# Songs they made you sing in elementary school **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514 "2026-08-23T22:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/21 "2026-08-24T01:10:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Gee Mom I Want to Go Home _The coffee in the Army, they say it’s mighty fine It’s good for cuts and bruises and it tastes like iodine_ _Chorus: Oh I don’t want no more of Army life.. gee Mom I wanna go home_ ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/22 "2026-08-24T01:15:39Z")
The only two songs I can remember having to sing were _The Star Spangled Banner_ in some elementary grades right after the Pledge of Allegiance, and in Junior High, I had a teacher who made us sing the school fight song. _Hail, Blue and White_, if you’re wondering. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/23 "2026-08-24T02:06:05Z")
Christmas songs! ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/24 "2026-08-24T02:24:57Z")
I just watched a random YouTube video on how they are trying to eliminate the elominapee from the alphabet song. This is an outrage. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/25 "2026-08-24T02:33:46Z")
Mid-late 60’s Barnacle Bill Uba Scuba Bubble Gum Winnie the Pooh song (the original ) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/26 "2026-08-24T02:39:42Z")
“(You’ve Got to Have) Friends” “Together Wherever We Go” (from _Gypsy_) “I Got Rhythm” ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/27 "2026-08-24T02:51:44Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I Ride An Old Paint Did that one go like this: _Goodbye, Old Paint, I’m a leaving Cheyenne Goodbye, Old Paint, I’m a leaving Cheyenne I’m a leavin Cheyenne, I’m for Montan’ Goodbye, Old Paint, I’m a leaving Cheyenne_ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/28 "2026-08-24T03:00:01Z")
Oh, Hawkeye and BJ, They think they’re really smart. I’d like to take a scalpel And stab them in the heart. (Gee, this is fun!) — Frank Burns ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/29 "2026-08-24T03:21:07Z")
60’s elementary school. I remember B-I-N-G-O, but the one I still know quite a few lyrics to is: _The stars at night are big and bright (clap clap clap clap) deep in the heart of TEXAS !!_ ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/30 "2026-08-24T03:23:24Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Barnacle Bill Not the version I learned in college, I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/31 "2026-08-24T03:44:24Z")
In grade school (middle 70s) we all had to get recorders. We’d go out back of the school where they had a little area for such thing and play songs. The ones I remember were: Black and White Both Sides Now One Tin Soldier Downtown I liked the songs so I didn’t mind, but we were all pretty terrible on recorder. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/32 "2026-08-24T03:48:38Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > We even had our own School Song! So did we! And I still remember it, melody and all, 64 years later. _Towson1 Elementary2, we love you,_ _Silver and blue3, fly long and true._ _Towson Elementary, you are the best._ _No school can beat you, east or west._ _Watching the children go,_ _Praising the the school they know._ _True friends they’ll always be,_ _And loyal constantly._ _… 4_ _Carry our banner high,_ _Our colors satisfy._ _Students will say aloud,_ _“Of you we’re proud!”_ Notes: 1. Maryland. Suburb of Baltimore. 2. The building is now a [senior center](https://maps.app.goo.gl/M5xMyu7J1tB8UiCb9?g_st=ac). 3. School colors. 4. I think there may have been another verse here that I don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/33 "2026-08-24T04:03:25Z")
When I was a wee child, we had to say The Lord’s Prayer every morning in school. But in Grade 3, we had a cool teacher with long hair like Crystal Gayle; she would play the guitar as we sang the pop rock version of The Lord’s Prayer made famous by Sister Janet Mead. > [@Infovore](#): > > The ones I remember were: > > Black and White > Both Sides Now > One Tin Soldier > Downtown > > I liked the songs so I didn’t mind, but we were all pretty terrible on recorder. In addition to the recorder, we had to learn to be terrible on the ukulele which we could accompany with our mediocre singing. Songs I remember: One Tin Soldier – The Original Caste Queen of Hearts – Juice Newton Fly, Little White Dove, Fly – The Bells Down on the Corner – Creedence Clearwater Revival ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/34 "2026-08-24T06:08:43Z")
Elementary school, late 70s: “Like a Rhinestone Cowboy” “Seasons in the Sun” “Ben” “Don’t Fence me In” ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/35 "2026-08-24T07:12:46Z")
“There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza” ( [spoiler] “With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza?” …with wood, which needs to be cut with an ax, which needs to be sharpened on a whetstone, which needs to be wet down with a bucket of water, which has a hole in it, dear Liza, dear Liza ) This was probably in kindergarten, so not quite elementary school as requested by the OP. And even at that young age, I knew something was odd. It’s a song about farm life a century ago,and none us understood any of those images. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/36 "2026-08-24T08:20:24Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I attended elementary school in Salt Lake City, and all that that implies. Where in Salt Lake City, if you don’t mind saying? I grew up in Salt Lake, near the U (University of Utah) and while outsiders may see Salt Lake as a homogeneous culture, different parts were a little different, although it was much more Mormon then than it is now. I don’t remember many of the songs. I’m a terrible singer and I didn’t particularly get much out of them. We had Christmas programs, so things like Little Drummer, Oh Christmas Tree (in both English and German), the Twelve Days of Christmas, Silent Night, etc. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/37 "2026-08-24T08:29:02Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > > [@teelabrown](#): > > > > I Ride An Old Paint > > Did that one go like this: > > _Goodbye, Old Paint, I’m a leaving Cheyenne > Goodbye, Old Paint, I’m a leaving Cheyenne > I’m a leavin Cheyenne, I’m for Montan’_ Nope. Like this: I ride an old paint, I lead an old Dan I’m going to Montana to throw the hoolihan, I’ll feed 'em in the coulees, water in the draw Tails are all matted, their backs are all raw. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/38 "2026-08-24T08:34:25Z")
And for some reason, I just remembered the song The Deacon Went Down to the Cellar to Pray (it looks like the title is Ain’t Gonna Grieve My Lord No More) and checking the lyrics our very Mormon teacher changed the lyrics from “and found a jug” to “and fell asleep”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/39 "2026-08-24T09:25:10Z")
I remember very few in particular. “Camptown Races” is one I remember. “I’se the B’y,” a traditional Newfoundland song, is another. We also learned “O Canada” in French. Other than that, it was the usual Christmas carols in December, among other songs that I cannot remember. Weird, because I know so much traditional/folk music nowadays. I must have learned it somewhere. Thinking of folk music, one year, we had a teacher who loved the stuff. So we spent a lot of time doing Peter, Paul, and Mary songs, Pete Seeger songs, Kingston Trio songs, and so on. But always by commercial artists. How I learned the traditional/folk songs that I know now, I have no idea. It sure wasn’t at school. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514/40 "2026-08-24T10:59:49Z")
We had a radio program here in the UK called [Singing Together..](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04stc6c) which was broadcast by the BBC weekly so that all schools could participate. I don’t remember much about it - the only songs I remember were :- - Linstead Market - The Kookaburra Gum Tree song - The Happy Wanderer There were [many more](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/137478057727?_skw=singing+together&itmmeta=01M0SPP2FN7983ZNG1N60QC69Z&hash=item200254aeff:g:uOUAAeSwjKBqR5Q0&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA8DKQclQvzFwZQpmMrsO4LurfKdjKWjctI11xi5ruc01P%2BsnUXIM4iCMXG%2F6Xdh%2FPNqB2u0VbJYAXtvUl%2FdSmG8cxY8wDm%2BjujsZFEcY6Fyylg730AWI4xlSNB6OJkySHj12whb8iouw%2F3q9aWEYgXXXiCrORrDj68Q3MDWmK2uGsdoHQEevot%2BcLijtyfLtfFMBPiEoZlwxqBrNs3DDk1fZ8Ud6Xbl7iu6wN5tE4RT9kP4laOlTWWpAtzuDPHFNkimYY4qbFRq6g7d6z4qODnHMdq6by0C8XNJQrXmT6Cseq5DOUedtZQQhKO4eJGvshVw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_qn2LaGaA&var=435659601835). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-they-made-you-sing-in-elementary-school/1032514.md?page=3)