# Songs for small children - - retroactively. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208 "2017-07-14T01:37:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/21 "2017-07-15T22:53:33Z")
If I had to pick ONE, it would be _The Rattlin’ Bog._ (For the littles, this might be more of a listening song, but it’s good to start them early. For my kid, it was one of those things where she couldn’t keep up AT ALL, and then one day, around age 4, she started singing it straight through with no mistakes. It was as if she never went through a middle ground. Kids are weird.) A lot of good ones that have already been mentioned in this thread! Some other titles that were on my playlists to make sure my daughter knew that haven’t been mentioned yet: _Froggie Went A-Courtin Drunken Sailor Lavender’s Blue Buffalo Gals I’ve Been Working on the Railroad She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain Rise and Shine (the Noah’s Ark song) The Ants Go Marching The Bear Song (the other day, I met a bear … ) Three Little Fishies John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt_ If you’re looking at kids music albums for ideas, Dan Zanes has A MILLION records. I like a lot of his songs, but they all have a very similar sound and sometimes I prefer the more traditional arrangements that I remember from when I was kid. But even if I end up going for another version of the song, his track lists are fantastic for getting ideas – he goes deep into folk music and finds a lot of gems that you don’t hear much in other places. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/22 "2017-07-16T02:16:10Z")
> [@Wednesday\_Evening](#): > > Do Your Ears Hang Low (including second verse: Do Your Ears Hang High\*),[/SIZE] Clearly, it’s not only the monkeys that have been Bowdlerized. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/23 "2017-07-16T03:29:36Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Clearly, it’s not only the monkeys that have been Bowdlerized. I was wondering if anyone would mention that one. I remember my dad smirking when his granddaughter sang the sanitized version, saying, that’s not how we sang it during the war. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/24 "2017-07-16T15:52:48Z")
One two buckle my shoe… up to twenty!!! Che Che Koolay Hop old squirrel From Kindermusik Int’l cd’s. Beautiful music they reproduced for all ages. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/25 "2017-07-22T05:35:54Z")
The trip starts tomorrow. Looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/26 "2017-07-22T11:02:41Z")
I burned a rock CD for my young kids for the car: - Beach Boys - so many - The Ramones - so many - Chuck Berry - so many! - Wild Thing - Fox on the Run and Ballroom Blitz by the Sweet - The Beatles - so, so many! - The Romantics - What I Like About You - The Ting Tings - That’s Not my Name We sang along to Rockaway Beach, Wild Thing and the Ting Tings rolling down the road. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/27 "2017-08-04T15:16:10Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I burned a rock CD for my young kids for the car: > > - Beach Boys - so many > - The Ramones - so many > - Chuck Berry - so many! > - Wild Thing > - Fox on the Run and Ballroom Blitz by the Sweet > - The Beatles - so, so many! > - The Romantics - What I Like About You > - The Ting Tings - That’s Not my Name > > We sang along to Rockaway Beach, Wild Thing and the Ting Tings rolling down the road. Nice! The Sweet and the Ting Tings are new to me. My six-year-old loves the Kinks’ _We are the Village Green Preservation Society_. I can see why: catchy melodies, vivid place- and character-based lyrics, and a “concept album” where each song is nonetheless distinct. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/28 "2017-08-04T17:20:09Z")
My mom didn’t drive so we walked or took the bus everywhere, and car trips with my father driving were undertaken in perfect silence. I’ve heard maybe two of the songs listed above. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208/29 "2017-08-04T19:32:04Z")
The kiddies would probably enjoy [“Rats In My Room”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDkgl5IEZjs) (NRBQ). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-small-children-retroactively/791208.md?page=1)