Get all 29 David Rovics releases available on Bandcamp and save 70%.
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1. |
Ballad of a Dung Beetle
02:43
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I'm from Seattle
And I'll tell you my tale
I grew up by the water
I was born in a pail
I'm a dung beetle
Just like my friends
But sadly that's where the
Similarity ends
I'm a dung beetle
That normally means
I would eat dung
Not carrots or beans
Yes my friends all eat dung
They eat it all day
But I had to find
A different way
'Cause I'm a dung beetle
Who's allergic to poop
I feel so left out
I just sit there and droop
They tease me for being
So out of the loop
I'm a dung beetle
Who's allergic to poop
We walk through the woods and
We come to a bog
There's a cow pie
Right next to a log
All the other dung beetles
Jump onto that thing
While I sit and eat berries
And mournfully sing
Chorus
One time we were walking
And we found a whole herd
Of cows who had produced
Some really fine turd
My friends all went wild
I could only stare
And think about how life
Just isn't fair
Chorus
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2. |
Baby in a Bag
01:29
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Some babies like to ride in strollers
Other babies like to ride in cars
Some babies like to jump on pogo sticks
Other babies like to get pickled in jars
Some babies like to get wrapped in towels
And drag around a rag
My baby she likes to get right inside
And get carried in a bag
Baby in a bag (6x)
Some babies like to ride a bike
They think that that's just swell
Others like to try unicycles
But that usually doesn't go so well
Some babies like to fly a jet
At ten thousand feet
My baby likes to sit between
The carrots and the beets
Some babies like to ride on top
Of a speeding train
Other babies like to jump in puddles
Running in the rain
Some babies like to swing on vines
And go from tree to tree
My baby likes to sit on top
Of a bunch of frozen peas
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3. |
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Papa’s in the kitchen making some eggs
Hannae’s in her bedroom sleeping
Our neighbor next door is making coffee
I can smell it steeping
I’m sitting here with my monkey
We make such a mighty pair
Looking out the window
Rocking in a rocking chair
Rocking, rocking
Rocking in a rocking chair (2x)
That’s my brother jumping on the couch
Going up and down and up and down
That’s my sister riding the tricycle
Going round and round and round
Me I’m on the front porch
With my fingers in my hair
Clapping with my feet
Rocking in a rocking chair
(Chorus)
That woman walking to the house
She’s delivering the mail
She does that every day
Walking on the mail trail
She came up to the house
“How are you” I said
“Fine,” she replied, “but
I’d rather be rocking there instead”
(Chorus)
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4. |
Owie
01:39
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I was sitting on my daddy's shoulders
To the hot springs we were bound
He tripped and I fell off
Now I\'m lying on the ground
Owie, owie, owie
Owie-owie-owie-owie-owww (2x)
I was looking out my window
Sitting on the windowsill
When the wind blew and I fell out
And I took quite a spill
I was swinging on the swingset
Swinging up so high
So high that I fell off it
Now I think I'm gonna cry
I was playing by a coconut tree
"Watch out!" somebody said
Then a coconut fell from way up there
And landed on my head
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5. |
My Backyard
02:14
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There’s a chipmunk chewing on an acorn
There’s a bluejay chewing on a worm
Leaves are falling from the treetops
Landing on the ground with a squirm
There’s a cat sitting on the fence
He says “meow meow meow”
He’s a white cat with black spots
And we all call him cow
If I want to find excitement
It’s not very hard
It’s all happening around me
Right there in my backyard
There’s a wind blowing in the trees
It says woo woo woo
There’s a train calling in the distance
It says choo choo choo
You can see the people inside it
As the train is passing by
They all wave back at me
Beneath the cloudy sky
Chorus
There’s a swing swinging back and forth
There’s a see-saw going up and down
I could just stay there all day long
It’s the best backyard in town
The doggie next door is howling
He says ooooooooooo!
That’s just what he does when a train goes by
I don’t know ‘bout you
Chorus
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6. |
Pretty Puppies
01:11
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I walked down the sidewalk
A few blocks down the way
Where there is a place
That I really like to play
And those little doggies
They really leave their mark
Those pretty puppies prancing playing
Pooping in the park
I like sliding on the slide
And swinging on the swings
Hanging on the monkey bars
And all kinds of other things
But what I like the most
Is when the doggies bark
Those pretty puppies prancing playing
Pooping in the park
I like to see the squirrels
Running from the cats
I like to see the spiders
The beavers and the bats
But I just saw something small and brown
Shaped just like a shark
Those pretty puppies prancing playing
Pooping in the park
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7. |
Babies are a Mess
01:49
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There’s a bottle on the floor
And milk all over your face
I don’t know what you’re eating
But it’s all over the place
There is a bowl of beans
Beside your teddy bear
But now you’ve dunked your hands in it
And smeared it in your hair
Yeah, babies are a mess
That’s one thing you can say
They might be cute and cuddly
But they’re messy either way
You found a bunch of mud
And mixed it with some fingerpaint
I don’t know what to call it now
But fingerpaint it ain’t
You took some apple juice
And poured it on your pants
Then you said “oh my that’s cold!”
And you did a little dance
Chorus
I turned my head a moment
And the next thing that I knew
You had stepped upon a bottle
Full of Elmer’s glue
It squirted out across the room
And went right out the door
Then you ran after it and
Tracked glue across the floor
Chorus
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8. |
I Lost My Hat
01:52
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I lost my hat, mmm-mmm-mmm
It’s a grey day, mmm-mmm-mmm
I lost my hat, mmm-mmm-mmm
It’s gone away, mmm-mmm-mmm
I used to wear it all over the place
It looked so good on top of my face
It had a nice rim to keep out the sun
Of all the hats in the world it was the one
Chorus
I was at a party and then it was gone
Next day I had to face the dawn
Without that hat beside my bed
To grab and put on top of my head
Chorus
Then my daddy took me somewhere
And all of a sudden my hat was there
I laughed out loud, my heart did melt
But I still remember how I felt (when)
Chorus
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9. |
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When I came home one morning
There was a little cat
I don’t know how we ended up
With a cat like that
But then what happened next
Just eased my weary soul
When that kitten started playing
With a toilet paper roll
Each time she attacked it
It just rolled away
And I watched it all unravel
Down the stairs that day
Then it landed in a basket
Dad said “that’s a goal!”
When that kitten started playing
With a toilet paper roll
She jumped into the basket
And then the basket fell
Then cat and paper tumbled out
And tumbled out so well
Tumbled to the kitchen
With that tissue that she stole
When that kitten started playing
With a toilet paper roll
She slid across the kitchen floor
And right into the wall
Then that paper rolled away
Somewhere down the hall
Then that cat walked over
And drank water from a bowl
And took a break from playing
With a toilet paper roll
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10. |
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Mommy said get in the car
Let us go have tea
I said I think that sounds boring
I just wanna climb a tree
I just wanna climb a tree
Up in a tree, that’s where I wanna be
Just like a little monkey
I just wanna climb a tree
Daddy said come down from there
It’s time to eat some snails
Would you like them raw
Or cooked inside a pail
I said I just wanna climb a tree…
Grandpa said come down and we’ll
Go swimming if you please
But I said no I think I’d rather
Hang here on my knees
Chorus
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11. |
Leila's Birthday Song
02:24
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The moss on the trees had an extra green glow
And the squirrels all were singing
The clouds in the sky looked like raspberry pie
And all the telephones were ringing
The guitars and fiddles were jumping around
And they all had this to say
Happy birthday, dear Leila, we’re all just so glad that
You’re two years old today
All the Legos were doing the tango
And a banana went sailing by
It peeled itself and jumped into the middle
Of a slice of banana cream pie
In came a horse, through the back door
And then it started to bray
Happy birthday, dear Leila, we’re all just so glad that
You’re two years old today
The paints began painting, the monkeys were fainting
The cows were jumping over the moon
Coyotes were howling, ow-ow-ow-owling
Singing a beautiful tune
The pancakes were flipping, the whipped cream was whipping
And forming a sweet bouquet
Happy birthday, dear Leila, we’re all just so glad that
You’re two years old today
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12. |
If I was a Dog
01:18
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If I was a dog I’d scratch my belly
I’d scratch it with my paw
It would be the furriest belly
That you ever saw
Doggie, doggie, rr-ruf-ruf
Doggie, doggie, rr-ruf-ruf
Doggie, doggie, doggie-doggie-doggie
Doggie, doggie, rr-ruf-ruf
If I was a dog I would lay down
Lay down on the floor
I’d roll around and scratch my back
And then I’d bark at the door
Chorus
If I was a dog I’d lick your face
And it would taste so good
I would lick your face and then
I’d chew on a piece of wood
Chorus
If I was a dog I’d wag my tail
And pant on top of your head
At the end of the day I’d lay down
Beside you in your bed
Chorus
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13. |
It's So Windy
01:44
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It’s so windy
Branches coming down
It’s so windy
Leaves are blowing ‘round
It’s so windy
And I just wanna sit here
And watch the wind with you
It’s so rainy
It’s coming down in sheets
It’s so rainy
Puddles in the streets
It’s so rainy
And I just wanna sit here
And watch the rain with you
It’s so foggy
You can see it rolling by
It’s so foggy
It’s blocking out the sky
It’s so foggy
And I just wanna sit here
And watch the fog with you
It’s so windy...
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14. |
Halloween Parade
02:23
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It was on one afternoon we headed down
There in the twilight hour to the center of town
Everyone was gathered as the sun began to fade
For the annual excitement of the Halloween Parade
There were jacolanterns lit up on every door
There were ghosts and Avatars and witches by the score
With cauldrons full of lizard stew which they had made
That\'s what was going down at the Halloween Parade
There was a very pale vampire biting someone's neck
In front of a haunted house where no one dared to trek
Suddenly a headless horseman came and his horse it loudly neighed
That\'s how the night was going at the Halloween Parade
Someone was walking around in a monkey suit
Lots of kids were roaming with bags and bags of loot
One of them was pulling a dragon she had slayed
She had it up on wheels for the Halloween Parade
Suddenly on the corner where a little ghost was standing
It started floating up like it wasn't planning on landing
It floated above the rooftops and that is where it stayed
It was another day in Bethel on the Halloween Parade
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David Rovics Portland, Oregon
Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.
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