Please note:
- All these street organ arrangements for my modifed Topsy 3 are home-made. Contact me if you want a custom arrangement - whether a modification of a number below or something new - for your own street organ, musical box, barrel piano, or whatever.
- The MP3s below use Virtual Studio Technology: this is NOT the real sound, and someone needs to sing!
- Lyrics or translations can be displayed live on a screen, karaoke-style.
| Title | Artist | La | Year | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The becks | The Singing Organ-Grinder | en | 2022 | Song suitable for young and old about Leeds's streams. Based on De Beken by Fred van de Ven. |
| Sleeping Beauty | George Szirtes | en | 2016 | A telling fragment from one of my favourite contemporary poets. |
| Pablow the blowfish | Miley Cyrus | en | 2015 | Almost as good as Fluffy. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Croquetón / Sausage Man | The Singing Organ-Grinder | es en | 2013 | Incidental music written for a children's story by Eva Muñoz about what happens when your food comes fast and in Godzilla-sized portions. Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Anys i anys... per molts anys! | Club Super 3 | ca | 2001 | Catalan birthday song, obligatory fare during school gigs in and around Barcelona. |
| Een jongen krijgt een meisjesbrief / A boy receives a girlish note | Willem Wilmink / Harry Bannink | nl en | 1995 | One of Wilmink's so-called intermezzos. So in / My palace in the tallest tower / I read that round name, hour by hour: / Eva Cohen. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| George is my horse | Fay Lovsky | en | 1992 | George says he don't like these cars / These stone trails, where's the grass? Fay was last seen playing singing saw with Robert Crumb. |
| Naar de speeltuin | Heleentje van Capelle met de Karekieten en het Orkest Zonder Naam | nl | 1987 | |
| Fungus the Bogeyman | The Singing Organ-Grinder | en | 1985 | Inspired in some fashion by Raymond Briggs' graphic novel. |
| Fluffy | Gloria Balsam / Richard van Dorn / Davey Sayles | en | 1980 | Her doggie gets lost in the woods, and Gloria is very sad: 'Here, Fluffy, where are you?' Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Rainbow connection | Paul Williams / Kenneth Ascher | 1979 | As sung by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie. With the pop sonnet by Erik Didriksen. | |
| Smurf song | Pierre Kartner | nl | 1977 | |
| Magic egg | Barrow Poets | en | 1972 | Found on a 60s LP. The video is of another piece. Gerard Benson was one of the figures behind London's Poems on the Underground. Long, long ago before time had begun, the moon lost a pebble and away through space it spun, in the world far below only water could be seen, it sank down to the bottom and it lay there like a dream. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Peppi en Kokki intro | nl | 1972 | Dutch 70s absurdist children's show. Video, possibly from another time or person: | |
| Postman Pat / Pat el Cartero / Postmann Pat | Bryan Daly / Ken Barrie | no en | 1970 | In English or Norwegian. Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Theme from the Magic Roundabout | Alain Legrand | 1970 | The bits featuring a barrel organ were more popular in Germany. Video, possibly from another time or person: | |
| Flocon, papillon (Fabulettes) | Anne Sylvestre | fr | 1969 | En souvenir de notre grand ami, Christophe Quinton: Il neigera, il neigera / puis un jour le printemps viendra / Et sur les branches il neigera / des fleurs de pommes et du lilas. Virtual excerpt: |
| The bare necessities (The Jungle Book) | Terry Gilkyson | en | 1967 | |
| I wanna be like you (The Jungle Book) | Sherman Brothers / Louis Prima | en | 1967 | |
| Good morning, how are you?' 'Shut up!' | Ivor Cutler | en | 1967 | Don't give me the small talk, give me the big talk. Cutler's songs are both for and about children. Virtual excerpt: |
| I'm happy | Ivor Cutler | en | 1967 | And I'll punch the man who says I'm not. A boxing classic to be. |
| Darling, will you marry me twice? | Ivor Cutler | en | 1967 | Cartesian doctrine in micro format. |
| I'm going in a field | Ivor Cutler | en | 1967 | Green grass, yellow flowers / My lover’s eyes are blue. |
| Goldilocks and the three bears | Afferbeck Lauder | en | 1965 | In English, but also in Australian or Strine: Girldie Larks, Girldie Larks, where have you been? / I beat up London and vented my spleen, / And then I cummome menai harrased the Behrs; / I yay tarp their porridge and bro karp their chairs. / I savaged the beds and I tordan the fences. / And frightened a little mouse out of its senses. |
| One-note samba (demo version) | en | 1965 | Used in how-the-organ-works talks. | |
| Chim chim cher-ee (Mary Poppins) | Sherman Brothers / Julie Andrews / Dick van Dyke | en | 1964 | |
| Feed the birds (Mary Poppins) | Sherman Brothers / Julie Andrews | en | 1964 | |
| La patita | Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler | es | 1960? | What will Mother Duck give her ducklings to eat now dad refuses to work and the market is so expensive? Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Ratón vaquero | Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler | es | 1960? | Cowboy mouse |
| Perrito | Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler | es | 1960? | Doggie |
| Di por qué, dime abuelita | Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler | es | 1960? | Children's song which treads a fine line with grandma: Tell me why you're teeth are gone / And your hair's like the foam of the sea. |
| As long as he needs me | Lionel Bart | en | 1960 | Great torch song from Oliver. |
| Puff, the magic dragon (Puff, el drac màgic) | Leonard Lipton / Peter Yarrow / Peter, Paul and Mary | en ca | 1960 | |
| On the ning nang nong | Spike Milligan | en | 1959 | Where the cows go Bong! |
| Cowboy Billy | Jan en Jules | nl | 1959 | Part of the European craze for local cowboys. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Inflation calypso | ET Mensah | en | 1958? | Pidgin English highlife from post-independence Ghana, now with extra verse about deflation. Useful for introducing basic economics to small beings. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Elube (Mi Churri, gran perrito/My doggie, big little doggie) | Ndirande Pitch Crooners / The Singing Organ-Grinder | en | 1958 | The original song in Nyanja (Malawi) is about a girl, but it scans like a dog biting its tail, and so my English version is a homage to all the little doggies out there. |
| The super supper march | Dr. Seuss / Dean Elliott | en | 1957 / 1971 | Hungry, hungry, I am hungry / Table, table, here I come. Virtual excerpt: |
| The hippopotamus song | Flanders & Swann | en | 1957 | Mud, mud, glorious mud, / Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. |
| Nellie the elephant | Ralph Butler / Peter Hart | en | 1956 | Donald has asked me to revive this classic: Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk / And said goodbye to the circus / Off she went with a trumpety-trump / Trump, trump, trump. |
| Sunday Mirror | ET Mensah | en | 1956 | Highlife ad for a 1950s Ghanaian newspaper. |
| Tulpen uit Amsterdam / Tulips from Amsterdam | Ralf Arnie / Van Aleda / Max Bygraves | nl en | 1956 | Typically Dutch: a German waltz about Turkish flowers. Virtual excerpt: |
| El baile de los pajaritos / The birdie song / De vogeltjesdans | El payo Juan Manuel / Werner Thomas / Johnny Hoes | es nl en | 1955 | |
| I know an old lady who swallowed a fly | Burl Ives | en | 1953 | I think she'll die. |
| How much is that doggie in the window | Bob Merrill / Patti Page | en | 1953 | The one with the waggly tail. Lita Roza's version was Maggie Thatcher's favourite song. |
| Time to go home (Andy Pandy) | Maria Bird | en | 1950 | We didn't have a telly, but for some reason it's still familiar. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Bananas | Machito | en nl ca | 1950 | The mambo king indulges in a bit of self-parody. Available in English, Catalan or Dutch. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Yo tengo un moco | Trad. / Wagner / Mozart / Pierre Degeyter / traductor comunista desconocido | es | 1950 | Mashup with kazoo of a Spanish children's song about eating your bogies, The Mastersingers of Nuremburg, Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the Internationale ('Arise ye starvelings from your slumbers'). |
| All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth | Spike Jones | en | 1940 | A little girl's terrible lisp is caused by her insufficient dentition. Works well at primary schools and dental conferences. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| In the big rock candy mountains | Harry Kirby McClintock | en | 1940 | Utopia vagorum. |
| That's all folks | Looney Toons | 1940 | ||
| It's raining, it's pouring | Trad. | en | 1939? | |
| Cool water | Bob Nolan / Hank Williams / Sons of the Pioneers | en | 1936 | Gloss on Psalms 42:1: I and my mule, Dan, are crossing the desert when we see a mirage: Can you see that big green tree / Where the water's running free / And it's waiting there for you and me? Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Old Dan Tucker | Cackle Sisters | en | 1935 | Song about a simple man, with cackle chorus. Why? Because that's how the sisters sang. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Your feet's too big | Ada Benson / Fred Fisher / The Ink Spots | en | 1935 | |
| My brother makes the noises for the talkies | Albert Whelan / Jack Payne / Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band | en | 1931 | |
| Zeg, Roodkapje, waar ga je heen? | Trad. | nl | 1930? | Red Riding Hood, in Dutch, now with a Spanish version. |
| De kikkertjes | Anon | nl | 1930? | Dutch frogs are a sight for sore eyes. |
| La gallina Papanatas | Monreal | es | 1930 | Mexican corrido about a prolific hen. |
| Barnacle Bill the sailor | Hoagy Carmichael / Bix Beiderbecke / Tex Morton / Betty Boop | en | 1927 | It's only me from over the sea / I'm all dressed up like a Christmas tree. With interludes featuring Benny Hill alla turca and the Beautiful Blue Danube (it's brown). Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| The barking policeman (parody of The laughing policeman) | George W. Johnson / Charles Penrose / Richard Littlejohn | en | 1922 | Tribute to PC Steve Hutton of Swindon, who devised an interesting way of mitigating police cuts. |
| El dilluns jo no treballo | Valenciano | ca | 1920 | Song in Valencian lists the days of the week on which I don't work. Their number is lucky. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| El nuevo Ford | Cubano | es | 1920 | |
| My old tunes | Edward Elgar | en | 1915 | From Elgar's incidental music for The Starlight Express, a children's play by Violet Pearn based on the imaginative novel A Prisoner in Fairyland by Algernon Blackwood: My old tunes are rather broken / And they come from far away, / Bring just a little token / Of a long-forgotten day. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Crits del carrer | Joan Amades Cançoner / English C17th canon | ca | 1910 | Audience participation required in this canon consisting of the cries (in Catalan) of the vendors of potatoes, hats and chocolate. As good in its way as Clément Janequin, Voulez ouyr les cris de Paris |
| The teddy bear's picnic | John Bratton | en | 1907 | Don't go into the woods. Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| Incy wincy spider | Trad. | en | 1900? | |
| Happy birthday to you | en es ca | 1893 | I believe I can sing this now without being sued by copyright lawyers. Video, possibly from another time or person: | |
| Daisy bell | Harry Dacre | en | 1892 | Love on a tandem: But you'd look sweet / Upon the seat / Of a bicycle built for two. |
| She'll be coming round the mountain | Trad. | en | 1890s | |
| Mamma mia, dammi 100 lire che in America voglio andar (Mum, give me 100 lire cos I want to go to America) | Anon | it | 1890ish? | About the great Italian emigration (late C19th - 1930s). Often used with children. Should 'America' now be replaced by 'London'? Cento lire io te le do, ma in America no no no! 100 lire I'll give you, but America, no no no! |
| Ballet of the unhatched chicks | Modest Mussorgsky | 1874 | Edited from an early piano roll. Virtual excerpt: | |
| Row, row, row your boat | Trad. | en | 1852 | |
| Dance to your daddy (when the boat comes in) | Trad. | en | 1850? | Games and dances Video, possibly from another time or person: |
| k Zag twee beren | nl | 1850? | ||
| Here we go round the mulberry bush | Trad. | en | 1840s | Games and dances |
| Mary had a little lamb | Sarah Josepha Hale / Lowell Mason / Afferbeck Lauder | en | 1830 / 1965 | In 19th century English and then in 20th century Strine: So Mary Header little lamb / With vedgies and mint sauce. / 'Oh dearest lamb,' she cried, 'I am / As hungry as a horse.' |
| I love little pussy | Trad. | en | 1830 | Cats and mice |
| Aiken Drum | Trad. | en | 1820 | Riddles and nonsense. |
| The holly and the ivy | Trad. | en | 1810? | |
| Twinkle, twinkle, little star | Trad. | en | 1806 (melody 1761) | Lullabies |
| Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? | Trad. | en | 1805 | Cats and mice |
| Polly put the kettle on | Trad. | en | 1803 | See also O du lieber Augustin. |
| Hot cross buns | Trad. | en | 1798 | Food |
| Diddle diddle dumpling | Trad. | en | 1797 | Lullabies |
| Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall | Trad. | en | 1797 | Riddles and nonsense. Some busts are for ever. |
| Tom, Tom, the piper's son | Trad. | en | 1795 | |
| Ring a ring o' roses | Trad. | en | 1790s | Games and dances |
| Lang zal hij leven | nl | 1790? | ||
| Rock-a-bye baby | Trad. | en | 1765 | Lullabies |
| Hey diddle diddle | Trad. | en | 1765 | Riddles and nonsense. |
| London Bridge is falling down | Trad. | en | 1750ish (lyrics) / 1879 (tune) | |
| Oranges and lemons | Trad. | en | 1744? | Games and dances |
| Mary, Mary, quite contrary | en | 1744 (lyrics) | ||
| Hickory dickory dock | Trad. | en | 1744 | Cats and mice |
| Who killed Cock Robin? | Trad. | en | 1744 | One of the greatest murder songs in English: Who killed Cock Robin? / I, said the Sparrow, / with my bow and arrow, / I killed Cock Robin. |
| Sing a song of sixpence | Trad. | en | 1744 | |
| Baa, baa, black sheep | Trad. | en | 1731 | |
| Little Jack Horner | Trad. | en | 1725 | Food |
| Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man | Trad. | en | 1698 | Food |
| The grand old Duke Of York | Trad. | en | 1642 | |
| Three blind mice | Trad. | en | 1609 / 1805 | Both the original and the modern versions are available |
| When that I was and a little tiny boy (Hey, ho, the wind and the rain) | William Shakespeare / John Harle | 1601 | Feste the Fool's closing song from Twelth Night. Version of Elvis Costello's version of the traditional version sung by Alfred Deller. | |
| Ding dong bell, pussy's in the well | Trad. | en | 1580 | Cats and mice |
| A frog he would a wooing go | Trad. | en | 1548 | Fate |
| The worm song (nobody likes me) | en | |||
| Las mañanitas | es | Mexican birthday song. |
Update: 2023/03/06