FAVORITE CHILDHOOD SONGS
My favorite childhood songs were the ones my mama taught me.
1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat;
I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat;
A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice);
A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice);
Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that?
A big fat lady sat upon my hat!
She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke?
Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that?
2) The golden sun sinks in the west,
Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest.
We’ve had our work,
We’ve had our play
And we have lived,
The true scout way.
Upon my honor,
I will try,
To do my duty,
To God on high,
To help all other people out,
And live the life of a real Girl Scout.
3) I had a little parasol long, long ago.
A little Japan-esy one tied with a bow.
‘Twas only made of paper though, just for pretend.
I took it in the rain one day, that was the end.
4) Dark brown is the river, golden is the sand,
It flows along forever, with trees on either hand.
Green leaves a floating, castles of the foam.
Boats of mine are boating, when will they all come home?
Down past the river and out past the mill,
Away down the valley, away down the hill.
Away down the river a hundred miles or more.
Other little children will bring my boats ashore.
Yes, this last one is a poem (written by Robert Louis Stevenson), but it was set to music at one point and yes, my mom sang it until I memorized it. Knowing this came in handy in Junior high. We had to recite a poem in front of the class. It was easy to say it without singing it.
A post script to this is that when I left home in my senior year of high school, I lived with Pete and Berta Stoyanoff. They were caretakers of a mansion in Montecito. The home had at one point belonged to Robert Louis Stevenson. Berta was surprised that I knew he was a poet. Well, when you have your mom's voice in your head singing one of his poems, you kind of put those things together. Of course, because I knew the song first, when I found his poem in a Mother Goose Rhyme book, I was shocked, but that had occurred when I was around 11 or so. Yes, I was always poking my nose into books.
1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat;
I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat;
A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice);
A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice);
Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that?
A big fat lady sat upon my hat!
She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke?
Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that?
2) The golden sun sinks in the west,
Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest.
We’ve had our work,
We’ve had our play
And we have lived,
The true scout way.
Upon my honor,
I will try,
To do my duty,
To God on high,
To help all other people out,
And live the life of a real Girl Scout.
3) I had a little parasol long, long ago.
A little Japan-esy one tied with a bow.
‘Twas only made of paper though, just for pretend.
I took it in the rain one day, that was the end.
4) Dark brown is the river, golden is the sand,
It flows along forever, with trees on either hand.
Green leaves a floating, castles of the foam.
Boats of mine are boating, when will they all come home?
Down past the river and out past the mill,
Away down the valley, away down the hill.
Away down the river a hundred miles or more.
Other little children will bring my boats ashore.
Yes, this last one is a poem (written by Robert Louis Stevenson), but it was set to music at one point and yes, my mom sang it until I memorized it. Knowing this came in handy in Junior high. We had to recite a poem in front of the class. It was easy to say it without singing it.
A post script to this is that when I left home in my senior year of high school, I lived with Pete and Berta Stoyanoff. They were caretakers of a mansion in Montecito. The home had at one point belonged to Robert Louis Stevenson. Berta was surprised that I knew he was a poet. Well, when you have your mom's voice in your head singing one of his poems, you kind of put those things together. Of course, because I knew the song first, when I found his poem in a Mother Goose Rhyme book, I was shocked, but that had occurred when I was around 11 or so. Yes, I was always poking my nose into books.
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