Each verse depicts a different animal mother's love, evident through her instructing her young with an important survival skill in the specific environment of which they live--all the living, growing things indiginous to that region, whether planted in the earth or creeping on or flying above are elements of the song.
OVER IN THE MEADOW - Olive A. Wadsworth
Traditional
Over in the meadow
In the sand in the sun, lived an
Old mother turtle and her
Little turtle one.
"Dig," said the mother,
"I dig," said the one, and they
Dug all day in the sand in the sun.
Over in the meadow where the
Stream runs blue, lived an
Old mother fish and her
Little fishies two.
"Swim," said the mother,
"We swim," said the two, and they
Swam all day where the stream runs blue.
Over in the meadow in a hole in the tree,
Lived an old mother owl and her
Little owls three.
"Whoo," said the mother,
"We whoo," said the three, and they
Whooed all day in the hole in the tree.
Over in the meadow by the old barn door,
Lived an old mother rat and her
Little ratties four.
"Gnaw," said the mother,
"We gnaw," said the four, and they
Gnawed all day on by the old barn door.
Over in the meadow in a snug beehive,
Lived an old mother bee and her
Little bees five.
"Buzz," said the mother,
"We buzz," said the five, and they
Buzzed all day in the snug beehive.
Over in the meadow in a nest built of sticks,
Lived an old mother crow and her
Little crows six.
"Caw," said the mother,
"We caw," said the six, and they
Cawed all day in the nest built of sticks.
Over in the meadow where the grass grows so even,
Lived an old mother frog and her
Little froggies seven.
"Jump," said the mother,
"We jump," said the seven, and they
Jumped all day where the grass grows so even.
Over in the meadow by the old mossy gate,
Lived an old mother lizard and her
Little lizards eight.
"Bask," said the mother,
"We bask," said the eight, and they
Basked all day by the old mossy gate.
Over in the meadow by the old scotch pine,
Lived an old mother duck and her
Little duckies nine.
"Quack," said the mother,
"We quack," said the nine, and they
Quacked all day by the old scotch pine.
Over in the meadow in a cozy, wee den,
Lived an old mother beaver and her
Little beavers ten.
"Beave," said the mother,
"We beave," said the ten, and they
Beaved all day in their cozy, wee den.
There's another take of that song in book form titled Deep In the Swamp. It was modeled after the traditional song, but contains the flora and fauna of Okefenokee swamplife. One verse:
Deep in the swamp, in the warm morning sun
Lived a mother river otter and her little pup One
"Splash!" said the mother, "I splash!" said the One
So they splashed and they played inthe warm morning sun.
There's also a mother alligator basking in the sun with her many babies....
Cyprus trees 'reaching up to heaven'....
Etc.
And then there's an even bigger version--a worldly one, a book titled Earth Song. This one is about endangered animals from all over the world.... here's a clip of a review:
Eleven endangered animals from many regions of the world care for their young in this numerical rhyming scheme borrowed from the traditional folk song "Over in the Meadow." Rogers utilizes lyrics she has previously recorded, framing them with opening and closing scenes featuring several children and their grandparents. "'Sing!' said my grandpa. 'Let's sing!' said we./And this is what we sang upon my grandpa's knee." Double-page views go on to feature right whales in the north Atlantic Ocean, pandas far away in China, Bengal tigers in the Bangladeshi jungles, several more mammals, rain forest birds, and assorted reptiles. Mathis's simple, folk-style creatures are handsomely grouped in deep-hued, framed paintings. The animals all appear in a quilt grandmother is sewing in the opening scene, and the quilt also serves as rich endpapers. Concluding factual notes on each of the animals expand the simple lesson on caring for the Earth and its creatures, and the music for the song appears on the back of the book jacket. The thrust is both unabashedly didactic and appealing.
So... during Earth Appreciation week last month I "read" (rather,"sang"--as any teacher worth his/her salt must 'sing' the story while turning the pages rather than 'read' it!) both books to my class, and Earth Song particularly always brings a tear to my eye while singing the moving final verse.
Anyway, yesterday while in my school library, I came across the original "Over In The Meadow" book which I did not read last month and so I 'read' it to my class. Afterwards, all those glorious feelings of meadowlife and that catchy little tune were very prominent and I'd been humming or 'doo doo doo doo doo doo-ing' or whistling it throughout the rest of the day, even in my car on the way home..... and so, to my great surprise, as I turned down a road I'd never driven upon before, I was delighted to come upon my 'own' meadow! Here are a few images of this meadowlife. Of course I can think of my own lyrics, but I'll let the images speak for themselves.
(Sorry, I can't resist adding this 'pooping' one!)
