Autumn Song: Swinging Along the Open Road

Angelina, this blog's most faithful reader, asked me if I had any good fall/autumn songs to share. Michaelmas is done, and Martinmas is not yet here, but how can I resist a request? I have not yet learned by heart the round Swinging Along the Open Road, but I am planning on it. My daughter has a knack for singing rounds without getting tangled up in the melodies, so I'll be working on it with her. I found a YouTube recording of the song, which you may listen to here.

These are the lyrics:
Swinging along the open road
Swing along under a sky that's clear
Swinging along the open road
All in the fall, in the fall of the year.

Swinging along the open road
All in the fall of the year.
Swinging along the open road
Under a sky that's clear
Swing along the open road
In the fall of the year.
Swinging along, swinging along
Swinging along the open road
All in the fall of the year.

This song is a bit more sophisticated than many folk songs I can easily strum on the guitar. I'm no musicologist, but I think there are a couple of flats in the tune that give it a bit of extra zest. For the visual, here's a picture of autumn-themed dolls I made in 2010. I'm pretending that they're gathering around the bonfire after their brisk walk). The bonfire flames came from MamaKopp, and the trees came from The Enchanted Cupboard. I'm planning on making another guitarist and lantern-walker before too long.

Marie in the Garden

At long last, here is a song for spring! The song is called "Marie in the Garden" and it accompanies a simple game. A Waldorf kindergarten teacher taught it to me several years ago after I gave her one of my early creations. In the game, all the children close their eyes while the leader sings,

Marie in the garden,
The garden, Marie.
She is as tiny as she can be.
Marie in the garden,
The garden, Marie.
Open your eyes and where is she?

In the meantime, the teacher has hidden the doll in a pocket or somewhere nearby. The children have to guess where the little doll is.

I made a Marie in the Garden doll for my shop, and asked my daughter to sing the song for your use. Here is the song on video: