Birds, Beasts, Bugs & Fishes Little & Big: Animal Folk Songs [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Folk music represents the best of Americana, and nobody performs folk music better than Pete Seeger. This charming collection of animal songs, remastered from two Seeger LPs originally recorded in 1955, will delight children and parents alike. Comfortable, well-known titles like "I Had a Rooster," "Frog Went A-Courting," "Skip to My Lou," and "I Know an Old Lady (Who Swallowed a Fly)" allow for great family sing-alongs. This album is an excellent example of the simplicity of traditional folk music, with Seeger's warm, friendly vocals and a single yet finely picked banjo as accompaniment. Birds, Beasts, Bugs & Fishes would be an excellent choice for car trips as well as for feeling right at home in your living room. --Deborah Moore

Album Description
Pete Seeger released 28 songs and stories about animals on two short LP records in 1955 to an enthusiastic audience. Ever since, they have been sung by generations of parents, grandparents, and children. The two original releases have been combined on this single CD creating an irresistible collection of songs to sing along with, to draw pictures about, to play hand games to, and to be enjoyed by the entire family.

Tracks:

Fly Through My Window
I Had A Rooster
Come All You Bold Sailormen
Old Grey Mule
Alligator, Hedgehog
Frog Went A-Courting
Raccoon's Got A Bushy Tail
I Know An Old Lady (Who Swallowed A Fly)
Ground Hog
Mister Rabbit
Grey Goose
Teency Weency Spider
The Old Hen
Skip To My Lou
My Little Kitty
The Little Black Bull
Leatherwing Bat
The Keeper And The Doe
The Darby Ram
Mole In The Ground
The Fox
Turtle Dove
Old Paint
The Elephant
The Foolish Frog
Little Doggies
Bear Hunt
Old Blue

Amazon.com

Folk music represents the best of Americana, and nobody performs folk music better than Pete Seeger. This charming collection of animal songs, remastered from two Seeger LPs originally recorded in 1955, will delight children and parents alike. Comfortable, well-known titles like "I Had a Rooster," "Frog Went A-Courting," "Skip to My Lou," and "I Know an Old Lady (Who Swallowed a Fly)" allow for great family sing-alongs. This album is an excellent example of the simplicity of traditional folk music, with Seeger's warm, friendly vocals and a single yet finely picked banjo as accompaniment. Birds, Beasts, Bugs & Fishes would be an excellent choice for car trips as well as for feeling right at home in your living room. --Deborah Moore

Album Description

Pete Seeger released 28 songs and stories about animals on two short LP records in 1955 to an enthusiastic audience. Ever since, they have been sung by generations of parents, grandparents, and children. The two original releases have been combined on this single CD creating an irresistible collection of songs to sing along with, to draw pictures about, to play hand games to, and to be enjoyed by the entire family.

Customer Reviews:

Great fun, reminder of childhood in the 50's.......2006-08-25

This is a wonderful cd for children and adults. The songs are simple and fun--a reminder of a gentler time. My children loved these songs as much as I loved them when I was a child. Highly recommended.

Even babies love this music.......2005-06-22

I was just introduced to this music in a playgroup for 6-12 month olds. They were all babbling and playing away when we turned on "I had a rooster". Within seconds the babies were completely silent and looking towards the direction of the music completely entralled! Some of them even started bouncing to it! A huge hit! I immediately came home and ordered a copy.

For my children too.......2003-04-03

My parents borrowed this record from the library and recorded it to casette to listen to on our first long car trip.I was probably four years old. It quickly became a family favorite. Somewhere a long the way the tape was lost. Two decades had passed when just the other day I happend to catch a snippet of Froggie Went A Courtin on a public radio station. All of those memories came flooding back. Now I am buying it for my own children. I don't know what speaks more powerfully for this album than that.

For my children too.......2003-04-03

A reminder of my early school days.......2003-03-02

For me, this is pure nostalgia - it brings back memories of the fifties. It seems from reading other reviews that today's young children get as much pleasure from this music as those of my generation did, although I can't imagine anybody recording music this way now.

I don't remember all the songs, but I recognise several of them. I know an old lady is immediately recognisable from the title, but I recognised others immediately upon hearing them again, including The keeper and the doe - it has the (for me) immortal chorus lines

hey down hoe down derry derry down
among the leaves so green-o.

Of course, in the age we now live, some of these songs are not politically correct and some may not appeal to vegetarians, but I don't ever remember hearing much about vegetarians until the eighties. Before then, there were very few of them around. I don't mind such people, but Pete could hardly have been expected to consider them when these songs were recorded.

I read another review where somebody complained about Pete's imitations of animal noises. I'm sure that a modern recording of such songs would use authentic animal noises, but again, this music must be seen as a product of its time.

So, this is a fun album, not to be taken too seriously, which can be enjoyed by young children, or by adults trying to remember when they were young children themselves.

Music:

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