If you went to public elementary school in the early 1980’s and had music class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember singing a lot of Beach Boys. I think it was whatever the teachers liked from
Their youth and wanted to hear.

We did a lot of 60s music— Beach Boys, Beatles, Mamas and Papas, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sang a lot of patriotic songs and “Americana” songs

Oh beautiful for spacious skies
Yankee doodle
Old John Henry was a mighty man
Something about the Erie Canal
Darlin’ Clementine
Streets of Laredo (not USA but a tearjerker!)
The stars at night are big and bright
Oh Susannah
Cape cod girls
Something about a cat on a roof?

My school district was pretty poor and filled with immigrants but we had a decent music program. A lot of kids I grew up became professional or semi-pro musicians. I joined a jazz ensemble in fifth grade and composed songs with my little group. We won state competitions.

OMG the cat on the roof song!

Oh Senor Don Gatto was a cat,
On a high red roof Don Gato sat,
He was there to read a letter (meow meow meow),
Where the reading light was better (meow meow meow)
Twas a love note for Don Gato.

Yes! We sang this! Lots of Halloween songs, a sort of parade of nations kind of thing, and that’s about all I remember. I don’t recall a lot of patriotic songs. This was FCPS.

[Anonymous]

I remember learning Waltzing Matilda and it led to lessons about Australia history that were eye-opening. I knew it was a continent, but not much else as an elementary school kid. My teachers were awesome.

I still know all the word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else sing "The Cat Came Back"? That is one f'ed up song.

Yes, I also sang all of the Americana songs, including Dixie.

Yes! What was with all the weird cat songs?!?

[Anonymous]

I drew up right outside of NYC and we sang a ton of Rogers & Hammerstein and show tunes.

We also had field trips to shows, too.

[Anonymous]

Rattlin Bog (now it is a drinking game). Lol.

[Anonymous]

Suburban school district in Mass - we sang all the African American spirituals, Lift Every Voice & Sing, pick a bale of cotton, some Americana stuff like John Henry type songs & folk songs. Our teacher was African American (in our mostly white wealthy suburb) and we got plenty of context about slavery. I am always surprised when the black national anthem gets sung cause I'm like 'why was I learning this & all these spirituals in 5th grade?' In hindsight, super 'woke' which the PP thinks didn't happen. Also kinda awkward? But yes, also sang the cat song, and then in jr high a lot of the popular songs of the day (Greatest Gift of All, The Children Are the Future, Godspell album which was really throwback 70s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I miss those songs. Now my kids’ elementary school music class doesn’t even sing songs in English.

Horseshit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sang a lot of patriotic songs and “Americana” songs

Oh beautiful for spacious skies
Yankee doodle
Old John Henry was a mighty man
Something about the Erie Canal
Darlin’ Clementine
Streets of Laredo (not USA but a tearjerker!)
The stars at night are big and bright
Oh Susannah
Cape cod girls
Something about a cat on a roof?

My school district was pretty poor and filled with immigrants but we had a decent music program. A lot of kids I grew up became professional or semi-pro musicians. I joined a jazz ensemble in fifth grade and composed songs with my little group. We won state competitions.

Yes Americana galore. Mid Atlantic and Midwest schools. Also our school performed 'We are the World' at some fundraising event. song was by Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie or maybe it was with Michael Jackson.

[Anonymous]

The only ones I remember are

The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea
Squishing up my baby bumble be (no idea if that's the actual title LOL)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only ones I remember are

The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea
Squishing up my baby bumble be (no idea if that's the actual title LOL)

I remember the bumblebee one from summer camp. Camp songs were great . . . but my ancient, shrill-voiced elementary school music teacher would have been horrified at the thought of singing anything fun or written before 1960.

[Anonymous]

I went to elementary school in the early 80s and we had music class once a week.

Sang all the popular songs that have been mentioned, lots of American Folk songs from Stephen Foster to Woodie Guthrie.

When I went to middle school, we had a 9 weeks of music class. That teacher was obsessed with the Beatles. Penny Lane and When I'm Sixty-Four where particularly popular. Also for some reason the Drunken Sailor song was big on his list as well.

One year, I lucked out and we had music class during Christmas season so we sang a ton of carols. I saw three ships. Good King Wenceslas. Fun memories.

[Anonymous]

Father Abraham had many sons
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
(which I just looked up and learned was a vaudeville song about German immigrants having hard to pronounce names)

[Anonymous]

I remember our class sang “Bless the Beasts and the Children” during one of our choir performances as a tribute to Karen Carpenter shortly after she died. That one really sticks out in my memory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sang a lot of patriotic songs and “Americana” songs

Oh beautiful for spacious skies
Yankee doodle
Old John Henry was a mighty man
Something about the Erie Canal
Darlin’ Clementine
Streets of Laredo (not USA but a tearjerker!)
The stars at night are big and bright
Oh Susannah
Cape cod girls
Something about a cat on a roof?

My school district was pretty poor and filled with immigrants but we had a decent music program. A lot of kids I grew up became professional or semi-pro musicians. I joined a jazz ensemble in fifth grade and composed songs with my little group. We won state competitions.

OMG the cat on the roof song!

Oh Senor Don Gatto was a cat,
On a high red roof Don Gato sat,
He was there to read a letter (meow meow meow),
Where the reading light was better (meow meow meow)
Twas a love note for Don Gato.

Senior Del Gato was what I thought it was!

I adore you wrote the lady cat
Who was fluffy white and nice and fat
...
Aye carumba cried Del Gato!

great song

Also...I am the music man, I come from far away, and I play...what do you play?
The pia pia piano the piano the piano