Sunshine up it pulls up hundreds of versions, but this one was my hands down favorite, it is a bit sad sounding, but, I'm OK with that.
Black Jack Baby Elizabeth Mitchell I had never heard this song before, I just bought her whole album (a rarity for me) and loved it instantly.
3 Is the Magic Number Elizabeth Mitchell I am a huge School House Rocks fan. And Three IS a magic Number, perfect for my 3 year old Iz.
Froggy Went a Courtin Elizabeth Mitchell I didn't know this one either, but we all love it.
3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Jack Johnson I like, but do not love, this song, I bought the soundtrack to Curious George, and it is on there. He does a little "3 is the magic number" riff, so...
Make New Friends Melinda Caroll - aka, the Girl Scout Song, to all my Daisies. I was disappointed that this version only repeats the first verse (which already plays in my head day and night).
I Love the Mountains Houaida I LOVE THIS SONG. My cousin taught me this song when I was a little girl. I instantly fell in love with this version.
Day-O (Banana Boat Song) Harry Belafonte Are there children who don't love this song? I don't think so. I love love love Harry Belafonte's big voice.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow Judy Garland Iz knew this song before I realized she'd ever heard it, she said, "This is my song, Mom" Her other song is "Mercedes Benz" which she knows by heart and calls "Olordwontchabuyme".
This Land Is Your Land Peter, Paul And Mary I love this song, I love this version of this song. I really want my kids to know patriotic songs. And it's one of my dreams/fantasies to sing this with a Mariachi band behind me and a few other brown and or second or third generation Americans singing the verses. It's just a great great song, and fun to sing.
If I Only Had a Brain The Wizard of OZ - Ray Bolger & Judy Garland I learned this because when I was breast feeding I felt like I didn't have a brain, but also I always loved it, and sometimes it's were the only lyrics that would come into my head late at night.
Going On a Bear Hunt Um, also not crazy about it, but it has choreography and kids really get into it.
Down by the Bay Raffi When the Big Kid was just a little boy he used to sing this song like he was performing in a blues joint. I have great memories of that, so the Man and I still sing it, sometimes with no kids around. I love Raffi, and I admit it unashamedly.
Yellow Submarine The Beatles I sang this to E so much the Man said if he ever heard it again he'd snap. He's kind of over that since the girls have learned that. He sees it's charm again.
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out Cat Stevens I love this song, Charlie Bartlett prompted me to look it up and sing it with the girls. "If you find a new way... you could make it all true and you can make it undo."
Don't Be Shy Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam (look out for Peter Breinholt's version -which I like)
I am kind of fascinated by Yusuf. While I have learned a lot about Islam over the years (including POV from a long conversation with a Turkish [Muslim] soldier I met at Ft. Benning, who I taught the expression "Damn" to [and consequently fell into a long theological discussion about the afterlife and why a lapsed Catholic such as myself knows she was reincarnated and therefore believes others -though possibly not everyone- were/will be as well]) I wonder why people convert. I guess I wonder why people convert to anything. In 2004 he was deported back to the UK from the US [actually, he was "denied entry into the United States" after arriving on a flight] for being on a terrorist watch list. It was one of those things that would be funny if it weren't so outrageously wrong.
So, 19 Songs, several of which I already owned on CD... But let's say $20 [most itunes downloads are 99 cents] for hours and hours of entertainment, kids occupied while I navigate confusing streets, and songs that live in my heart. You just can't beat that deal.
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Hmmmm...is "Down by the Bay" the one you sing and throw in a random word to rhyme? If it is, I love that one, sang it all the time when I was a kid while camping. Lots of good recommendations here...
ReplyDeleteI spent a long time doing youtube links for these songs, but I think for most of them you have to click on the artist and not all of them took, not sure why. Very frustrating on my end.
ReplyDeleteJonathan,
It is one of those throw in a rhyme songs, but it does have several basic verses,
Down by the bay, where the watermelon grows, back to my home, I dare not go because if I did, my mother would say [insert rhyme, such as:] Did you ever see a bear with a bow in his hair? Down by the Bay....
I had a really great 5th grade teacher who used to play the autoharp and sing with us at the end of the day. I learned a lot of camp songs then. And we all sang, all thirty or so public school kids, because it feels great to sing, at the end of the day (which anyone who has been in a car with me will tell you, I sing my heart out in there). Kids at ten or eleven are just on the cusp getting of those "I can't sing/dance/draw" ideas that get into all our heads. I wonder if the boys in our class were sure they could sing for life after that year? I just loved it.