Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Fishes (Little and Big)

Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Fishes (Little and Big)

by Pete Seeger

This album has a nice balance of story songs with background music, traditional folk songs about animals, and more elementary songs with repeating lines and chorus' for the youngest listening audience. "The Hen" is a prime example of one of the more simplistic songs in the collection, with plenty of repetition as it described all the places the hen cackled. "Mister Rabbit" is also a simple song with silly lyrics, "Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your nose always twitches. Yes, don't you know, it always itches?" Tempos vary greatly from the soft adagio lull of "Turtle Dove" and "Old Blue" to the allegro of, "The Fox." The "Bear Hunt" started as a funny spoken word story with the occasionally banjo strums for emphasis and suspense, but by the end of the story Seeger is strumming the banjo so fast your feet can hardly keep up! Some songs, like "Ground Hog" are filled with silly lyrics, while others like "Little Doggie" where Seeger's voice is the only instrument and he hits some new high notes sure to catch your attention.

A favorite for first-time listeners, "The Foolish Frog" begins with whistling and the music stops for the verses, which are told as a story. When the chorus kicks in, so does the banjo and toe-tapping. Seeger uses fun noises on the banjo to imitate a frog hopping. He also uses all different types of voices for women, cows and chickens. He even personifies a barn, grass, and a bubbling brook! Your child will join in the sound-effects, dance along with the chorus, and giggle at the verses. "The Little Rooster" is another fun song filled with animal noises, making it very easy to interact with. Particularly fun to sing along with is the extended rooster call, "Cock-a-doodle-do-de-doodle-de-doodle-do." The old familiar song, "Teency Weency Spider" (also known as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider") provides an opportunity for your little one to join in with the hand motions while Seeger sings. The song, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" builds on itself and requires focus and memory to remember the order and recite the song. The whole CD is full of fun and humor!

Pete Seeger felt like a member of our family. He was one of my dad's heroes. Pete would criss-cross the country giving concerts particularly for children, and my dad made sure we went every time Pete came to town. We had all of his records - both his solo titles and the ones he did with the Weavers. Since I spent a lot of time listening to the record player, I memorized all of the songs. It was only later when I owned a record store and tried to explain music to customers that I realized Pete Seeger was responsible for so many of the songs that had become engrained into our culture. Among them is "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and "Irene, Goodnight" which were huge pop hits before the days of Rock and Roll.　 He sang a song called "Wimoweh", which has been done a million times as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". And he is the one who is responsible for making "We Shall Overcome" the hymn of the civil rights movement. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is responsible for a good portion of all the songs that commonly appear on children's albums today. When I hear "Little Bird, Little Bird Fly Through my Window", the first song on this album, I am a little kid again.

--Barney

American Folk Singer Pete Seeger was quite prominent in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. Seeger's early work was influenced by fellow singer-activists Woody Guthrie and Huddie Ledbetter, whom he met while travelling. Seeger played on the radio prominently in the 1940s and 1950s, and was a member of The Weavers until 1958 when he left the group to pursue his solo career. His music was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He is perhaps best known for being involved in the creation of such classics as, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, If I Had a Hammer, and Turn, Turn, Turn!" which became a classic even outside of the folk genre.

Seeger has been awarded aGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Harvard Arts Medal, the Kennedy Center Award, the Presidential Medal of the Arts, and is honored in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to being a musician, singer, and songwriter, Seeger is also a labor activist, environmentalist, and peace advocate.

1 - Fly Through My Window (2:31)

2 - I Had a Rooser (3:54)

3 - Come All You Bold Sailormen (3:21)

4 - Old Gray Mule (2:00)

5 - Alligator, Hedgehog (0:44)

6 - Frog Went A-Courting (The Frog) (2:07)

7 - Raccoon's Got a Bushy Tail (1:21)

8 - I Know an Old Lady (Who Swallowed a Fly) (3:00)

9 - Ground Hog (2:12)

10 - Mister Rabbit (2:06)

11 - Grey Goose (The Grew Goose) (2:22)

12 - Teency Weency Spider (0:27)

13 - The Old Hen (2:30)

14 - Skip to my Lou (1:34)

15 - My Little Kitty (1:28)

16 - The Little Black Bull (2:07)

17 - Leatherwing Bat (2:20)

18 - The Keeper and the Doe (2:10)

19 - The Darby Ram (2:24)

20 - Mole in the Ground (1:15)

21 - The Fox (1:47)

22 - Turtle Dove (1:55)

23 - Old Paint (I Ride an Old Paint) (2:12)

24 - The Elephant (0:33)

25 - The Foolish Frog (7:11)

26 - Little Doggies (Whoopie Ti-Yi-Yo, Get along Little Doggies) (4:19)

27 - Bear Hunt (Cumberland Mountain Bear Hunt) (3:37)

28 - Old Blue (2:18)