The Little Bird Song, by Jimbo
This is a song that I learned as a camp counselor (and camper!) at bible camp in Wisconsin. It is useful in getting kids aged K-6 ethusiastic and charged up for the day! For children beyond those grade levels it is irritating, and for non-morning adults it is the ULTIMATE REVENGE FOR ANYTHING! Learn it, and learn it well:
Waaay up in the sky, (arms straight up, hands open!)
the little birds fly. (arms akimbo, hands like wings!)
While down in the nest (arms down, make hands into cup)
the little birds rest. (palms together to one side of face, sleepy-style, close your eyes.)
With a wing on the left (left arm chicken wing, flap flap!)
and a wing on the right, (right arm chicken wing, flap flap!)
the little birds sleep (palms together to one side of face, sleepy-style, close your eyes.)
all through the night. (still sleeping! decrescendo this line to silence...)
(several beats of silence, make them think they can go back to sleep, then...)
THE BRIGHT SUN COMES UP! (arms straight up, hands open, say it loud!)
THE DEW GOES AWAY! (palms down, down goes the rain!)
"GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING!" (arms straight up, hands open, up and down!)
THE LITTLE BIRDS SAY! (hands making bird mouths saying the words!)
Love,
Jimbo
Coming to you live...DJ Jimbo from the campgrounds! ...Mr. Mould and Morales better watch it...hehe
Reminded me of "Romper Room" with Miss Jean.
"Bend and Stretch...
Reach for the Stars ...
There goes JUP-i-ter...
Here comes Mars..."
I forget the rest.
Jimbo:
You suck. Now that song will be trapped in my head all day.
Love,
Don't Make Me Unload "Grey Squirrel" On You
I recall singing in Methodist Church camp and clapping was our only allowed choreography. In retrospect, I think "jazz hands" would have been a great artistic addition to many camp songs.
The first time I heard this song, I was working at the national office of a very large youth organization (one that doesn't discriminate against gays...) I was at a national event and saw all these jock teenager kids from the midwest singing right along and doing all the motions. It was extremely funny. So funny that, in the later years of my job there, when I was running some of the youth programs, I'd say "Hey, sing that birdie song, would you?" And they all would. The best part - seeing all these teens doing it without worrying about what they looked like (i.e., they weren't at Halo on a Friday night!)
uh, Jimbo, could this be connected to "the most depressing day of the year" (cf. JMG post today)? And if so, are you trying to make it all better or rub salt in the wound?
Here's my mom's contribution to wakey-wakey time:
"Good Morning, Sun,
Good Morning, Sky.
Good Morning, little things that fly!
Good Morning, Sky,
Good Morning, Sun.
Good Morning, little things that run!"
Yours bright-eyed and bushy-tailed -
PS Jeem - ah, wontcha unload Grey Squirrel on us?
I think perhaps a video is required.
Just sayin.
Jimbo: Sort of off topic, but since it's about Kylie I think that's okay. Have you seen/heard about this:
http://music.msn.com/kylieminogue?GT1=7705
Boy, Jimbo, that song is really gay.
I am so gonna use that one. What's the melody like?? Can I make up my own?
I think this media is best delivered via YouTube. Lyrics just don't do it justice. I just have to figure out how to do it with my camera.
Ohhhhh Jimbo, you've brought back such memories. I learned that song as a camper at the Erie County 4-H camp in upstate New York back when you were still in your crib! But you're missing several key points that are MUCH too important to be regional variations. First, the "wing to the left" and "wing to the right" should fly into the face of the person beside you! Then, after "the little birds sleep, all through the night", then a second or two of silence, everybody puts their fingers to their lips and quietly says sssssshhhhh, and then yells at the top of their lungs "YOU'LL WAKE UP THE BIRDIES!" (To get the full effect imagine a mess hall with a couple hundred little kids and a smattering of adults screaming this. It really is THE key part of the song.) Only THEN does the bright sun come up, the dews falls away, and "Good morning, good morning", the little birds say in high little bird voices (which I always found a little anticlimactic).
Needless to say, I've used this song to torture my partner with it ever since. BTW did you also learn the "Auntie Monica" song? That one, I'm sure, was responsible for at least half the boys turning out gay.
Lawdy! I haven't thought about that song in AGES! I learned it at my synagogue's retreats up at a place in Great Barrington, MA.