The song, “Over in the Meadow” is a traditional sing-a-long song that allows young children to sing, count, rhyme, and make animal sounds. The song’s rhythmic pattern also encourages
musical experimentation. A group of third graders revised this happy song by rewriting the lyrics. We also spent time discussing why the rhyme pattern appeals to young children. The excited third
graders decided rewriting the lyrics was a great opportunity to introduce preschoolers to a few new animals They even recorded themselves singing their lively composition (with Audacity) to share with younger
siblings.
It's also a fun song to welcome spring and to celebrate Music in our Schools Month
Over in the Meadow Rewrites
Over in the ocean in a warm tropic sea,
Lived a spiky mother lionfish and her little lionfish three.
“Swim,” said the mother, “we swim” said the three,
And they swam and were glad in their warm tropic sea.
Over in the forest in a green humongous tree,
Lived a strong mother squirrel and her little squirrels three.
“Run,” said mother, “we run” said the three,
And they ran and were glad in their green humongous tree.
Over in the ocean in an ancient brass crate,
Lived a huge father T. Rex and his little T. Rexes eight.
“Roar,” said the father, “we roar” said the eight,
And they roared and were glad in their ancient brass crate.
Out on the lawn in a huge, worn tree,
Lived a furry mother chipmunk and her little chipmunks three.
“Chirp,” said the mother, “we chirp” said the three,
And they chirped and were glad in their huge worn tree.
Over on the shore in an old hollow oar,
Lived a poisonous father snake and his little snakes four,
“Ssssss,” said the father, “we ssssss” said the four,
And they ssssssed and were glad in their old hollow oar.
Over in the reef in an ancient blue zoo,
Lived a tiny mother nurse shark and her little nurse sharks two,
“Swim,” said the mother, “we swim” said the two,
And they swam and were glad in their ancient blue zoo.