“Songs of a Little Child’s Day”
Times and Seasons

Singing the sounds of a chiming clock with marcatos.

 

Description

• Grade: First
• Origin: Emilie Poulsson, Eleanor Smith
• Key: A Flat Major
• Time: 3/4
• Form: ABABAB
• Rhythm: intermediate: | (ta) ta ta | ta/a/a
  | ta ta/a | ta ta ta |
• Pitches: beginners: So Do Re Mi
• Intervals: intermediate: So/Mi, Do\So, So/Do, Mi\Do, Re\Do, So/Re
• Musical Elements: notes: dotted half, quarter; rests: quarter; tempo: lento/slowly, moderato/moderate; vertical accent mark (housetop)
• Key Words: vocal sounds for clock chimes, telling time, quarter hour, half hour, chime, half past, fled, tow’r (tower)

The Vertical Accent: Marcato – also called the “housetop” means that you have to be play a certain note MORE FORCEFULLY and usually SHORTER then the horizontal accent.

 

“The Chimes” 

Ding, ding, ding! From the high tow’r Hear the bells chime, Telling the hour, Fast flies the time. Ding, ding, ding, ding! One quarter sped Half the hour past; Three quarters fled; Now rings the last. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! Hear the bells chime From the high tow’r! Fast flies the time. Hark the new hour! Ding , ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

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“Songs of a Little Child’s Day”
In the Garden

Descending tonic octave skip in a very slow tune.

• Grade: First
• Origin: Emilie Poulsson, Eleanor Smith
• Key: E Flat Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: ABCD
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ta ta ta | ta ti ti ta ta |
  | ta/a/a (ta) | ta/a/a/a |
• Pitches: intermediate: Do Re Mi Fa So La Do
• Intervals: intermediate: Mi/So, So\Re, Do/Fa, Mi/La, So/Do, Do\Do (ascending octave skip)
• Musical Elements: notes: whole, dotted half, quarter, eighth; rests: quarter; tempo: quietly; dynamics: piano/soft, pianissimo/very soft, forte/loud, crescendo, decrescendo; repeat sign
• Key Words: roly-poly, caterpillar, spun, blanket, slept, wakening, by and by, beauty, butterfly, animal science

“The Caterpillar” 

		1.	Roly-poly caterpillar Into a corner crept. Spun around himself a blanket Then for a long time slept.
		2.	Roly-poly caterpillar, Wakening by and by, Found himself with wings of beauty, Changed to a butterfly.

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Practicing sixteenth divisions, extended pentatonic scale,
adding dance movements to known rhythms.

Description

• Grade: First
• Origin: USA – Traditional
• Key: F Major
• Time: 2/4
• Form: ABAC
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ti ri ti ri ti ti | ti ti ti ti |
  | ti ti ta |
• Pitches: intermediate: So La Do Re Mi So La – extended pentatonic scale
• Intervals: intermediate: Do/Mi, Mi/So8, So\Do, Do\La, So/Do
• Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth, sixteenth; repeated melodic rhythm patterns, stepping down from the submediant to the tonic (La-Do), adding dance movements to music
• Key Words: USA history, play-ground song, play song, chicken, fence post, dance, choose, partner, chew, gum, shoestring, broke, mule, while; contraction: shoestring’s (shoestring is)

“Can’t Dance Josey” 

	1.	Chicken on the fence post, can’t dance Josey, Chicken on the fence post, can’t dance Josey, Chicken on the fence post, can’t dance Josey, Hello Susan Browny-o!
	2.	Choose your partner and come dance Josey, Choose your partner and come dance Josey, Choose your partner and come dance Josey, Hello Susan Browny-o!
	3.	Chew my gum while I dance Josey, Chew my gum while I dance Josey, Chew my gum while I dance Josey, Hello Susan Browny-o!
	4.	Shoestring’s broke and I can’t dance Josey, Shoestring’s broke and I can’t dance Josey, Shoestring’s broke and I can’t dance Josey, Hello Susan Browny-o!
	5.	Hold my mule while I dance Josey, Hold my mule while I dance Josey, Hold my mule while I dance Josey, Hello Susan Browny-o!
	Dance Instructions:
		Form a double circle with partners facing each other. Measure 1: step to the right in front of a new partner Measure 2: clap hands twice (2 eighths), and clap partners hands twice (2 eighths) Measure 3-4: repeat measures 1-2 Measure 5-6: repeat measures 1-2 Measure 7: step to the right in front of a new partner Measure 8: pat knees twice (2 eighths), clap hands twice (2 eighths) and clap partners hands three times (2 eighths-1 quarter)

 

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“Song of a Little Child’s Day”
Fair Days and Stormy

Advanced intervals and an excellent vocabulary builder!

• Grade: First
• Origin: Emilie Poulsson, Eleanor Smith
• Key: G Major
• Time: 3/8
• Form: ABCD
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ti | ti ti ti | ti/ ri ti | ta/ |
• Pitches: intermediate: So Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La
• Intervals: advanced: So/Do, Ti/Re, Do/Mi, Re/Fa, Mi/So, So\Mi, Mi\Do, Re\La, La/Re, Do/So, So\Re, Do/La
• Musical Elements: notes: dotted quarter, quarter, eighth, dotted eighth, sixteenth; rests: whole, quarter; tempo: with spirit; dynamics: piano/soft, crescendo, decrescendo, accent, repeat, multiple endings, pickup beat
• Key Words: earth science, seasons, blew, worker, treetops, to and fro, spread, sails, miller, haste, logger, windmill, grind, grain, kites, frolic, ev’ry (every), aloft

“The Busy Wind”

		1.	The wind blew low, the wind blew high, And sang “a worker strong am I! I sway the treetops to and fro, I dry the clothes as I blow, blow, blow.”
		2.	“The ships are waiting on the sea, They spread their big white sails for me! For I, the wind, make ships to go Across the waves as I blow, blow, blow.”
		3.	“Good Miller, haste to start your mill! No logger need the wheels stand still, I’ll push the windmill’s sails and go We’ll grind the grain as I blow, blow, blow.”
		4.	“Come children bring your kites to fly! We’ll have a frolic you and I. For ev’ry kite aloft shall go, And sail and sail as I blow, blow, blow”

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Introducing harmony in thirds and fourths,
with uncommon intervals Mi\Ti, and Ti/M.

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Traditional*
• Key: F Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: ABab
• Rhythm: beginners: | ta ta ti ti ta | ta/a/a/a |
• Pitches: intermediate: So Do Re Mi So La – pentatonic scale
• Intervals: intermediate: melody: So/Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, So\Mi\Do, descending tonic arpeggio, La/Do; lower harmony: Mi\Ti, Ti/Mi
• Musical Elements: notes: whole, quarter, eighth; pickup beats, breath marks, long phrases promote breath support, harmony in thirds and fourths, two part harmony, singing in groups
• Key Words: USA history, USA geography, cowboy song, “Cowboy’s Lament,” mournfully, pallid lips, wailed, shadows, gathering, coyotes, howl, narrow grave, six by three, cottage, bower, matters, grant, grave, buffalo paws, prairie sea, laid, churchyard, hillside, slumber, mingle, weep, buzzard, tears, shed, pained, curled, locks, curled locks, rattled, brow, failed, dying prayer, dewdrops, butterfly, saddle blanket, rattlesnakes, hiss, crow, rose blooms, pale, nevermore, owl, hoots, blizzard, roam, plain, wolves, growl, handful, Him (God), soul; abbreviations: o’er (over): contractions: I’ve (I have): possessives: father’s, mother’s, sister’s

Tune is an adaptation of the sea song, “The Sailor’s Grave” or “The Ocean-Burial,” cir. 1839, written by Edwin Hubbell Chapin – music by George N. Allen.

“Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie”
also known as:
“The Cowboy’s Lament” 

	1.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Those words came low and mournfully, From the pallid lips of a youth who lay, On his dying bed at the close of day.
	2.	He had wailed in pain till o’er his brow Death’s shadows fast were gathering now; He thought of his home and his loved ones nigh As the cowboys gathered to see him die.
	3.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o’er me, In a narrow grave just six by three. Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	4.	“In fancy I listen to the well known words Of the free, wild winds and the song of the birds; I think of home and the cottage in the bower And the scenes I loved in my childhood’s hour.”
	5.	“It matters not, I’ve oft been told, Where the body lies when the heart grows cold; Yet grant, oh, grant this wish to me: Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	6.	“Oh, then bury me not on the lone prairie, In a narrow grave six foot by three, Where the buffalo paws o’er a prairie sea, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	7.	“I’ve always wished to be laid when I died In the little churchyard on the green hillside; By my father’s grave there let mine be, And bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	8.	“Let my death slumber be where my mother’s prayer And a sister’s tear will mingle there, Where my friends can come and weep o’er me; Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	9.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie In a narrow grave just six by three, Where the buzzard waits and the wind blows free, Then bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	10.	“There is another whose tears may be shed For one who lies on a prairie bed; It pained me then and it pains me now — She has curled these locks, she has kissed this brow.”
	11.	“These locks she has curled, shall the rattlesnake kiss: This brow she has kissed, shall the cold grave press: For the sake of the loved ones that will weep for me, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	12.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o’er me, Where the buzzards sail and the wind goes free, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	13.	“Oh, bury me not–” And his voice failed there, But we took no heed of his dying prayer; In a narrow grave just six by three We buried him there on the lone prairie.
	14.	Where the dewdrops glow and the butterflies rest, And the flowers bloom o’er the prairie’s crest; Where the wild coyote and winds sport free On a wet saddle blanket lay a cowboy-ee.
	15.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o’er me, Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the crow flies free, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	16.	Oh, we buried him there on the lone prairie Where the wild rose blooms and the wind blows free; Oh, his pale young face nevermore to see — For we buried him there on the lone prairie.
	17.	Yes, we buried him there on the lone prairie, Where the owl all night hoots mournfully, And the blizzard beats and the winds blow free O’er his lowly grave on the lone prairie.
	18.	And the cowboys now as they roam the plain — For they marked the spot where his bones were lain — Fling a handful of roses o’er his grave, With a prayer to Him who his soul will save.
	19.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wolves can howl and growl o’er me; Fling a handful of roses o’er my grave With a prayer to Him who my soul will save.”

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Mastering the asending perfect fourth (P4) So/Do,
with a descending tonic arpeggio.

Description

• Grade: Second
• Origin: USA – Texas Sharecropper Ballad
• Key: F Major 
• Time: 4/4
• Form: AB – Verse/Refrain
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ti ti ta ta |
  | ti ti ta ta ti ti | ta ta ta ta | ta/a (ta) ta |
  | ta ta (ta) ti ti | ti ti ti ti ta ta |
  | ta ti ti ti ti ti ti | (ta) ti ti ti ti ti ti | ta/a/a/a |
• Pitches: beginners: So La Ti Do Re Mi
• Intervals: intermediate: So/Do, Do\So, Do/Mi,
  Mi\Do\So tonic arpeggio, So/Ti, So/Re,
• Musical Elements: notes: whole, half, quarter, eight; rests: quarter; melodic rhythm patterns, descending tonic arpeggio 
• Key Words: USA history, Texas, Mexico, sharecroppers, blues, cotton farming, merchant, insects, animal science, black bug, square (plant), family, farmer, mighty, lump, ice, cool, nice, Ford, machine, gasoline, cotton dress, meat, meal, field, bale of cotton, jail

“Boll Weevil”

1. Oh the boll weevil is a little black bug, come from Mexico they say;
Come all the way to Texas, Just a looking for a place to stay.

Refrain

2. The first time I seen the boll weevil, He was sitting on the square,
The next time I seen the boll weevil had all of his family there.

Refrain

3. The farmer took the boll weevil, and he put him in the hot sand;
The weevil said, “This is mighty hot, but I’ll stand it like a man.”

Refrain

4. The farmer took the boll weevil, and he put him on a lump of ice;
The weevil said to the farmer, “This is mighty cool and nice.”

Refrain

5. The boll weevil said to the farmer, “You can ride in that Ford machine.”
But when I get through with your cotton, can’t buy no gasoline.”

Refrain

6. The merchant got half the cotton, the boll weevil got the rest,
Didn’t leave the farmer’s wife but one old cotton dress.

Refrain

7. The farmer said to the merchant, “We’re in an awful fix,
The boll weevil ate all the cotton, up and left us only sticks,”

Refrain

8. The farmer said to the merchant, “I want some meat and meal,”
“Get away from here you son of a gun, you got weevils in your field.

Refrain

9. The farmer said to the merchant, “We ain’t made but one bale,
And before we give you that one, we’ll fight and go to jail.”

Refrain

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Complete ascending tonic arpeggio, minor sixth (m6) Do\Mi,
and an augmented fourth (A4) Fa\Ti.

Description

• Grade: Second
• Origin: England – Old Nursery Rhyme
• Key: D Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: ABCD
• Rhythm: beginners: | ta ta ta ta | ta ta ta/a |
  | ta ta ta ta | ta/a ta/a |
• Pitches: intermediate: Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do
• Intervals: advanced: Mi/So, So\Do, Ti/Fa, Fa/La, La\Re, Do/Mi/So/Do ascending tonic arpeggio, Do\Mi (m6), Re/Fa, Fa/Ti8 (augmented fourth A4), Fa\Ti, Ti/Re
• Musical Elements: notes: half, quarter; ascending tonic arpeggio, ascending augmented fourth (Fa/Ti), descending minor sixth (Do\Mi)
• Key Words: world geography: England;sea, buckles, knee, marry, bright, fair, yellow, evermore, love; contractions: he’ll (he will), he’s (he is)

“Bobby Shafto’s Gone to Sea” 

	1.	Bobby Shafto’s gone to sea, Silver buckles on his knee. He’ll come back an marry me, Bonny Bobby Shafto.
	2.	Bobby Shafto’s bright and fair, Brushing out his yellow hair; He’s my love for evermore, Bonny Bobby Shafto!

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Tonic and dominate 7th arpeggios with dotted eighth and sixteenth note rhythms.

Description

• Grade: Second
• Origin: Sea Chanty
• Key: F Major
• Time: 6/8
• Form: ABCD
• Rhythm: advanced: | ti/ ri ti ti ti ti | ta/ ta/ |
  | ti/ ri ta ti | ti ti ti ta/ | ti/ ri ti ta ti ri |
• Pitches: intermediate: Do Re Mi Fa So La
• Intervals: advanced: Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, So\Mi\Do descending tonic arpeggio, La\Fa, Fa\Re, So\Fa\Re\Ti descending dominate 7th arpeggio, Ti/Re/Fa ascending dominate 7th arpeggio, Re/La (perfect 5th)
• Musical Elements: notes: dotted quarter, quarter, dotted eighth, eighth, sixteenth, feeling duple meter in 6/8 time, pickup beat
• Key Words: sailing songs, parts of a ship, geography, Black Ball Lines, fellows, trim, preparing, aft (rear), poop (roof of the rear cabin), tinker, tailor, sights, shoemaker, sailors, aboard; abbreviations: you’ll (you will), I’ll (I will), there’s (there is)

“Blow the Man Down” 

	1.	Come all you young fellows that follow the sea, To me way hey, blow the man down! Now pray pay attention and listen to me, Give me some time to blow the man down.
	2.	When a trim Black Ball liner’s preparing for sea, To me way hey, blow the man down! You’ll split your sides laughing such sights you would see, Give me some time to blow the man down.
	3.	Come quickly, lay aft to the break of the poop, To me way hey, blow the man down! Or I’ll help you along with the toe of my boot, Give me some time to blow the man down.
	4.	There’s tinkers and tailors, shoemakers and all, To me way hey, blow the man down! They’re all shipped for sailors aboard the Black Ball, Give me some time to blow the man down.
The Black Ballers were fast ships of the American Black Ball Line that sailed between New York, USA and Liverpool, England in the second half of the nineteenth century. When a sailor said that a man was blown down, it meant that he was knocked to the ground. Blow the Man Down is a song about the unfair treatment of sailors aboard these ships.

 

 

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