Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem

Ranky Tanky

Released in 2010

$12.00

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We had never been so unpremeditated, live, creative and playful in the studio. A 100% parent band, we hoped to make a family album that wouldn’t elicit curses (from parents) after endless replays.

If reports are to be believed, it worked. Ranky Tanky also surprised us by scooping up top awards from the Parents’ Choice Foundation, the National Association for Parenting Publications, and others. But really, the best reward is that it still makes us smile.

Download Ranky Tanky Liner Notes

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens), EMI April Music, Inc./ASCAP

This is one of our favorite songs. It’s good to remember that anything is possible, and there really are a million (or more) ways to be. And that singing out feels great.

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free ’
Cause there’s a million things to be
You know that there are

And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low ’
Cause there’s a million ways to go
You know that there are

[Chorus:]
You can do what you want
The opportunity’s on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo  you see ah ah ah  its easy ah ah ah
You only need to know

Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no ’
Cause there’s a million ways to go
You know that there are
And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you ’
Cause there’s a million things to do
You know that there are

[Chorus]

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free ’
Cause there’s a million things to be
You know that there are
The Green Grass Grows All Around

Traditional

In this call and response song, we add a new element on each verse (the hole, the dirt, the roots — climbing all the way up to a bird’s nest in a tree — and singing it all together backwards at the end.

There once was a hole (repeat)
Prettiest little hole (repeat)
That you ever did see (repeat)
And the hole’s in the ground

(Chorus)
And the green grass grows all around, all around
And the green grass grows all around

And in that hole…there was some dirt’
Prettiest little hole (repeat)
That you ever did see (repeat)
And the dirt’s in the hole, and the hole’s in the ground

Prettiest little dirt…that you ever did see

And in that dirt…there were some roots

And on those roots…there was a little tree

And on that tree…there was a little limb.

And on that limb…there was a little nest

And in that nest…there was a little egg

And on that egg…there was a little bird

And on that bird…there was a little feather
They All Ask’d For You

The Meters/Bug Music

Anand and Scott transported us to New Orleans (via India?) for this rockin’ dance tune adapted from one of the best funk bands of all time.

I went down to the Audubon Zoo
And they all asked for you
They all asked for you
Well, they even inquired about you
I went down to the Audubon Zoo
And they all asked for you
The monkeys asked
The zebras asked
And the elephant asked me, too

I went up
To the big blue sky
And they all asked for you
Yeah, They all asked for you
Well, they even inquired about you
Oh I went up
To the big blue sky
And they all asked for you
The eagles asked
The sparrows asked
And the buzzards asked me, too

I went down
To the deep blue sea
And they all asked for you
They all asked for you
Well, they even inquired about you
I went down
To the deep blue sea
And they all asked for you
The whales asked
The starfish asked
And the octopus asked me too

Well they all asked for you
Yes they all asked for you
Everybody there, wanna know where
Oh they all asked for you
Purple People Eater

Sheb Wooley, Channel Music Company/ASCAP

Scott delivers this saga of a rock’ n’ roll alien with soul — and wraps it at the end with a kazoo solo. This was a Billboard #1 hit in 1953.

Well I saw the thing comin’ out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced to shakin’ and I said “ooh-eee”
It looks like a purple eater to me

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)

Well he came down to earth and he lit in a tree
I said Mr. Purple People Eater, don’t eat me
I heard him say in a voice so gruff
I wouldn’t eat you cuz you’re so tough

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned flyin’ purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One horn?)

I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what’s your line
He said it’s eatin’ purple people and it sure is fine
But that’s not the reason that I came to land
I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band

Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin’ purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin’ purple people eater
(We wear short shorts)
Flyin’ purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me

And then he swung from the tree and he lit on the ground
He started to rock, really rockin’ around
It was a crazy ditty with a swingin’ tune
Sing a boop boop aboopa lopa lum bam boom

Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin’ purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin’ purple people eater
I like short shorts
Flyin’ little people eater
Sure looks strange to me (Purple People?)

And then he went on his way, and then what do ya know
I saw him last night on a TV show
He was blowing it out, a’really knockin’ em dead
Playin’ rock and roll music through the horn in his head
Where Did You Get That Hat

Andrew loves to wear hats, and to play his ukulele. We found a version of this song on Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still (Appalseed), a collection of field recordings made by Anne and Frank Warner in the 1940s; Edith Perrin does a spirited rendition of this. We sang only the chorus.

Where did you get that hat, where did you get that tile?
Isn’t it a knobby one, and just in the proper style?
I should like to have one, just the same as that.
Wherever I go, they shout “Hello”
Where did you get that hat?
Wherever I go, they shout “Hello”
Where did you get that hat?
Tinny

Traditional Bahamian

Scott’s kalimba playing on this call-and-response song put us under a spell. When we play for kids, we like to add different animals suggested by our audiences. Penguins, lions, hedgehogs — what’s your favorite?

Tinny lend me your pony to keep company with mine (repeat)
Cause my pony’s been runnin down the track, my pony’s gone wild (repeat)

Tinny lend me your rooster to keep company with mine (repeat)
Cause my rooster’s been crowing for the day, my rooster’s gone wild (repeat)

Tinny lend me your crocodile to keep company with mine (repeat)
Cause my crocodile’s been crowing for the day, my rooster’s gone wild (repeat)

Tinny lend me your humpack whale to keep company with mine (repeat)
Cause my whale is gone…
Kind Kangaroo

Traditional Australian

Scott learned from his Nana. There are more verses to be found online, now, but this was the only one we knew.

Said the kind kangaroo
Oh what shall I do?
If I had a cradle, I’d rock it.
But my baby is small
So I guess, after all,
I’ll carry her round in my pocket.
Tennessee Wig Walk

Larry Coleman, Norman Gimbel, Words West LLC/ASCAP

This song came to us via Dan Zanes, a guru of spunky backporch-style music for families. It’s a classic dance tune from the 1950s. Follow the moves, or make up your own.

I’m a bow-legged chicken, I’m a knock kneed hen
Never been so happy since I don’t know when
I walk with a wiggle and a giggle and a squawk
Doing the Tennessee wig walk.

Hear a tune on the fiddle and on a hard-wood floor
I’m broke and weary and my back is sore
I walk with a wiggle and a giggle and a squawk
Doing the Tennessee wig walk.

Put your toes together, your knees apart
Bend your back, get ready to start
Flap your elbows just for luck
Then you wiggle and you waddle like a baby duck.

Dance with me honey, tap your toes and glide
We’ll be together side by side
I walk with a wiggle and a giggle and a squawk
Doing the Tennessee wig walk
Something in Scott’s Throat

Yikes! It’s a jawharp!
Bear to the Left

Billy Jonas, Bang-a-Bucket Music/BMI

Billy Jonas is one of the cleverest, funniest, and deepest-thinking songwriters we know. He also is a junk percussionist like Scott, but perhaps even crazier. We do a whole menagerie of movements with this song.

Traveling, traveling, traveling on, I bumped into my friend John
I said, “Hey John, which way should I go?”
He said, “Follow the animals, they all know”
You gotta BEAR to the left….

But something was lacking, so I went back and he said, “Oh yeah, I forgot: You gotta BEAR to the left, and SNAKE to the right….”

But something was lacking, so I went back and he said, “Oh yeah, I forgot: You gotta BEAR to the left, and SNAKE to the right, WEASEL on down and DUCK out of sight.

But something was lacking, so I went back and he said, “Oh yeah, I forgot: You gotta BEAR to the left, and SNAKE to the right, WEASEL on down and DUCK out of sight…HORSE around, FLOUNDER about…

But something was lacking, so I went back and he said, “Oh yeah, I forgot: You gotta BEAR to the left, and SNAKE to the right, WEASEL on down and DUCK out of sight…HORSE around, FLOUNDER about, WORM your way in and…BUG out!

I STEERED straight home, I YAKKED on the phone
I WOLFED down my dinner, and I said so long!
Kee-mo, Ky-mo

Bob Hilliard and Roy Alfred, Better Half Music (a division of Bourne Co.) and Barton Music Corp./ASCAP

Nat King Cole made this song famous, and it seemed like a great one for families. Love can be translated into many languages, verbal and otherwise.

Kemo kimo stair oh stair
Mahi Maho marump sticka pumpernickle
Soup bam nip cat Polly mitcha cameo
I love you

Once great magician taught me what to say
So now I’ll use these magic words to steal your heart away
Branching Out

John Gorka, Blues Palace Music/ASCAP

Andrew convinces everyone who hears this song that he really does want to grow up to be a tree. He’s actually a carpenter (the irony!) and a musician. But the point, well taken, is that one should never stop dreaming of what one wishes to be.

When I grow up I want to be a tree
Want to make my home with the birds and the bees
And the squirrels, they can count on me
When I grow up to be a tree

I’ll let my joints get stiff, put my feet in the ground
Take the winters off and settle down
Keep my clothes till they turn brown
When I grow up, I’m gonna settle down

CHORUS:
I’m gonna reach, I’m gonna reach
I’m gonna reach, reach for the sky
I’m gonna reach, I’m gonna reach
I’m gonna reach, till I know why

When the spring comes by I’m gonna get real green
If the dogs come by I’m gonna get real mean
On windy days, I’ll bend and lean
When I grow up I’m gonna get real green

(BRIDGE)
If I should fall in storm or slumber
Please don’t turn me into lumber
I’d rather be a Louisville slugger
Swinging for the seats…
Morningtown Ride

M. Reynolds, Amadeo Brio Corp./ASCAP

Anand’s son Jack was 4 when we made this CD, and Rani and Scott’s son Quinn was 6. That is the time of trains, naps, long nights’ sleeps, and (very early) mornings full of possibility. Anand swapped in the names of some special kids for this lilting version.

Train whistle blowing, makes a sleepy noise,
Underneath their blankets go all the girls and boys.

Heading from the station, out along the bay,
All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

Rosie’s at the engine, Luka rings the bell,
Jack swings the lantern to show that all is well.

Rocking, rolling, riding, out along the bay,
All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

Maybe it is raining where our train will ride,
But all the little travelers are snug and warm inside.

Somewhere there is sunshine, somewhere there is day,
Somewhere there is Morningtown, many miles away.
Ranky Tanky

Traditional, from Bessie Jones

Also known as Old Lady From Brewster, this song hails from the Georgia Sea Islands, via the singer Bessie Jones. We call out what kids are wearing, then get them to dance with knees, shoulders, feet (or anything else), and shout “Ranky Tanky” all together. Find out more about this song — and others like it — in the book Step it Down: Games, Plays, Songs, and Stories from the Afro-American Heritage (University of Georgia Press).

There was an old lady from Brewster
Had two hens and a rooster
The rooster died, the old lady cried
I can’t get eggs like she used to.

Oh ma, you look so
Oh, pa, you look so

Who’s been here since I been gone
Everybody here with (insert a piece of clothing, and everyone who is wearing that gets up to dance)

I got a pain in my knees, ranky tanky (shake knees)
Pain in my head, ranky tanky (shake head)
Pain in my shoulders, ranky tanky (shake shoulders)
I got pain all over me, ranky tanky
Pain all over me, ranky tanky
Bushel and a Peck
Wildflowers

Andrew put a poignant twist on this song by singing it with his almost-grownup daughters in mind.

You belong among the wildflowers You belong in a boat out at sea Sail away, kill off the hours You belong somewhere you feel free  Run away, find you a lover Go away somewhere all bright and new I have seen no other Who compares with you  You belong among the wildflowers You belong in a boat out at sea You belong with your love on your arm You belong somewhere you feel free  Run away, go find a lover Run away, let your heart be your guide You deserve the deepest of cover You belong in that home by and by  You belong among the wildflowers You belong somewhere close to me Far away from your trouble and worry You belong somewhere you feel free You belong somewhere you feel free
It’s a Big World

Renee Stahl and Jeremy Toback, Woem Music (ASCAP) and Swivel Dirge (ASCAP)

This is really a song for parents, and it makes us cry. Renee and Jeremy are a west-coast-based duo who make beautiful music for families.

It’s a big world baby,
and you’re little for a little while
It’s a big world baby
and you can fiddle in your own style

It’s a big sun, it’s a big tree
It’s a big boat, it’s a big sea
It’s a big dog, it’s a big plane
It’s a big cloud with a little bit of rain

It’s a big house, it’s a big chair
It’s a big zoo, it’s a big bear
It’s a big street, it’s a big car
It’s a big sky with pretty little stars

It’s a small bug, it’s a small shell
It’s a small bird, it’s a small bell
It’s a small cup, it’s a small toy
It’s a small girl, it’s a small boy
It’s a small coin, it’s a small ring
it’s a big world for every little thing

They All Ask'd For You

Tennessee Wig Walk

Ranky Tanky

If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out

Wildflowers