Lyrics & Clips

OPPOSITE DAY (3:04)           MP3
by Ron Sowell (Dog Feathers Music, BMI)
and Jon Wikstrom (Ironic Juxtaposition Music ASCAP)

Mom says put your elbows on the table
Open wide when you chew
Eat all of your ice cream
You can't have broccoli till you're through

Ya gotta watch your cartoons
Before you can do your chores
And when it starts rainin' hard
Then you can play outdoors

CHORUS
On Opposite Day
You get confused
You get mad when things go right
And laugh when you get the blues
You can't do any homework
Till after you play
Cause everything is backwards
On Opposite Day

You might hear your cat start barkin'
See dogs climbin' trees
Clean your room before you have to
Ask your mom to make more peas

Boys might play with Barbies
Girls with G.I. Joes
You'll be amazed in lots of ways
But that's the way it goes

REPEAT CHORUS

Spinach rots your teeth
Cookies make you strong
Dad says it's good for you
If you stay up all night long

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / acoustic guitar
Ammed Solomon - drums
Chris Allen - bass
Bill Dingess - piano
Doug Payne - ewi
The Kids Chorus

HI-LOW-MINNY MINNY HA-CAH (2:39)           MP3
by Jim Kimball (Jimmy Jangle Music BMI 1992)

When Jill and Bill were little kids
They made a secret vow
They started up a secret club
Where grown-ups weren't allowed
They had a secret handshake.
A secret clubhouse too.
But best of all, they had a call
That everybody knew. And it went...

CHORUS
Hi-Low-Minny-Minny-Ha-Cah
Oom-pa-pa, oom-chee-wah-wah
Shim-sham filly billy rang tang
Feel tom tommy-oh
Hi-Low-Minny-Minny-Ha-Cah
Oom-pa-pa, oom-chee-wah-wah
Shim-sham filly billy rang tang
Feel tom tommy-oh

One day they played like pioneers
Exploring in the woods
It soon became another game
To capture Robin Hood
Then all at once Jill looked around
And noticed she was lost
She prayed that Bill would find her
She kept all her fingers crossed
then she heard....

Hi-Low-Minny-Minny-Ha-Cah
Oom-pa-pa, oom-chee-wa-wa
She yelled back
Shim-sham, filly billy rang tang
Feel tom tommy-oh
Hi-Low-Minny-Minny-Ha-Cah
Oom-pa-pa, oom-chee-wah-wah
Shim-sham filly billy rang tang
Feel tom tommy-oh

When Jill and Bill were all grown up
They took a different vow
They spent their life as man and wife
As parents they were proud
Their children had more children
The family grew and grew
And through it all they had a call
That everybody knew. And it went...

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / acoustic guitar
Ammed Solomon - drums
Billy Dingess - piano
Chris Allen - bass
Will Parsons - banjo
Steve Accord - mandolin
The Kids Chorus

MONSTER UNDER MY BED (2:18)           MP3
by Ron Sowell, Mira Stanley and Bob Webb (Dog Feathers Music, BMI)

There's a monster under my bed
That's right you heard what I said
He's got big green eyes
And a large yellow nose
And purple hair on his head
He's got bad breath
Cause he doesn't brush his teeth
And he's grumpy when he doesn't get fed
I'm sorry daddy but I can't go to sleep
It's not my fault that I can't count sheep
Cause I don't want to wake up dead
There's a monster under my bed

There's a little kid on top of my bed
That's right you heard what I said
She's got big blue eyes
And a little freckled nose
And red hair on her head
She's got minty breath
Cause she just brushed her teeth
And she's jumping up and down on my head
I'm sorry daddy but I can't go to sleep
It's not my fault that I can't count creeps
Cause I don't want to wake up dead
There's a little kid on top of my bed.

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / acoustic guitar
Bill Dingess - piano / strings
Chris Allen - bass
Ammed Solomon - drums

BACKYARD TIN CAN BAND (4:55)           MP3
by Ron Sowell (Dog Feathers Music, BMI)

Stretched out on the sofa
Last Saturday morning
I heard some music
I didn't know where it was coming from
So I checked my CD, but it was not spinning
I looked at my TV, but it was not on
That's when I reached for the back door
Turned the handle, pushed it open
And this is what I saw

CHORUS
I saw Jerome on the stove pipe
Little Les hitting hand jive
Bernadette with a broomstick
Beating on a cardboard box
Tyrone with a garden hose
Making sounds like a trumpet
And they were beating out a rhythm, singing out a song
Getting down with the Backyard Tin Can Band, GET DOWN!

They didn't have any money
For drums and electric guitars
But you don't need money
When you have a song inside
So they went to the junk yard
And used imagination
It was their invitation
To making music all day long
Soon they were rocking, hopping and be-bopping
Making music and having fun

REPEAT CHORUS

There's music in the mountains
There's music in the valleys
There's music in the cities
Yes, there's music in your own backyard
Just use your imagination - To fit your situation
You'll be a swinging congregation
Making music and having fun

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / electric guitar / hose-a-phone
Ammed Solomon - drums / percussion
Chris Allen - bass
Billy Dingess - organ
Ryan Kennedy - electric guitar
The Kids Chorus

LA BAMBA (3:25)           MP3
Traditional
TWIST AND SHOUT excerpt
by B. Russell (Sony/ATV Songs LLC, ASCAP)
and P. Medley (Sloopy II Inc, BMI)

Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necessita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia para mi y para ti
Y arriba, y arriba, y arriba, y arriba
por ti seré, por ti seré, por ti seré

Yo no soy marinero, yo no soy marinero
Soy capitán, soy capitán, soy capitán
bamba-bamba
bamba-bamba

REPEAT IN SPANISH

Well shake it up baby
Let's twist and shout
Come on boys and girls
Let's work it on out

You know you sound so good
You know you sound so fine
O' come on kids now
You're sounding better all the time

bamba-bamba
bamba-bamba

Ron Sowell - lead and harmony vocals / acoustic guitar
Chris Allen - bass
Ryan Kennedy - electric guitar
Billy Dingess - piano
Ammed Solomon - drums / percussion
The Kids Chorus

POTATO (2:02)           MP3
Traditional music
words by Cheryl Wheeler (Amachrist Music o/b/o Penrod & Higgins)

They 're red, they 're white, they 're brown
They get that way underground.
There can't be much to do
So now they have blue ones, too.
We don't care what they look like we'll eat them
Any way they will fit on our plates
Every way we can conjure to heat them
We're delighted to think they're just great !

CHORUS
Po-tatopo-tatopo-tatopo
ta-topota-topota-topota
to-potato-potato- potato
po-tatopo-tatopo-tato.

Sometimes we ditch the skin
To eat what it's holding in
Sometimes we'd rather please
Have just the outside with cheese
They have eyes but they do not have faces
I don't know if their feelings get hurt
By just hanging around in dark places
Where they only can stare at the dirt

REPEAT CHORUS

I guess the use is scant
For other parts of the plant
But that which grows in view
Is eating potato too
I imagine them under their acres
Out in Idaho and up in Maine
Maybe wondering if they'll be bakers
Or knishes, or latkes, or plain

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead and harmony vocals / acoustic guitar / hand claps
Chris Allen - bass
Doug Payne - ewi
Ammed Solomon - drums / hand claps
The Kids Chorus

I LOVE MY TOMATO (4:59)           MP3
by Ron Sowell (Dog Feathers Music, BMI)

You can caress a carrot
Grab a green bean
Leaf through the lettuce
Do anything you please
You can ravish a radish
Bite on a beet
Manhandle a melon
If you really think you're neat
You can munch on a mushroom
If you 're feeling bad
But don't go messing with my tomato
Cause that really makes me mad

I loves my tomato, ripe round and red
Now you offer me anything
I'll take may tomato instead

I don't care for spinach
I can't stand the taste
To eat a rutabaga
Seems like such a waste
I don't care for potatoes
I never did like eating roots
That goes for apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries cherries and kiwis
And all those silly fruits
Don't care to pick a berry
Don't care to peel a grape
Just let me have my tomato I will not even hesitate

I loves my tomato
Even while they're still on the vine
Now you offer me anything
I'll take my tomato every time

You may be a cucumber
And really think you're cool
A real top banana - I'm talking 'bout nobody's fool
You may be a jalepeno pepper
And think you're red hot
The head cabbage
A real big shot
Hey king corn keep your ears
Peeled and to the ground
And don't go messing with my tomato
When I'm not around

Cause I loves my tomato
Stuffed, stewed, or fried
Now you offer me anything
I'll take my tomato every time

I loves my tomato
You offer me anything
I'll take my tomato every time

Ron Sowell - lead vocals / resonator guitar / harmonica
Chris Allen - bass
Ammed Solomon - drums
The Kids Chorus

I USED TO WEAR DIAPERS (2:02)           MP3
by Colleen Anderson and The Mountaineer Montessori Jr. Elementary Students
(© Colleen Anderson 1996)

I used to be bald, but now I have hair
I used to wear Pull-ups, but now it's underwear
Whenever it got dark outside, I used to be afraid
I used to have a crib, but now I have a bed

CHORUS
I used to wear diapers, but now I don't
I used to drink formula, but now I won't
I used to be a baby, but now I am a kid
I can't believe I used to do the things I did

And when I ate my dinner, I used to spit and drool
I used to stay at home all day, but now I go to school
Once my legs were short, but now they're growing long
I used to write on walls, but now I'm writing songs

REPEAT CHORUS

I used to suck a pacifier, used to cry and fuss
I used to ride in carriages, but now I ride a bus
I used to pull my cat's tail, but now I know it's mean
I used to like the color red, but now I'm fond of green

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / electric guitar
Billy Dingess - piano
Ammed Solomon - cardboard box
Chris Allen - bass
Doug Payne - ewi
The Kids Chorus

BUG-A-BOO (3:21)           MP3
by Larry Groce (Walt Disney Music, ASCAP)

Underneath the carpet in the dead of night
Take a look and you will see a marvelous sight
Dancing, prancing, doing the bug-a-boo
Well, the roaches and the beetles are the boys in the band
The crickets are the singers; they're the best in the land
Dancing, romancing, doing the bug-a-boo !

CHORUS
Let's do the bug-a-boo
Come on, shake a leg or two
From the big grasshopper
To the tiny teenybopper
You know what they love to do
BUG-A-BOO !

Well, look everybody, it's the star of the show
Pretty little Molly, she's a hot mosquito
Dancing, prancing, doing that bug-a-boo !
Well, nobody can sing a song the way she does
When she starts to sing she can give you a buzz
Dancing, romancing, doing that bug-a-boo !

REPEAT CHORUS

Well, see that ugly spider with the gleam in his eye
What's he doing dancing with that sweet little fly?
Dancing, prancing, doing the bugaboo !
Come on everybody, it's our turn to dance
Let's go bugaboo like an army of ants
Dancing, romancing, doing that bugaboo !

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead vocals / acoustic guitar / electric guitar
Billy Dingess - strings
Chris Allen - bass
Ammed Solomon - drums
Doug Payne - ewi
The Kids Chorus

HERMAN THE WORM (2:50)           MP3
by Larry Groce (Camp Run Music ASCAP)

Herman was squirming
His way back to his home
His girlfriend named Patti
Had left him all alone
She turned into a butterfly
And flew away into the sky

CHORUS
Poor Herman the worm
All of his hearts were broken
But he never gave up on love

Well, Herman, that sad soul,
He had a tragic life.
His father was fish bait
The early bird took his wife
His grandma wasn't very sly
She ended in an apple pie

REPEAT CHORUS

Now Herman found him
Another love so strong.
They squirmed in the blue grass
Till a lawnmower came along,
That couple never had a clue,
And breaking up is hard to do.

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead and harmony vocals / acoustic guitar
Ammed Solomon - drums
Chris Allen - bass
Robert Shafer - electric guitar
Billy Dingess - piano

EINSTEIN THE GENIUS (3:21)           MP3
by Henry Jankiewicz (Kicking Mule)

Einstein was a genius
As smart as he could be.
He wrote one equation every day.
On Mondays he wrote three,
On Mondays he wrote three.

CHORUS
Albert dance around , Albert be profound.
Albert let your hair stick out, And your socks hang down.
Albert dance around , Albert be profound.
Albert let your hair stick out, And your socks hang down.

A man got in a spaceship.
And flew a million miles.
He busted through the speed of light
And he came back a child,
Yes, he came back a child.

REPEAT CHORUS

Well, a man looked through a telescope
Until his eye was red.
He looked around space and saw
The back of his own head,
Saw the back of his own head.

REPEAT CHORUS

A wave and a particle
Were walking side by side.
One to the other said
Which one of us am I?
Which one of us am I?

REPEAT CHORUS

Albert played the fiddle.
He loved to shout and sing.
Now if that ain't genius,
Well, that ain't anything.
No, that ain't anything.

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / acoustic guitar
Chris Allen - bass
Ammed Solomon - drums
Billy Dingess - piano
Robert Shafer - lead acoustic guitar
Will Parsons - banjo
Steve Accord - mandolin
Doug Payne - saxophone
The Kids Chorus

FIRST YOU DREAM (2:43)           MP3
by Ron Sowell(Dog Feathers Music, BMI)
and Jon Wikstrom (Ironic Juxtaposition Music, ASCAP)

In this world
There's no one like you
And no end
To what you can do
Just close your eyes and see
Whatever you want to be

CHORUS
First you dream
Let your heart and your mind wander free
And bring back what they find
With your hands
Make it real as it seems
But first you dream

Sail the seas
Fly to the stars
Build a world
Right where you are
Anything you want to do
You can make it come true

REPEAT CHORUS

Ron Sowell - lead vocal / acoustic guitar
Bob Webb - dulcimer
Julie Adams - vocal harmonies

CREDITS