Little Red Wagon
Parents' Choice Gold Award
NAPPA Gold Award
“An irresistible collection of gentle, playful, life-celebrating songs for listeners young and old.”
Little Red Wagon
Timmy Abell
Found a little old wagon, broken down, broken down, broken down
A little old wagon, broken down, all around this world
So I fixed it up as best I could, best I could, best I could
I fixed it up as best I could, all around this world
Now theres little old wagons painted red, painted red, painted red
Little old wagons painted red, all around this world
Then I made a seat of the softest quilt, softest quilt, softest quilt
Made a seat of a goose down quilt, all around this world
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then I pulled my wagon over to her house, to her house, to her house
I pulled my wagon over to her house, all around this world
And the apple blossoms smelled so sweet, smelled so sweet, ... so sweet
The apple blossoms smelled so sweet, all around this world
And I heard the bees abuzzing round, buzzing round, buzzing round
I heard the bees abuzzing round, all around this world
And there she was all dressed in white, dressed in white, dressed in white
She looked so good all dressed in white, all around this world
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then I pulled my love along the road, along the road, along the road
I pulled my love all along the road, all around this world
Then I pulled her down to the millers pond, the millers pond, to the millers pond
I pulled her down to the old mill pond, all around this world
I saw my face in her pretty brown eyes, her pretty brown eyes, her pretty brown eyes
Saw my face in her pretty brown eyes, all around this world
And the water wheel went around and round, round and round, round and round
The water wheel went around and round, all around this world
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Found a little old wagon, broken down, broken down, broken down
A little old wagon, broken down, all around this world
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
Going To Grandma's
Timmy Abell
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
How will we get that far? We'll ride in a motor-car
Out the window, all the people, rushing 'round a busy town
Ride in a car...........off to Grandma's house!
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
Unpack the motor-car, hop on a subway train
Out the window, underground, way too dark to look around
Ride in a car, hop on a subway...........off to Grandma's house!
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
Hop off the subway train, jump on a big blue bus
Out the window, see the runway, silver planes are touchin' down
Ride in a car, hop on a subway, jump on a bus...........off to Grandma's house!
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
Jump off the big blue bus, fly on a big jet plane
Out the window, way below, tiny things are moving slow
Ride in a car, hop on a subway, jump on a bus, fly on an airplane
...........off to Grandma's house!
I love to look out windows!
I like to fly up high
Can't wait to see my Grandma
Hope she bakes a cherry pie
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long long way....
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
Step off the big jet plane, grab us a taxi-cab
Out the window, other people, rushing 'round another town
Ride in a car, hop on a subway, jump on a bus, fly on an airplane, grab us a cab
...........off to Grandma's house!
I'm goin' to see my Grandma
Sure is a long, long way....
Pay off the taxi-cab, ride on a railroad train
Out the window, moving fast, fields and farms are flashing past
Ride in a car, hop on a subway, jump on a bus, fly on an airplane, grab us a cab,
ride on the railroad ...........off to Grandma's house!
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
Off of the railroad train, float on a ferry boat
Out the window, sailin' by, other boats are wavin' "Hi!"
Ride in a car, hop on a subway, jump on a bus, fly on an airplane, grab us a cab,
ride on the railroad, float on a boat ...........off to Grandma's house!
I'm goin' to see my Grandma!
Sure is a long, long way
Good-bye to the ferry boat, and load up grandpa's truck
Out the window, looks familiar, one more turn to grandma's house
Ride in a car, hop on a subway, jump on a bus, fly on an airplane, grab us a cab,
ride the railroad, float on a boat, grandpa's truck ....Hey, look!..
This is Grandma's house!
Hi! Grandma, here's a hug
I can't wait for cherry pie
Guess how we got to your house......
We rode in a car, hopped on a subway, jumped on a bus, flew on an airplane,
grabbed us a cab, rode on the railroad, floated a boat, 'n' grandpa's truck......
I'm glad to see my Grandma!
Sure was a long, long way
So many things to ride on......Uh, Oh!
I forgot my bike....... ("Let's go Back!")
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
Secrets
Timmy Abell
I once had a secret, tried so hard to keep it
I tucked it quite safely away in my head
To the person who whispered it to me - I promised
That nothing about it would ever be said
A cat in a bag becomes very uncomfortable
Birds in a cage become eager to fly
Pen something in, it will try to get out
A secret can't wait to get whispered about
Now this mischievous secret, I could not believe it
Was seeking a way to get out of my head
In a chat with a friend it appeared that his ears
Were begging to hear something secret instead
I gave it some thought and it seemed I should not
Keep a secret away from my very best friend
So a promise was made and I whispered it in
And the secret had managed to move on again
Chorus
Well the secret was eager to find other ears
I'm afraid with my friend that it didn't take long
He gave some resistance, but two younger sisters
With giggles convinced him to whisper it on
The secret was thrilled, and it soon had the girls
Plan a neighborhood party for all of their friends
The next thing I knew it was me they included
And the secret was whispered to me once again
Chorus
If you let the cat out of the bag it might scratch
But the door of a cage is to set something free
With a life of its own, if your secret gets out
Have no doubt that it's bound to be whispered about
Chorus
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
“ “Secrets” is a textbook example of how to write a children’s song with moral content, illustrating the point rather than lecturing the listener. The song combines a nifty metaphorical chorus (“A cat in a bag becomes very uncomfortable / Birds in a cage become eager to fly”) with verses about the progress of a secret through the narrator’s circle of acquaintances to show what happens to secrets rather than saying “Secrets Are Bad!” It’s a neatly effective track.”
Sailor's Hornpipe
Traditional
This popular concertina melody accompanies a wonderful set dance
which imitates the antics of a sailor's life aboard ship.
The tune became a theme for the Popeye cartoons in the 1950's and has entertained every generation since.
My Own Grandpa
Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe
Many many years ago, when I was twenty-three
I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be
The widow had a grown up daughter who had hair of red
My father fell in love with her, and soon the two were wed
Well, that made Dad my son-in-law which almost changed my life
My daughter was my mother, though she was my father's wife
To complicate the matter even though it brought me joy
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy
That little boy, he then became a brother-in-law to Dad
Which made him my uncle, which made me kind of sad
Because if he was my uncle, then he also was the brother
To the widow's grown-up daughter, who of course was my step-mother
My father had a little boy, which kept him on the run
The kid he was my grandchild though he was my father's son
My wife is now my mother's mother, which makes me kind of blue
To think that though she is my wife, she's my grandmother too
Because if she is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild
Now every time I think of this, it almost drives me wild
For I've become the strangest sight that anyone ever saw
As husband to my grandmother, I am my own Grandpa....
Oh I'm my own Grandpa, I'm my own grandpa
It seems funny I know, but really it's so
I'm my own Grandpa
(© 1947 General Music Publishing Co., Inc.)
“My Own Grandfather
After long years as a bachelor I was tired of being alone and married a widow with a grown daughter. My father fell in love with the daughter and took her as his wife. This made me my own son-in-law and my stepdaughter became my mother. After a year my wife gave birth to a son. Now, my son was my father’s brother-in-law and at the same time my uncle, since he was my stepmother’s brother. But my father’s wife also gave birth to a son. So this was my brother and also my grandson, since he was the son of my daughter. This meant I’d married my grandmother, since she was the mother of my mother. As my wife’s husband, I was also her grandson. And since the husband of a grandmother is always a grandfather, I am my own grandfather.
Mark Twain
”
Mother Was A Goose
Timmy Abell
Mother was a goose, babies on the loose
Strike up the fiddle, won't you give us a riddle
What' ya gonna to do, if you're living in a shoe
Rollin' on down the road
Don't start cryin' if you think it's funny
If it starts in a'rainin' it'll end up sunny
One and the same pocketful of change
Rollin' on down the road
Banjo man is a'beatin' on a goat skin
Singin' up a storm all the live-long day
Can't remember if he oughta forget about
Comin' or goin' away
Mouse chased the cat, cheese ate the rat
Strike up the fiddle, won't you sing us a riddle
Cow ate the moon with the dish and the spoon
Rollin' on down the road
Silver little bells, cockle little shells
Strike up the fiddle won't you give us a riddle
Toad went to court'n'froggie's too short to go...
Rollin' on down the road
Chorus
Lookin' like an egg, two funny little legs
Strike up the fiddle won't you give us a riddle
Sittin' on a wall, took a little fall...went
Rollin' on down the road
Candlestick lit......Jack be quick
Strike up the fiddle won't you give us a riddle
Took a little spill with Jill on the hill...went
Rollin' on down the road
Chorus
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
Like Love
Timmy Abell
As I went out in the world one day
Sun and moon and stars above
I met two fish along my way
Theres nothing in this world like love
One fish said to the other
Look! Were living in water!
I said Hey, thats a little like love
Aha! Thats a little like love.
Water, water, its all around
Without the water those fish would drown
Its what they need.... to glide along
Its a little like love
As I went out in the world one day
Sun and moon and stars above
I met two birds along my way
Theres nothing in this world like love
One bird said to the other,
Look! Were flying free...together!
I said Hey, thats a little like love
Aha! Thats a little like love.
The sky, the air.... its everywhere
Flying high, without a care
Its where they play and find their wings
Its a little like love
As I went out in the world one day
Sun and moon and stars above
I met two trees along my way
Theres nothing in this world like love
One tree said to the other,
Look whats flowing here inside us!
I said Hey, thats a little like love
Aha! Thats a little like love.
Theres sap in the leaf and the twig and limb
Root and flower, its all one thing
Flows from the source through everything
Its a little like love
I dove to the bottom of the deepest sea
Looked to the sky and spread my wings
Searched the forest on the mountaintop
Then I remembered .... every day
I hear your voice or see your face
Theres nothing in this world like love
.................... Like love
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
Turkey in the Straw
Traditional
Well I had a little chicken but she wouldn't lay an egg
So I poured hot water up and down her leg
Well the little chicken cried, and the little chicken begged
The little chicken laid me up a hard-boiled egg!
Turkey in the straw, turkey in the hay
Roll 'em up, twist 'em up - a - high tuck-a-haw
And twist 'em up a tune called the Turkey in the Straw
Well, I went to the river but I couldn't get across
So I paid five dollars for an old blind horse
Well, he wouldn't go ahead but he wouldn't stand still
He just went up and down like an old saw mill
Chorus
Well I had a little duck and his name was Blue
And a white duck, pretty duck, he was, too
Well the skin on his chest was as tight as a drum
Every time he took a step he went Tweedle-dum-a-dum
Chorus
Well I went down to Asheville and I walked around a block
And I walked right into the bakery shop
I pulled two doughnuts right out of the grease
And I handed the lady a five cent piece
Well..... she..... looked at the nickel and she looked at me
And she said, "This nickel's no good, you see
There's a hole in the middle and its all the way through."
Says I, "There's a hole in your doughnuts too!"
Chorus
Well if frogs had wings and snakes had hair
And automobiles went a flyin through the air
Well if watermelons grew on a huckleberry vine
Wed all have winter in the summertime
Chorus
Did you ever go a-fishin' on a hot summer day
And you walked on a log, and the log gave away?
Sugar in the gourd and honey in the horn
Never been so happy since the day I was born
Chorus
Peace Will Dawn
Timmy Abell
~~ Its darkest right before the dawn
So no one knows when peace will come
Its like times we feel lost in the dark
When love goes hiding from our hearts
But then the suns rays split the night
And scatter darkness into light
Wake up, wake up ...... its a brand new day
Another chance for peace to find a way
~~ Around and round the seasons go
Summer rains and winter snow
Changing.....changing every day
So clouds of war can fade away
Just let the world keep spinning round
Thats how the proper time is found
As winter finds its way to spring
A path to peace is unfolding
~~ Wise men say that nothing lasts
Time goes on, This, too, shall pass.
Right now were here inside this song
........Then another comes along
There is one thing, though, deep inside
It never changes, ........never dies
The part of us where love begins
Goes on and on.... and never ends
~~ Many rivers flow down to the sea
Many hearts together.... lead to peace
Then rising high, then raining down
The water circles round and round
Tomorrow brings another day
The seasons somehow find their way
If love goes on and on and on......
Peace in our hearts will surely dawn
If love goes on and on and on......
Then peace on earth will surely dawn
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
All Is Well
Timmy Abell
Bells are ringing, children singing
Laughing, trudging homeward weary
Clocks are chiming and reminding
Time has come to be unwinding
All is well, the day is ending
Soon to leave you sleeping deeply
Dreaming on your distant shore
And peaceful evermore
Sun is sinking, slowly weaving
Colors through the velvet evening
Moon is rising, stars aligning
Through your window sweetly shining
Chorus
Drowsy yawning, head is nodding
Sleepy winking eyes are blinking
Voices fading, lambs parading
Pillow softly stills your thinking
Chorus
(© 2005, Local Honey Music, ASCAP)
CD Liner Notes
Cover Art by Cam Waff