Ken Lonnquist
Music with a Message

1. Call My Mama

 

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

Stars are green, the sky is black, ‘cuz

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

 

Oh-oh, oh! I’m a kid, I’m all alone, 

Oh-oh, oh!  Lost in the great unknown

Oh-oh, oh!  In a jungle overgrown

With nothin’ but a monkey and a cell phone

 

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

Stars are green, the sky is black, ‘cuz

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

 

Oh-oh, oh! Don’t know how I wound up here

Oh-oh, oh! Where’d my mama disappear?

Oh-oh, oh!  My Indiana Jones career

Is dyin!’ I’m cryin’ crocodile tears

 

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

Stars are green, the sky is black, ‘cuz

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

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Oh-oh, oh! The battery is runnin’ low

Oh-oh, oh!  My hope is fading with its glow

Oh-oh, oh!  Mama doesn’t answer so,

I gotta trust this crazy monkey and follow

 

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

Stars are green, the sky is black, ‘cuz

I call my mama, but she don’t call back

 

 

 

2. Here I Go

 

Here I go and I don’t know where

But I’m sure glad you’re sitting there

To keep me company

One step leads to another one

Once a journey has begun

Who knows where it leads?

 

Maybe we’ll go through the jungle

Maybe we’ll shoot the stars

Maybe we'll sail seven oceans

Discovering who we are…

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Here I go and I don't know where...

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 3. Vicious Fishes

 

Don’t go swimming with vicious fishes

They think kids make delicious dishes

Down their gullets they’d like to send you

Happy you came swimming on the menu

Beware of the shark, smiling in the dark

Their teeth are razor sharp ---

They leave a nasty ragged red mark!

 

Don’t go swimming with vicious fishes

Their big bellies have ambitious wishes

Have you over for lunch or dinner

They grow fatter as you grow thinner

Beware barracuda --- no fish could be ruder

In a hungry mood-a,

They’ll eat your snorkel and Bermudas!

 

Don’t go swimming with vicious fishes

They enjoy the nutritious squishes

Of a tasty young human morsel

Good for frontal fins and for dorsal

Beware of piranha! Eat meat is all they wanna

Monkey or iguana… or YOU! 

They’d love to have a good chew!

 

Don’t go swimming with vicious fishes

Beware the pernicious swishes

Of their tails, all bent on whacking

You unconscious, and fit for snacking

Beware! Take care… out there…

 

 

 

 

4. Eucalyptus King

 

Kangaroo, Koala… Koala, Kangaroo

Way down in Australia, play didgeridoo

Dingo, Kookaburra… Kookaburra, Ding-

Goin’ to Australia, see the Eucalyptus King

 

In the Eucalyptus Forest one Koala is the King

All the others form a chorus. To the Emperor they sing

To be King of the Koalas it takes high koality

You can’t buy that throne with dollahs.

It takes brains and bravery!

Kangaroo, Koala… Koala, Kangaroo

Way down in Australia, play didgeridoo

Dingo, Kookaburra… Kookaburra, Ding-

Goin’ to Australia, see the Eucalyptus King

 

The growling echo in the outback is the King’s didgeridoo

Summoning his friends, who shout back: “We’re your loyal Kangaroos!”

Yes, the Kangaroos are loyal, jumping when the King commands

Any edict from a royal makes them spring like rubber bands!

Kangaroo, Koala… Koala, Kangaroo

Way down in Australia, play didgeridoo

Dingo, Kookaburra… Kookaburra, Ding-

Goin’ to Australia, see the Eucalyptus King

 

Kookaburra started flapping. Kookaburra sang it’s song

One day while the King was napping. Poor bird didn’t live too long!

Dingo howled in the moonlight woke the King. The King saw red.

Dingo learned a lesson that night: Don’t disturb a King in bed!

Kangaroo, Koala… Koala, Kangaroo

Way down in Australia, play didgeridoo

Dingo, Kookaburra… Kookaburra, Ding-

Goin’ to Australia, see the Eucalyptus King

 

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5. Hurricane Katrina

 

Hurricane Katrina came blowin’ into New Orleans

Crashing ocean waves and sheets of rain

Weather whirling wild and rough broke the levee, tore the roofs

Waters rising, what a Hurricane!

The children, they weren’t fast enough! The parents, they weren’t fast enough!

The old folks, they weren’t fast enough! ‘Cause Hurricane Katrina was so rough!

 

Jazz musicians shed a tear  ‘cause the clubs they love so dear

Were abandoned to the rising flood

Piano, bass and saxophone slide guitar, and old trombone

Even drums were silenced by the mud

The Bass players, they weren’t fast enough! Piano players weren’t fast enough!

Fiddlers, they weren’t fast enough! ‘Cause Hurricane Katrina was so rough!

 

People asked the President where the FEMA money went

Never saw a single cent arrive

Stranded in the Superdome or on the rooftops of their homes

Doin’ what they could to stay alive

FEMA wasn’t fast enough! “W” wasn’t fast enough!

His Mama wasn’t fast enough!  ‘Cause Hurricane Katrina was so rough!

 

Gators were a-splashin’, twistin’ and a-thrashin’

Trying as they might to get away.

All along the Bayou water was so high, you

Had to swim to live another day.

 

All the Jambalaya with it’s spicy fire! All the Cajun gumbo recipes

All the tasty fixins the Creole chef’s were mixin’

In their pots and pans were washed away to sea

The Cajun, they weren’t fast enough! The Creole, they weren’t fast enough!

The pots and pans weren’t fast enough! ‘Cause Hurricane Katrina, 

Hurricane Katrina was so rough

So rough, Hurricane Katrina, So rough, Hurricane Katrina

 

 

 

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6. South America

 

Listen up! There’s lots to know about the countries down below

In South America... Sur America...

If I tried to tell you all I know I’d drive you up the wall

With South America... South America...

 

Brasilia, Brazil that's the biggest country

The most humongous rainforest you will find

It supplies lots of oxygen it’s true and the

Amazon river's the largest that winds

In Argentina the people will tango

In old Buenos Aires accordions play

They grow bananas and coffee and mangos

And eat them while dancing to music all day

 

Listen up! There’s lots to know about the countries down below

In South America... South America...

I won’t keep you in suspense. The list of highlights is immense

In South America... South America...

 

Santiago is the capital city

Of Chile, the copper coast, sea aqua blue

In Venezuela the town of Caracas

Maracas are playing all day long, it’s true!

Lima, Peru---the world leader in fishing

Folk music is popular, flutes and guitars

La Paz, Bolivia---the highest capital

Beautiful place, que bonito lugar!

 

Beaches, mountains, jungles... in Ecuador

Ancient Incan cities... Peru has more

Where do they grow coffee? Columbia!

What’s the capital there? Bogota!

 

Listen up! There’s lots to know about the countries down below

In South America... South America...

But why simply sit around? Pack your bags! Let’s go on down

To South America... South America...

South America... South A-mer-i-caaaaa!

I know! Comprendo! Let’s go-go-go! Vamonos!

 

 

 

 

 

7. Ukulele Man

 

I play the ukulele in the Yucatan

Just for tips, no benefits or dental plan

Ships come sailing daily to the Mayan land

Ukulele, Yucatan, Moon, Papaya, playa sand,

Yummy yellow mangoes and toothless U-kulele Man

 

I smile a mile wide and people plainly see

Not flossing any cost me many cavities

I rushed and never brushed with regularity

Ukulele, Yucatan, Moon, Papaya, playa sand,

Yummy yellow mangoes and toothless U-kulele Man

 

Listen to the whistlin’ music underneath 

All the gaps & silver caps upon my teeth

I’ve a wisp of lisp, to say the very least

Ukulele, Yucatan, Moon, Papaya, playa sand,

Yummy yellow mangoes and toothless U-kulele Man

 

You can plan a Yucatan escape with me

Playing ukuleles gaily by the Sea

A sentimental dental hygiene melody

Ukulele, Yucatan, Moon, Papaya, playa sand,

Yummy yellow mangoes and toothless U-kulele Man

 

 

 

 

8. Five Little Dogs

 

Five little dogs, all night long

Barking in the moonlight

Wake up Mister Sleepy-head

Chase one down - woof!  Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Doesn’t want no Barkin’ doggie around

And so he chase the doggie a-

Chase he doggie a-

Chase the doggie away!

 

Four little dogs, all night long

Barking in the moonlight

Wake up Mister Sleepy-head

Chase one down - woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Doesn’t want no Barkin’ doggie around

And so he chase the doggie a-

Chase he doggie a-

Chase the doggie away!

 

Three little dogs, all night long

Barking in the moonlight

Wake up Mister Sleepy-head

Chase one down - woof! Woof! Woof!!

Doesn’t want no Barkin’ doggie around

And so he chase the doggie a-

Chase he doggie a-

Chase the doggie away!

 

Two little dogs, all night long

Barking in the moonlight

Wake up Mister Sleepy-head

Chase one down - woof! Woof!

Doesn’t want no Barkin’ doggie around

And so he chase the doggie a-

Chase he doggie a-

Chase the doggie away!

 

One little dogs, all night long

Barking in the moonlight

Wake up Mister Sleepy-head

Chase one down - woof! 

Doesn’t want no Barkin’ doggie around

And so he chase the doggie a-

Chase he doggie a-

Chase the doggie away!

 

 

 

 

9. Hairy Potter

 

I spin the wheel the live-long day tossing pots of earthen clay

Dawn to dusk, cradle to grave with never a haircut or a shave

I am the hairy Potter

 

It says so on my letter-box. A few years back, a wee one knocks

Upon my door and asks of me if it be true that I be he?

“Of course!” says I, and off he ran to spread the news, and thus began

An endless, shuffling, odd parade of people peering through my shade

To see the hairy Potter

 

I never dreamed I’d see a mass of noses pressed against the glass

Of my windows night and day to marvel at me shaping clay!

They call it magic when I take a moistened lump and from it make

A cup or bowl. The wheel spins. A shape appears! They drop their chins.

I am the hairy Potter

 

With a hey, derry dum-dum, diddle-um day I spin the wheel, I moisten the clay

Hey, derry dum-dum, diddle-um day! 

Round and round, no time for a snip, or a clip, or a shave

 

My forehead bears a ragged scar from a broken pottery jar

People gasp, “It’s just the sort we heard you got from Voldemort!"

"Voldy-who?" I ask. "Oh, come!" they cry, as if I'm playing dumb.

"He-whose-name-cannot-be-named!" They point and whisper, eyes aflame,

“You are the Hairy Potter!”

 

With a hey, derry dum-dum, diddle-um day I spin the wheel, I moisten the clay

Hey, derry dum-dum, diddle-um day! 

Round and round, no time for a snip, or a clip, or a shave

 

Crowds come in the pottery store mumbling words like ‘Dumbledore”

“Polyjuice” and “Sorting Hat” (whatever it is they mean by that!)

I don’t care! I toss and spin my pots and bowls and grow my chin

Happy they’ll pay a hefty price for any hand-made merchandise

Made by the hairy Potter

And who’s the Hairy Potter?

I am the Hairy Potter

 

 

 

 

 10. Butterfly

 

There was an egg stuck on a leaf up in a tree

So small it was difficult to see

High in the branches it hung and swung about

Until it opened and a fuzzy bug crawled out

 

Singin’ mmm, mmm... a little caterpillar

Mmm, mmm... changin’ everyday

Mmm, mmm... keep your eye upon it

It’s gonna be a butterfly one day!

 

It’s tummy growled for something good to eat

It spied a leaf juicy, green and sweet

In fact the tree had all the leaves a bug could want

Just like living in a tree house restaurant

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Singin’ mmm, mmm... a little caterpillar

Mmm, mmm... changin’ everyday

Mmm, mmm... keep your eye upon it

It’s gonna be a butterfly one day!

 

One day it wove itself a chrysalis

To undergo a magic metamorphosis

After many days and nights went by

It came out as a soggy butterfly

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Singin’ mmm, mmm... a little caterpillar

Mmm, mmm... changin’ everyday

Mmm, mmm... keep your eye upon it

It’s gonna be a butterfly one day!

 

Upon a leaf in the sun it dried its wings

Flew away and gathered tasty things

Pollen, seeds and nectar sweet

Laid its eggs, a life-cycle complete

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Singin’ mmm, mmm... a little caterpillar

Mmm, mmm... changin’ everyday

Mmm, mmm... keep your eye upon it

It’s gonna be a butterfly one day!

 

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11. Living In A Circle

 

Living in a circle, living in a circle 

Together forever, living in a circle

 

Seasons go around in a circle

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

The world goes around in a circle, too

Spinning every day like a ball

Living in a circle, living in a circle 

Together forever, living in a circle

 

Life is a slow-turning circle

We’re born, we live, and we die

Kids grow grey as the seasons turn

Wrinkles circling their eyes

La vida en la vuelta, la vida en la vuelta,

Juntos siempre, la vida en la vuelta

 

Living things belong in the circle

Nature, by nature, is good

Every heart a part of the web of life

Air, water, mountain and wood

Living in a circle, living in a circle 

Together forever, living in a circle

 

All living things belong in the circle

Everyone singing their part

The wolf, by the light of the silvery moon 

Howls out the song in its heart

Living in a circle, living in a circle 

Together forever, living in a circle

 

 

 

 

 

12. Hey, Hound Dog!

 

Well, hey, hound dog! You’re a pretty funky guy!

The way you wag your wager, I don’t even want to try!

You follow me to school, then you follow me back home

And then you sit and chew on your b-b-b-b-bone

You like to chase me when I ride my bi-yi-yi-yi-yike

‘Cause that’s the kind of game that-a you really like!

 

Hound dog! (Bow-wow-wow-wow)

Hound dog! (Bow-wow-wow-wow)

Hound dog! (Bow-wow-wow-wow)

Hound dog! (Bow-wow-wow-wow)

You like to lick my ice cream cone, you’re such a little hog

Hound dog! (Bow-wow-wow)

 

 

 

 

13. Dragon's Snout Snuffed

 

A fire-breathing Dragon lived under a bridge in a lost kingdom far away

His favorite food was spaghetti and kids so the kids wisely ran far away

 

The Dragon grew weary of pasta, no meat and longingly licked on the bones

Kept in a pile, still savory and sweet with the juice of the meals he’d once known

 

Early one morning out of the mist a Unicorn came prancing by

Said the meat-thirsty Dragon, smacking his lips, “In my Dragon-fires you’ll fry!”

 

Yo ho! Run little Unicorn! Yo ho! Run far away

Yo ho! Run little Unicorn! Run like the wind while you may

 

Bridge timbers trembled, he bellowed & roared. Cruel lips smacking, he hissed,

“Meat and spaghetti I’ll savor once more… Though kids are a flavor I’ll miss.”

 

The desperate Unicorn hatched an idea inspired by reflections below

In the still water pooled under the bridge. She knew dragons tend to be slow

 

“Psst!” she confided, “You’re really in luck! Look! In the pool down there…

A water-bourn Unicorn ready to pluck! They’re the tastiest and the most rare!”

 

Yo ho! Fib little Unicorn! Yo ho! Fib and parlay

Yo ho! Fib little Unicorn!  Fib for your life while you may

 

She said, “If it’s Unicorn you wish to eat the water-bourn Unicorn’s best!

Put your snout in the water! Their savory meat is sweeter, by far, than the rest!”

 

His nostrils flared red. He thrust his head deep He opened his jaws for a bite

The instant he did his snout-fires were snuffed and snuffed nostrils can’t reignite

 

Dragons are fussy in matters of meat. With noses upturned they will spurn

Any least morsel, the tenderest treat if not fully blackened and burned

 

So he slunk away, head hung in defeat resigned to eat flowers and ferns

The Unicorn lived, and our story’s complete, for the wandering children returned! 

 

 

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