My nephew, like all three-year-olds, loves to sing. I am trying to remember songs that I liked when I was a kid, especially ones that have hand motions. I have remembered “Shark Attack”, “Four green and speckled frogs” and of course “On Top of Spaghetti” but I need more. One I can’t remember all of the words to is “Princess Pratt”(you know, she sailed the seven seas with a rickabamboo). So what I need is the words to this song and any others that you can remember from childhood.
Poysyn: I have to confess I’ve never heard of this, but a Google search turned up an old PPCLI song that seems to match yours.
SHE’LL BE COMIN’ ROUND THE MOUNTAIN
LITTLE BUNNY FUFU
Little bunny fufu hopping through the forest [bouncing peace sign for bunny ears]
Scooping up the field mice [scooping hand motion]
And bopping them on the head [smack your fist with your hand]
Etc…I hate this song, My daughter sang it hours on end!
THERE’S A HOLE IN THE BUCKET
HOME ON THE RANGE
FOUND A PEANUT
THIS OLD MAN
This old man, he plays one,
He plays knick-knack on my thumb.
With a knick-knack, paddy-wack, give a dog a bone.
This old man goes rolling home.
Two-on my shoe. [Tap shoe.]
Three-on my knee. [Tap on knee.]
Four-on the floor. [Touch the floor.]
Five-on my hive. [Move hands as if brushing bees away from ears.]
Six-on my sticks. [Tap knuckles of other hand.]
Seven-up to Devon. [Shake fist.]
Eight-on my pate. [Tap top of head.]
Nine-on my spine. [Touch backbone.]
Ten-now and then. [Raise hands shoulder high, open and close fists in rhythm.]
Here’s that green alligator one, which is accompanied by some fun gestures.
" Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born
Don’t you forget My unicorns"
And there’s always the Hokey-Pokey which will get them moving and singing.
I was once a volunteer summer camp counselor for an entire season. When I get home, I’ll see if I can dig up my folder of songs.
That’s “The Unicorn” by The Irish Rovers. The Best Of The Irish Rovers CD has a bunch of fun songs, and can probably be found in the International section of your local CD store.
:cup hands together like you’re carrying a teeny something you don’t want to escape:
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee
Won’t my Mommy be so proud of me
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee
Ouch! :look astonished:
It stung me! :jerk hands:
:work hands together like you’re squishing something:
I’m squishing up my baby bumblebee
Won’t my Mommy be so proud of me
I’m squishing up a baby bumblebee…
:look at hands:
Mmm, jam!
:pretend to lick off hands:
I’m licking up my baby bumblebee
Won’t my Mommy be so proud of me
I’m squishing up a baby bumblebee
:make yucky face:
Oooo, yuck!
:wipe hands on pants:
I’m wiping off my baby bumblebee
Won’t my Mommy be so proud of me
I’m wiping off my baby bumblebee,
:show hands:
See!
Just a note that The Unicorn was originally a poem by Shel Silverstein (I believe it was in the book “Where The Sidewalk Ends”) which was later made into a song as noted above.
As for camp/kid songs, the only one I can think of is “Three Chartreuse Buzzards”. 
(with a thick Irish accent:)
On you cannot (pronounced more like ‘canny’) throw your granny off the bus
No you canny throw your granny off the bus
No you canny throw your granny, for she’s your mommy’s mommy, you canny throw your granny off the bus.
But you can throw your other granny off the bus
Yes you can throw your other granny off the bus
You can throw your other granny, for she’s your father’s mommy, you can throw your other granny off the bus.
The Princess Pat
Lived in a tree
She sailed across
The seven seas
She sailed across
The channel two
And she took with her
A rigabamboo
A rigabamboo
Now what is that
It’s something made
By the Princess Pat
It’s red and gold
And purple too
That’s why it’s called
A rigabamboo
Now Captain Jack
Had a mighty fine crew
He sailed across
The channel two
But his ship did sink
And so will you
If you don’t take
A rigabamboo
A rigabmaboo . . .
[this is what 11 years as a Girl Scout will do to you. take that as a warning.]
While perusing some boxes, I came across those camp songs. Here’s some fun ones:
Mama Don’t Allow
Mama don’t allow no hand clappin’ ‘round here. (clap twice)
Mama don’t allow no hand clappin’ ‘round here. (clap twice)
But we don’t care what mama don’t allow, we’re gonna clap our hands anyhow.
Mama don’t allow no hand clappin’ 'round here. (clap twice)
Mama don’t allow no foot stompin’ ‘round here. (stomp left foot then right foot)
Mama don’t allow no foot stompin’ ‘round here. (stomp left foot then right foot)
But we don’t care what mama don’t allow, we’re gonna stomp our feet anyhow.
Mama don’t allow no foot stompin’ 'round here. (stomp left foot then right foot)
Mama don’t allow no hog callin’ ‘round here. (soo-wie)
Mama don’t allow no hog callin’ ‘round here. (soo-wie)
But we don’t care what mama don’t allow, we’re gonna call those hogs anyhow.
Mama don’t allow no hog callin’ 'round here. (soo-wie)
Mama don’t allow no carryin’ on ‘round here. (clap, stomp & hog call)
Mama don’t allow no carryin’ on ‘round here. (clap, stomp & hog call)
But we don’t care what mama don’t allow, we’re gonna carry on anyhow.
Mama don’t allow no carryin’ on 'round here. (clap, stomp & hog call)
Mama don’t allow no song endin’ ‘round here.
Mama don’t allow no song endin’ 'round here.
But we don’t care what mama don’t allow, we’re gonna end this song right now.
I Wish…
Oh, I wish I were a little bar of soap. (bar of soap)
Oh, I wish I were a little bar of soap. (bar of soap)
I’d go slidey, slidey, slidey over everybody’s hide-y.
Oh, I wish I were a little bar of soap. (bar of soap)
Oh, I wish I were a little sporty car. (sporty car)
Oh, I wish I were a little sporty car. (sporty car)
I would speedy, speedy, speedy over evreybody’s feety.
Oh, I wish I were a little sporty car. (sporty car)
Oh, I wish I were a little steeple pidgeon. (steeple pidgeon)
Oh, I wish I were a little steeple pidgeon. (steeple pidgeon)
I would sit upon the steeple and (raspberry) upon the people.
Oh, I wish I were a little steeple pidgeon. (steeple pidgeon)
Oh, I wish I were a little radio. (radio)
Oh, I wish I were a little radio. (radio)
I’d go “click.”
We Had a Chicken
(sing verses slow and choruses fast)
We had a chicken, no eggs would it lay.
We had a chicken, no eggs would it lay.
Ma said “Honey, we’re losing money, cause that ol’ chicken, no eggs would it lay.”
And that rooster came in our yard,
and knocked our chicken right off it’s guard.
We’re having eggs now, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard, yard, yard, yard.
We’re having eggs now, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard.
We had a cow, no milk would it give.
We had a cow, no milk would it give.
Ma said “Honey, we’re losing money, cause that ol’ cow, no milk would it give.”
And that rooster came in our yard,
and knocked our cow right off it’s guard.
We’re having eggnog, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard, yard, yard, yard.
We’re having eggnog, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard.
We had a garden, no veggies would it grow.
We had a garden, no veggies would it grow.
Ma said “Honey, we’re losing money, cause that ol’ garden, no veggies would it grow.”
And that rooster came in our yard,
and knocked our garden right off it’s guard.
We’re having eggplant, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard, yard, yard, yard.
We’re having eggplant, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard.
We had a gum tree, no fruit would it grow.
We had a gum tree, no fruit would it grow.
Ma said “Honey, we’re losing money, cause that ol’ gum tree, no fruit would it grow.”
And that rooster came in our yard,
and knocked our gum tree right off it’s guard.
We’re having chicklets, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard, yard, yard, yard.
We’re having chicklets, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard.
We had a mother, no children would she bear.
We had a mother, no children would she bear.
Pa said “Honey, we’re losing money, cause that ol’ mother, no children would she bear.”
And that rooster came in our yard,
and knocked our mother right off her guard.
We’re having eggheads, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard, yard, yard, yard.
We’re having eggheads, just like we used to,
since that rooster came in our yard.
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
Do your ears hang high?
Do they reach up to the sky?
Do they droop whey they’re wet?
Do they stiffen when they dry?
Can you semaphore your neighbor with a minimum of labor?
Do your ears hang high?
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
Don’t forget the ever-popular Wheels on the Bus!! I drove right past our neighborhood one night because my kidlet and I were in the midst of a rousing rendition of this number. Ah, memories…
Gosh, I hope you know the hand motions for this one:
In a cabin in the wood
Little man by the window stood
Saw a rabbit hopping by
Knocking at my door
Help me! Help me! Help me! he said
'fore the hunter shoots me dead
come little rabbit, come inside
and warm up by the fire.
BTW, stay away from that ring-around-the-rosy stuff. It’s dangerous!
No, seriously though, I did bust out my 2 front teeth playing/singing that dumb song. We were all playing on the playground (1st grade), doing the hold hands, and spin in a ring thing, and I let go, and my face met the asphalt. Ouch!
Whilst I’m not going to add a song here let me send a plug out for Disney’s “For Our Children” CD. It’s their pediatric AIDS benefit record and is choc-a-bloc full of songs that can entertain a kid. And they’re pretty well done.