What songs do you sing to your DGC?

When my children and grandchildren were babies, I used to sing Climb Up Sunshine Mountain. I changed the words slightly to delete references to sin and God:

Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
Heavenly breezes blow
Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
Faces all aglow
Turn from sadness, turn from sorrow
Look into the sky
Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
You and I

Now my grandchildren are older, we sing all sorts of songs together:

My old man's a dustman, Yellow Submarine, Penny Lane, I do like to be beside the seaside, the hokey kokey, Ugly Duckling, etc etc.

They love me to sing 'Oh you cannae shove ya Granny off a bus' My Granny used to sing it to me many many moons ago.

Bananas in Pyjamas is the biggest hit with the DGC.

Last week I taught 4 year old granddaughter Nelly the Elephant, when My DD came to pick her up, DGD insisted on giving her a rendering of her new song.
It went " Nelly the elephants back to front".

Ive sung many of the son gs mentioned. Current favourites at the moment with 3 yr old are There was an old lady who swallowed a fly (with ticklin g) and This is the way we wash our hands etc with actions (properly Here we go round the mulbury bush.) Another I taught them when in France was 'Frere Jaques' which they still sing though they know no French!

All my grandchildren loved Row, Row, Row the boat, Dingle, Dangle Scarecrow and Wind the Bobbin Up when they were young. A couple of weeks ago I was taking my youngest grandaughter (almost 6 )home in the car after Rainbows and started singing to her, she just said 'grandma don't sing, it's not good'

We used to sing Hush little baby to our granddaughter, and had debates over the different versions of the song.
We were amused when about that time Katie Mehlua came out with an adult version ( eg....When my man's no longer hot, I'm going to bring him a vodka shot)
We stuck to our traditional versions for our gd

My family loves music and singing, and our eight year old granddaughter is now in the school choir. It's really very wrong of teachers to stop a child from singing; it's one of life's great pleasures, however good or bad the voice. Our granddaughter used to love "Morningtown Ride", and wanted it sung "again, again", but now we've graduated to anything silly: "Honeybun" from "South Pacific", "Copacabana", "Waltzing Matilda" and "Right Said Fred" to name but a few.

You are my Sunshine, my mother used to sing it to my girls.

I always sang to me GD1&2 years old , I was singing You are my Sunshine, but when it came to the line Please don't take my sunshine away , DG1 burst in to tears at the thought that some one may take her sunshine away, Priceless moments , she is 11years old now and sings away to girl bands ,

How lovely that 'Golden Slumbers' is popular - that gentle little song has endured. Was the tune a classical composition or have imagined that?

Golden Slumbers
I Love You a Bushel & a Peck
Pop Goes The Weasel
I Had a Dream (ABBA)

BBbevan and pensionpat, we used to sing that song in our family but our last line was 'And hair like barbed wire'!

Oh, and here’s ‘ Ta-ra-ra_ Boom-de-ay

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta-ra-ra_Boom-de-ay

neilspurgeon0, my Uncle James was the ‘ naughty’ one. He taught us this;

Mrs Maguire pee’d in the fire,
The fire was too hot, she pee’d in the pot.
The pot was too wide, she pee’d in the Clyde,
And a’ the wee fishes ran up her backside.

And;( translations in brackets!)

McTavish had a wee wee dug (dog),
Oh my, but it was braw ( lovely)
It luftit ( lifted) up its wee bit leg,
And pee’d against the wa’ ( wall)
And when it saw the steam rise up,
It thocht ( thought) it was a fire.
So it luftit up its wee bit leg,
And pee’d a wee bit higher!

Oh gosh! my mother never sang to us that I can remember, except for "You are my sunshine" which she sang when she was ANGRY with us! Honestly, you've never heard anything more threatening, we all used to hide. My grandparents, however, were great enthusiasts for the Music Hall, especially Marie Lloyd, and sang all the songs to us, so those are what I sing. Eldest granddaughter could be instantly soothed by a couple of verses of "Oh, oh, Antonio."

“The three little kittens that lost their mittens” was a favourite with my GD. Had to look it up as I couldn’t remember the words.
Also “Miss Polly had a dolly.”

I used to sing a lot to DDs and GD1. All the nursery rhymes, Train whistle blowing, On Ilkley Moor, On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese - and lots more, GD1 and I went to a baby and toddler music group every week. When DDs were small we had some lovely tapes and a record that were played a lot, often at teatime which was a light meal for us (I wish I lived in a caravan, A frog he would a-courting go/Anthony Rowley etc). Happy days!

My daughter was taught all the first world war songs like 'It's a long way to Tipperary' by her class teacher. She loved them! I sing 'When a knight won his spurs in the stories of old'. 'Golden Slumbers', and also some rousing choruses of 'We all live in a yellow submarine' with the GC. We often accompany ourselves on the piano. None of us can play.

VIOLETTE That's funny, I can just picture that! My youngest son used to sing Any Old Iron with all the accompanying acting and a strong Cockney accent when he was little, and was often the 'star turn' at family gatherings. You can guess who taught him that He still has a very London accent and peppers his vocabulary with rhyming slang which is not always appreciated in the posh area they live in!

vickya I haven't heard Baby's Gorn Down the Plughole' for many years. It was often sung or recited in pubs on a Saturday night with accompanying responses from the audience.

inishowen ignore what your unkind teacher said. You sing away to your hearts content. Sing along with the TV or radio to gain confidence and don't ever be afraid to join in with carol singers or a choir. Just go for it! Everyone has a singing voice and we shouldn't be afraid to use it.

I used to sing everything from nursery rhymes to rock 'n roll to my sons when they were little and many of the songs mentioned here. I was a member of a church choir for several years. Sadly constant use of asthma inhalers ruined my voice which is now deeper and gravelly. Consequently my grandchildren (and their parents) now tell me to Shut Up if I start singing! Though it doesn't stop me singing along with Songs of Praise, or in church, or with carol singers and I don't care what anyone else thinks.

You are my sunshine, Happy Pumpkin, A chipmunk song, and I love you

Have to laugh here ...when my daughter was smallm
, aged ,very MiL's sister ( East End born and bred !) taught her to sing Knees Up Mother Brown in all its glory ,,,,,,the teachers at her little private school were not amused !!!!! had to hide in shame ....

I always have to sing the whole of the Ugly Duckling

When my six-year-old grandson was young, I used to sing (I've written this in phonics to aid your understanding of whatever it is I am singing ..) - tar rar a bumdy ay, tar rar a bumdy ay. Any idea what it is?