Singable Songs (Folk and Singer/Songwriters)

These are among my favorite songs. To be included in this collection, songs have to satisfy two criteria:

1. Singable – The songs must be easy enough for a wide range of abilities, and singable by beginners. The songs must have withstood the test of time, and be readily available with audio samples, to help you learn to sing the songs.

2.  Spiritual Relevance – These songs all deal in some way with the values of hope, gratitude, community, justice, compassion, sustainability, and service.

“Blowing in the Wind” by Bob Dylan:
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services
MIDI:  
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/blowing.htm

“Blue Boat Home”
Words by singer/songwriter Peter Mayer
Music by Prichard
Singing the Living Tradition Hymnal # 207
“Blue Boat Home” is also now a new hymn found in the UU hymnal supplement Singing the Journey. Visit Peter Mayer’s website to learn more about his CD’s:
http://petermayer.net/

“Catch Another Butterfly”
by John Denver
A song bemoaning the loss of the intense love of Nature of childhood; reminding us to pay attention again.

“Come the Day”
Lyrics and Melody: Bruce Woodley
from The Seekers 1966 eponymous album, available on many re-releases such as The Seekers: 1966-1967 (Disc 3) or The Ultimate Collection.

“Garden Song”
Words and Music by David Mallett

Performed by artists such as Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, John Denver, Peter Paul & Mary, etc.

John Denver performs on his album John JD Denver.
Listen on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/FjMFLH04WUE
or watch an listen to John sing it with The Muppets here:
http://youtu.be/D3FkaN0HQgs

Pete Seeger performs it here:
http://youtu.be/u90qRE2F7CM

“Go Gently Through the Years”
YouTube video performance to get an idea of the simple melody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQgdYgUmVss

Performed by Don Whetstine in his circa 1974 album “Love One Another”
Source: http://musicforsong.blogspot.com/2010/04/don-whetstine.html

“If  I Had  Hammer”
by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays:
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human ServicesMIDI:
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/hammer.htm

“Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream”
Words and music by Ed McCurdy
available on The Limeliters albums Harmony! and Live in Paradise (2005) in a teaching sing-a-along version. Other versions include the Simon & Garfunkel album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, and The Hillside Singers album I’d LIke to Teach the World to Sing.

“Let there be Peace on Earth”
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services
MIDI files:
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/midi/peaceonearth.mid
http://www.links2love.com/music/ltthrbpc.mid

Recordings:
Vince Gill and many others.

http://www.links2love.com/christmas-let-there-be-peace-on-earth.htm

YouTube Video with Vince Gill music:
http://youtu.be/HPH4LRASWbo

VIdeo sing-a-long with lyrics:
http://youtu.be/wRFNg-Eyt_0

“One More Step”
Singing the Living Tradition #168
On the album Let Your Heart Sing by Joyce Poley, available on CD or sheet music from Songstyle Music: http://www.songstylemusic.ca/

MP3 files available from UUA:
Acepella learning:
http://clf.uua.org/music/ 
Specifically:
http://clf.uua.org/podcasts/One%20More%20Step.mp3

UU Church of Nashua:
http://www.koober.org/14Jan07/Hymn%20One%20More%20Step%20(No%20168).MP3

“Puff the Magic Dragon”
by Peter Yarrow (of  the group Peter, Paul and Mary) from a poem by Leonard Lipton.

Although imagined by some that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana, both Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton insist that the topic of the song is the obvious one about the “loss of innocence in children.”

  • “Puff the Magic Dragon” – YouTube Video by MiraCulAko with exceptional imagery and the complete lyrics matched with the audio of the original recording by Peter, Paul & Mary.
  • “Puff the Magic Dragon – BOOK – This Video is a Read-along and Sing-along for children presented by Danielle and Laura’s Music Room.  The beautifully illustrated book is shown page by page as Danielle (or Laura)  teaches  you the song with her ukulele!

“Simple Song of Freedom”
by Bobby Darin

On the album: Bobby Darin Live! at the Desert Inn (1971)

“Stand!”
by Amy Carol Webb
available as free MP3 download from her website at:
http://www.amycarolwebb.com/music-73.html

“Swimming to the Other Side”
by Pat Humphries:

“Time for Living”
by The Association
This soft-rock group advises us to “kick of your shoes and feel the good earth under your feet…. I found the secret to life, I took some time for living!”

 

“Today”
Written by Randy Sparks, performed by New Christy Minstrels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(The_New_Christy_Minstrels_song) 

“Under the Rainbow”
by Joyce Johnson Rouse

http://www.earthmama.org/lyrics/undertherainbow/Under%20The%20Rainbow.pdf

“Ghost Riders in the Sky”
by Stan Jones

“We Shall Overcome”

Singing the Living Tradition Hymnal: #169
http://www.events-in-music.com/we-shall-overcome-aids-pete-seeger.html

Traditional Folk Songs – Public Domain
 

Earth Songs
In This Section

“Singing together helps us experience in the body our connection to each other and the planet, summons our collective courage, enlivens us and inspires us to play our part in creating a life-sustaining society.” 
–  Gretchen Sleicher

The Fabulous Limeliters

The following links go to my site and others about The Fabulous Limeliters:

  • The Limeliters Web Portal – The Limeliters were the most vibrant urban folk group of the early 1960s, second only to the Kingston Trio in popularity at their peak.
  • Tribute to The Limeliters – The Ultimate Limeliters Fan Page which I created in 1997. Best site for bios, photos, concert programs and more!
  • Official Limeliters Website – Learn About the current line-up of the group – still performing since 1959!