Song cupboard I

I went to the animal fair

I went to the cabbages

I wish I had the shepherd’s lamb

If all the seas were one sea

If you see a fairy ring

If I were a blackbird

It’s a small world

It’s an insect world

It could be a wonderful world

Last updated: 5/8/2023 9:28 AM

The songs below are part of ‘Away we go’ Round and about

compiled, adapted and illustrated by Dany Rosevear

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To watch the author sing a song click on the title at:

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I went to the animal fair O

Have fun with the sound effects in this song using the voice or percussion..

Sung by American sailors as early as 1898; the words were more appropriate to a seafaring life ‘The monkey he got drunk’ More modern versions end with: ‘And that was the end of the monkey...’

It was also popular as an American minstrel song where ‘the monk, the monk, the monk, the monk...’ was sung ad infinitum.

I went to the animal fair,

The birds and the beasts were there,

The big baboon by the light of the moon

Was combing his auburn hair.

The monkey fell out of his bunk, Bump!

And slid down the elephant's trunk, Wheee!

The elephant sneezed, Atchoo!

And fell on his knees, Oh dear!

And what became of the monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey,

And what became of the monk?

I went to the cabbages O

A song about the caterpillar life cycle by Tom Stanier and Liz Bennett from BBC TV’s Watch.

I went to the cabbages one day,

What do you think I saw?

Eggs in a cluster, yellow as a duster,

What could it all be for?

I went to the cabbages one day,

What do you think I saw?

Caterpillars crunching, caterpillars munching,

What could it all be for?

I went to the cabbages one day,

What do you think I saw?

I saw a soopa doopa pupa,

What could it all be for?

I went to the cabbages one day,

What do you think I saw?

I saw a butterfly, watched it flutter by;

What could it all be for?

I went to the cabbages one day,

What do you think I saw?

Eggs in a cluster, yellow as a duster,

What could it all be for?

I wish I had the shepherd’s lamb 🔊

A song most children in Ireland learn at school either in English or Gaelic. The Gaelic chorus here is phonetic rather than as Gaelic is written. The translation is: And O I call you, I call you, You are my heart’s love without deceit… And you are mother’s little pet.

I wish I had the shepherd's lamb,

The shepherd's lamb, the shepherd's lamb;

I wish I had the shepherd's lamb,

And Katie coming after.

Iss O! gurrim gurrim hoo,

Iss grah machree gon kellig hoo,

Iss O! gurrim gurrim hoo,

Sthoo patha beg dhu wauher.

I wish I had a yellow cow,

A yellow cow, a yellow cow,

I wish I had a yellow cow,

And welcome from my darling.

I wish I had a Kerry cow,

A Kerry cow, a Kerry cow,

I wish I had a Kerry cow,

I’d milk her night and morning.

I wish I had a Galway hat,

A Galway hat, a Galway hat,

I wish I had a Galway hat,

I’d give it to my darling.

I wish I had a house and land,

A house and land, a house and land,

I wish I had a house and land,

I’d ask her if she’d marry.

If all the seas were one sea 🔊

A traditional thyme found in many Mother Goose collections.

Iona and Peter Opie in the Oxford dictionary of nursery rhymes, suggest it was first delivered by Rowland Hill (1744-1833), a great preacher, as a rebuke to two ‘ungodly’ men who ventured into his church and then left ‘turning their backs upon the gospel’.

If all the seas were one sea,

What a GREAT sea that would be!

If all the trees were one tree,

What a GREAT tree that would be!

If all the axes were one axe,

What a GREAT axe that would be!

If all the men were one man,

What a GREAT t man he would be!

And if the GREAT man took the GREAT axe,

And cut down the GREAT tree,

And let it fall into the GREAT sea,

What a splish splash that would be!

If I were a blackbird 🔊

A traditional folk song from Ireland. Can be sung as a lullaby.

If I were a blackbird, I'd whistle and sing

And I'd follow the ship that my true love sails in;

And on the top rigging I'd there build my nest

And pillow my head on his lily white breast.

I am a young maiden and my story is sad,

For once I was courted by a brave sailor lad,

He courted me truly by night and by day

But now my dear sailor has gone far away.

He promised to take me to Donnybrook fair,

To buy me red ribbons to tie up my hair

And when he'd return from the ocean so wide,

He'd take me and make me his own loving bride.

Whistle & Chorus

If you see a fairy ring 🔊

Go hunting for fairies if you please… But if you find a fairy on your next walk in the countryside go very quietly just in case it is sleeping….

A fairy circle is one made of toadstools where the mycelium have spread out from the centre to make a ring, each year it will have grown.

This is probably a Victorian verse that has mistakenly been attributed to William Shakespeare PriceFixer: Shakespeare, Friendship, and Fairies -- STOP IT PLEASE.

Music by Dany Rosevear. Music changes from a major to minor key.

If you see a fairy ring

In a field of grass,

Very lightly step around,

Tiptoe as you pass;

Last night fairies frolicked there,

And they're sleeping somewhere near.

If you see a tiny fay

Lying fast asleep,

Shut your eyes and run away,

Do not stay or peep;

And be sure you never tell,

Or you'll break a fairy spell.

It’s a small world 🔊

Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. It will be a familiar song to those familiar with Disney theme parks but is a delightful song in it’s own right with the words stating the obvious: we all need to get on and work with each other for the sake of our planet and indeed ourselves.

The verse and chorus can be sung as a round as the words work in counterpoint.

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears;

It's a world of hopes and a world of fears.

There's so much that we share,

That it's time we're aware.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small, small world.

There is just one moon and one golden sun,

And a smile means friendship to every one.

Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide,

It's a small world after all.

It's a small, small world.

It’s an insect world 🔊

Love this parody of ‘It’s a small world’.

A scouting song and a good opportunity to appreciate the role of insects in the circle of life, however annoying they might be at times!!

It's a world of centipedes, a world of moths,

It's a world of katydids, a world of wasps,

There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware,

It's an insect covered world.

Chorus:

It's an insect covered world,

It's an insect world.

It's a world of beetles, a world of fleas,

It's a world of caterpillars, a world of bees,

In this world that we know there is so much to show,

It's an insect covered world.

Chorus

It could be a wonderful world 🔊

This song written by Hy Zaret and with music by Lou Singer is a timely reminder of our obligations and need to live in unity and peace with our fellow earthdwellers.

It was made popular by Pete Seeger.

If we could consider each other,

Our neighbour, a friend, or a brother,

It could be a wonderful, wonderful world,

It could be a wonderful world, Uh-huh,