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Description
This time every year I say goodbye to some very special little people. This song is an idea I’ve tossed around for a while. Every now and again while at work, usually on the playground, I have this epiphany.
“Hey! They’re only 6 and 7 years old!”
In this age of high-stakes standardized testing it‘s easy to be so focused on what needs to be done that I briefly forget who they really are. Then I see a group of them amazed by a grasshopper or engaged in an intense game of freeze-tag and I’m reminded just how young they are.
During one recent recess (excuse me…..teacher directed PE) most of my class was jumping rope. While two students turned the rope the others took turns jumping in and counting their successful jumps. To stay in rhythm and keep count they all chanted this rhyme.
Ice cream, Ice cream, cherry on the top
How many girlfriends do you got,
One, two, three, four, etc,
I thought maybe I could use it in a song. So I grabbed my iPhone and typed the words to their rhyme into the notepad app. After that I was off and running. In the days that followed as lines occurred to me I’d type them into the iPhone. In a few days I had the lyrics finished, although I didn’t see a way to work in the kids’ rhyme.
The chords and song form came together quickly. I recorded a couple acoustic guitar tracks and vocals and sent the mix to Karen (magnatone) to get some feedback. She liked what I had and encouraged me to post it. I told her I first wanted to record the kids on the playground and use that during the fade out. She liked the idea and suggested I do the same to start the song. That’s when it dawned on me. The kids’ rhyme could count in the song. This past Tuesday when we went out to recess (excuse me…..teacher directed PE) I used the voice-memo app to record the students at play. I also held one end of the rope while they took turns jumping and chanting.
Thank you Karen for taking the time to listen and encourage me. And thanks to you the rhyme that originally got this idea rolling made it to the posted version after all.
“Hey! They’re only 6 and 7 years old!”
In this age of high-stakes standardized testing it‘s easy to be so focused on what needs to be done that I briefly forget who they really are. Then I see a group of them amazed by a grasshopper or engaged in an intense game of freeze-tag and I’m reminded just how young they are.
During one recent recess (excuse me…..teacher directed PE) most of my class was jumping rope. While two students turned the rope the others took turns jumping in and counting their successful jumps. To stay in rhythm and keep count they all chanted this rhyme.
Ice cream, Ice cream, cherry on the top
How many girlfriends do you got,
One, two, three, four, etc,
I thought maybe I could use it in a song. So I grabbed my iPhone and typed the words to their rhyme into the notepad app. After that I was off and running. In the days that followed as lines occurred to me I’d type them into the iPhone. In a few days I had the lyrics finished, although I didn’t see a way to work in the kids’ rhyme.
The chords and song form came together quickly. I recorded a couple acoustic guitar tracks and vocals and sent the mix to Karen (magnatone) to get some feedback. She liked what I had and encouraged me to post it. I told her I first wanted to record the kids on the playground and use that during the fade out. She liked the idea and suggested I do the same to start the song. That’s when it dawned on me. The kids’ rhyme could count in the song. This past Tuesday when we went out to recess (excuse me…..teacher directed PE) I used the voice-memo app to record the students at play. I also held one end of the rope while they took turns jumping and chanting.
Thank you Karen for taking the time to listen and encourage me. And thanks to you the rhyme that originally got this idea rolling made it to the posted version after all.
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Lyrics
Just Be a Kid
Words & Music by alackbass
We've been at it for months now
We gave it all we got
We may not have done it all
But we sure did a lot
I'm sure we both get tired
When we look back at all we did
I think it's time for a little break
And let you be a kid
We had some laughs
We shed some tears
It wasn't always fun
Sometimes I needed to remind myself
Just how far you had come
Go chase the sun and feel the breeze
Find a shading tree and sit
Might be a time for a little break
And let you be a kid
How you have grown
And the places you will go
There were challenges
I knew you'd rise above
As for me, it was easy to see
Not a day went by when I thought I wasn't loved
I think it's getting near the time
When we'll have to say goodbye
Some of us forever
Some for a little while
Wherever life may take you
And even when you're big
Takes some time for a little break
And let yourself just be a kid
Words & Music by alackbass
We've been at it for months now
We gave it all we got
We may not have done it all
But we sure did a lot
I'm sure we both get tired
When we look back at all we did
I think it's time for a little break
And let you be a kid
We had some laughs
We shed some tears
It wasn't always fun
Sometimes I needed to remind myself
Just how far you had come
Go chase the sun and feel the breeze
Find a shading tree and sit
Might be a time for a little break
And let you be a kid
How you have grown
And the places you will go
There were challenges
I knew you'd rise above
As for me, it was easy to see
Not a day went by when I thought I wasn't loved
I think it's getting near the time
When we'll have to say goodbye
Some of us forever
Some for a little while
Wherever life may take you
And even when you're big
Takes some time for a little break
And let yourself just be a kid
Skweryl
YOU ARE AWESOME!