As I was getting ready for my program, Music Mania, I did what I always do; I research tunes that I can play on violin or guitar. However, I didn't expect Thanksgiving to be an underappreciated musical holiday. Of course, many may already know that "Over the River and Through the Woods" would be a spectacular tune to play as it is a Thanksgiving song. However, it’s not a very interactive song and at times...these kids get bored fast if you don't keep them moving. So, what did I do? I changed up the lyrics on a few tunes I already had and created some new ones as well. One song in particular that I really enjoyed was a traditional mountain music song I found which held only one verse and one refrain. I ended up creating 3 new verses by finding a silly Thanksgiving poem and inserting the refrain after every verse.
Turkey Song
As I came over yonders hill,
I spied a mighty turkey,
he flapped his wings and he spread his tail,
and his feet looked awful dirty.
Refrain
Fol-link-a-tidy,
Fol-de-link-a-tidy-o,
Fol-link-a-tidy,
and his feet looked awful dirty.
I'm full of tomatoes,
and french fried potatoes,
my stomach is swollen and sore,
but there's still some dessert,
so I guess it won't hurt,
if I eat just a little bit more.
Refrain
Using tunes with simple refrain or chorus are always the best to use with children; especially if they are silly and easy to learn.