Strollerderby : songs

Weird Holiday Alert: My Bucket's Got a Hole in it Day

JeanneSager — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:32:00 GMT

There are certain things every child needs to know. Chief among them: at least one song that will drive their parents absolutely bonkers (or their grandparents if you prefer).

And considering today is "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It Day," we're happy to oblige.

Because if Pete Seeger at 90 can get up onstage and inspire a rendition of There's a Hole in the Bucket (out of Kris Kristofferson and Ani DiFranco, no less), than your kids surely need to know the story of Liza and Henry. Right?

The old German folk song has been a Seeger favorite and recorded by the likes of Burl Ives, about a couple who just can't seem to get things right. Or at least never fix their bucket.

It's annoying as all get out, but hey, you have a whole summer to teach it to your kids then let them loose at the family reunion, right? So we rustled up the lyrics for you, courtesy of a Girl Scouts Song Lyrics Index on About.com:

Liza: Henry! Fetch me some water!
Henry:There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, a hole.

L: Well, fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Well, fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

H:With what shall I fix it ...
L: With a straw dear Henry ...
H:The straw is too long ...
L: Well, cut it dear Henry ...
H:With what shall I cut it ...
L: With an axe dear Henry ...
H:The axe is too dull dear Liza ...
L: Well, sharpen it dear Henry ...
H:With what shall I sharpen it ...
L: With a stone dear Henry ...
H:The stone is too dry dear Liza ...
L: Well, wet it dear Henry ...
H:With what shall I wet it ...
L: With water dear Henry ...
H:In what shall I fetch it ...
L: In a bucket dear Henry ...
H:There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza ...

If you take a video of your kids doing it, put it up on YouTube, but really, you don't have to share it with us. The knowledge that we're not the only ones with this song now permanently stuck in our heads is thanks enough!

Image: Current

The Babble List: The Best Potty-Training Entertainment

editors — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:12:00 GMT

Today on Babble:

The Babble List: The Best Potty-Training Entertainment

by Paul Barman

Get your kids out of diapers with these 15 storybooks, videos and songs.

Read it here.

What Hannah Montana: The Movie is Teaching Kids (Hint: It's Not Self-Esteem)

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:00:00 GMT

For the last year, I have rarely met a girl under the age of eleven who has not, upon learning my first name, immediately burst into a pop song by Miley Cyrus’ alter ego. And to think, I used to love my name.

Because this is already far more Hannah Montana that I can stand, I don’t plan on seeing her blockbuster. But I will gladly pass on secondhand reasons why you and your kids shouldn’t see it, either.

Unsurprisingly, NPR’s movie blog found the movie lacking in intrigue, camera work, and sound quality, cinematic failures that, admittedly, no 11-year-old is bound to notice. But Miley’s young admirers may be susceptible to the movie’s very clear message that it’s better to please others than it is to act like yourself. (Spoiler alert: stop reading if you don’t know want to know the compelling plot twister that communicates this message.)

After years of trying to live a double life—one of being Hannah Montana the popstar, another of being Miley Stewart, the Tennessee farm girl—Miley decides she can’t stand the deceit anymore. At a concert, she takes off her wig (which amazingly prevents anyone from noticing that Miley and Hannah Montana have the exact same face) and announces her true identity, prepared to be accepted for who she is. Hurray! The end of deceit and superficiality is here!

Well, not exactly. According to NRP, mass disappointment ensues. “Several characters insist that children across the world will ‘lose their dreams’ if they find out Hannah is a fake. So Miley listens to them and puts the wig back on. Happy ending.”

If there’s any message preteen girls don’t need, it’s that other people will not like you if you reveal your true self. As NPR puts it, "Hannah Montana: The Movie suggests that we can make people happy by always being who they want us to be, so we should maintain a performance at all costs." Then there’s the equally problematic message that “average” people from humble beginnings cannot be powerful or inspiring figures (an anachronistic message, given our current president).

I’m sorry that Miley Cyrus has to live her entire life as a fake. But that's no reason to glorify such a dismal fate for the impressionable tween masses.

Photo: NPR

Kids Sing Religious Song, Parents Sue

JeanneSager — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:35:00 GMT

There are songs that mention religion, and there are songs that are religious. When a song is named "In God We Still Trust," and features the words "Bible," frequent references to "Him," and the word "believe," wouldn't you think that falls into the latter category?

Apparently, it doesn't matter. At least not to a Florida public school where a third grade teacher was training her students to sing the song by country group Diamond Rio for their end-of-year program. The kids had the song memorized when one made mention of it to Mom and Dad. When the parents complained, the teacher told the kids they wouldn't have to sing it if it violated their beliefs, but told them they would be excluded from participation in the program. Sounds like punishing kids for their beliefs to me.

The superintendent yanked the song just before the parents filed a lawsuit, which they filed anyway, looking for compensatory damages because (according to the suit), teaching the song "amounts to religious indoctrination and interferes with the parents’ right to raise their children according to their own beliefs."

I'm not a big fan of lawsuits, but what's upsetting here is the defense from the school. They're acknowleding they're aware of separation of church and state, but they say a religious song is different. The lawyer for the St. Johns County School Board said choruses are traditionally exempt from the rules against public prayer in school. According to a report in a Jacksonville newspaper, the attorney said, "Courts have held that a choral curriculum can be expected to include religious songs because a significant percentage of choral music is based on religious themes or texts."

In general, I agree. I sang Hanukkah songs when I was a kid in school, and I'm Catholic. It never bothered me because they were historical (and honestly, I thought the festival of lights was pretty cool!) and not heavy on religious rhetoric. There was no "we will believe in X, Y and Z."

But this isn't an old song with a passing reference to religion. It's a song released on an album in 2006 by a contemporary band. And it talks heavily about believing and following God (click here to watch the music video and see for yourself). And if the teacher told kids who didn't believe that they couldn't participate in the school program, that's religious persecution.

What do you think? Are the parents overreaching or are they right to be upset?

Image: AnswerBag

British Moms Ditch Lullabies for Pop Songs

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:30:00 GMT

According to a new (non-scientific!) survey, more British mothers are singing pop songs to their babies than traditional lullabies. Two thirds of the moms who responded said the modern tunes worked better than older ones for soothing their kids to sleep. One in ten said they could never remember the words to the old songs.

The BBC reported the top ten songs moms mentioned as effective baby-soothers in their homes, including the ubiquitous "I Kissed a Girl," by Katy Perry and "You're Beautiful," by James Blunt, as well as older hits (Oasis' "Wonderwall" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful") and flat-out headscratchers (Guns 'n' Roses' "Sweet Child O Mine").

We go in for the traditional lullabies in our house, though mostly of the American variety ("Oh Susannah," "Home on the Range"), mixed in with a lot of Sesame Street and Dan Zanes, but we've been known to modify a Ramones song or two when the purpose is not sleep-inducing but diaper-change-cooperation. What songs work in your house? And what classics have you re-worded to fit your own infant or toddler's name, looks, or personality?

More by this author:

Baby Nearly Starves to Death, Diluted Formula to Blame
Grandmother’s Right? Or Totally Obnoxious?
Health Scam: Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag

Ten Songs You Never Want to Hear A Little Kid Singing

JeanneSager — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:29:00 GMT

They're usually tuneless and missing half the words, but most kids haven't learned to limit the singing to the shower and the car. They'll sing anywhere, chances are they'll sing anything, and you'll never turn as red as the time your three-year-old asks in sing-song, "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"

So to save you from finding out how maroon those cheeks will go, we offer up the top 10 songs your kids shouldn't be singing:

"Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls: If his girlfriend looked like that, he'd get arrested.
"I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry: The taste of her cherry ChapStick's just plain yucky. Tell 'em to stick to Bonne Bell. (Check out Urlesque's collection of pubescent YouTubers taking on some girl love).
"Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen: Sure they make the rockin' world go 'round, but Mommy's got one of those bottoms and she's no naughty nanny. At least not while the kids are still awake.
"I Want Candy" by Strangelove (originally), Bow Wow Wow, Aaron Carter, etc.: Trust me, they'll get a toothache if they try to rip open this package.
"Baby Got Back" by Sir Mixalot: Oh my Gawd, Becky, your kid's got booty on the brain. Just hope he doesn't get sprung.
"Milkshake" by Kelis: The sweet treat goes sour fast when a kindergartner's calling all the boys to her yard and telling them she'll have to charge. News flash: they'll learn soon enough that there's no need to buy the cow when that milk flows for free.
"Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" by Meatloaf: The wedding DJ hits a button, and suddenly the ringbearer's running to the dance floor to sing the baseball song. We're betting he won't see this home plate for a good ten years.
"I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones: The catchiest song . . . EVER . . . hurry, hurry, hurry, clamp a hand over their mouths, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. . . sometimes we wanna put our kids on drugs . . . ba-ba-bamp-ba-ba . . .
"You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC: She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, but she's got nothing on Matchbox. Start explaining that and their minds will be aching, so let's just agree to keep this one under wraps. Shake on it?
"U + Ur Hand" by Pink: The ultimate F-off song (or should we say jack off?) isn't the ultimate in kid entertainment . . . yet. Those hands will get hairy soon enough.

Image: Improventures

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Oh, Remember the Singing Grapefruit?

Kelly Mills — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:51:00 GMT

The first time someone who thought I should be exposed to opera played me Bizet's Carmen, I immediately had a serious flashback. I felt warm and comfy and citrus-y. "Daisies and rubber bands?" I thought. Of course I was reliving this wonderful bit from Sesame Street.

I love the kitchen collaboration to make a perfect diva, and my favorite part is that stretch of a high note. I wonder if Maria Callas' face ever flew in the air when she sang?

What's Better Than Reading a Harry Potter Book? This Is.

Karen Murphy — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:54:00 GMT

Okay, so I'm not a big Harry Potter fan. So sue me. I read the first book; I get the idea. But in the grand tradition of songs that will remain forever stuck in your head (you can thank me now), I bring you....Potter Puppet Pals:

Strollerderby : songs

Weird Holiday Alert: My Bucket's Got a Hole in it Day

Disney Princesses Get Nasty

Three Ways To Get to Sesame Street This Summer

Fountain Shoots, Um, Breastmilk?

The Babble List: The Best Potty-Training Entertainment

What Hannah Montana: The Movie is Teaching Kids (Hint: It's Not Self-Esteem)

Kids Sing Religious Song, Parents Sue

When a Trusted Pediatrician Loses His License

Judge: Home-Schooled Kids Must Go to Public School

Teacher Fired for Letting Kids Play Gay

Liar, Liar - iPod Sets Kid's Pants on Fire

British Moms Ditch Lullabies for Pop Songs

Ten Songs You Never Want to Hear A Little Kid Singing

Oh, Remember the Singing Grapefruit?

What's Better Than Reading a Harry Potter Book? This Is.