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New Series! Fun Folk Songs, #1: The Green Grass Grew All Around

Besides adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, I also work with K-12 students with severe cognitive disabilities. Possibly due to my Orff background, I rely a lot on a variety of folk songs--yes, there are age appropriate folk songs for even adolescents and young adults! One reason I LOVE folk songs?  Most of the beloved 'classics' are SO classic that they are public domain.  There is also a rich oral tradition in folk songs, which makes variations plentiful, so there is always a new version out there to give you new ideas.  This series will explore a few of my current favorites.

Today, we are looking at one appropriate for younger (elementary aged) children. The range and repetition of pitches in our song today makes it appropriate for younger voices.  One particular genre of children's folk songs that I especially love are pile-up songs, where they have a list of some sort that grows and grows while the song continues.  These types of songs present great opportunities for repetition and sequencing. This song is one such example.



The Green Grass Grows All Around
There was a (D) hole, in the middle of the ground,
The prettiest hole, that you ever did (A7) see.
And the (D) green grass (A7) grew all a-(D)round, all a-(G)round, and the (D) green grass (A7) grew all a-(D)round.

And in this hole, there was a tree,
The prettiest tree, that you ever did see.
A tree in the hole and a hole in the ground, 
And the green grass grew all around all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And on this tree, there was a branch,
The prettiest branch, that you ever did see.
A branch on the tree, and a tree in the hole, and the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And on this branch, there was a nest,
The prettiest nest, that you ever did see.
A nest on the branch, and a branch on the tree, and a tree in the hole, and the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And on this branch, there was a nest,
The prettiest nest, that you ever did see.
A nest on the branch, and a branch on the tree, and a tree in the hole, and the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And in this nest, there was an egg,
The prettiest egg, that you ever did see.
An egg in the nest, and a nest on the branch, and a branch on the tree, 
and a tree in the hole, and the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And in this egg, there was a bird,
The prettiest bird, that you ever did see.
A bird in the egg, and an egg in the nest, and a nest on the branch, 
and a branch on the tree, and a tree in the hole, and the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And bird, there was a bug,
The prettiest bug, that you ever did see.
A bug on the bird, and a bird in the egg, and an egg in the nest, and a nest on the branch, 
and a branch on the tree, and a tree in the hole, and the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around. 

 My variations:
  • When introducing the song, I always draw a picture on the board, adding each element as the song progresses. We discuss seasonal changes to increase environmental awareness and reality orientation, as well.
  • You may have noticed that my version doesn't include all the extras you know and love.  One important adaptation I have made is limiting the number of items in our sequence to remember.  I also do not introduce the entire song at once, even though it is already shortened, as it would be overwhelming for my population.
  • I add ASL for a few key words throughout the song each time they appear.  Each word that is highlighted in the above song will link you to the ASL sign for that word in case you would like to do this, too!  ASL is important in my communication with my students, since many are nonverbal but take to gestural language easily.

What about you?  Any new twists on this song?  I have visions of a felt board or file folder game with manipulatives for each part, or adding instrument parts for each word, but will probably save those for enrichment activities next fall.  When working with children of typical cognitive development, I generally ask for children's suggestions to rewrite or extend the song, or we create our very own pile-up song from scratch.
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