We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Ballad of a Dung Beetle

by David Rovics

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $5 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    My second CD of children's music.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ballad of a Dung Beetle via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 30 David Rovics releases available on Bandcamp and save 70%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Notes From A Holocaust, Live in Boulder, Killing the Messenger, May Day, It's Been A Year, Rebel Songs, Say Their Names, Notes from a Failed State, and 22 more. , and , .

    Excludes subscriber-only releases.

    Purchasable with gift card

      $55.80 USD or more (70% OFF)

     

1.
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
2.
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
3.
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)
4.
Owie 01:39
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
5.
My Backyard 02:14
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
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
12.
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
13.
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...
14.
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

about

This is the second of my children's albums. Hope you like it!

Note to grownups: I do concerts, in case you work for a school, library, festival or other such institution that involves live music. I also have sheet music for all my children's songs for anyone interested. Just email me at david@davidrovics.com anytime.

credits

released January 19, 2015

The album was recorded over the course of 2 days at Big Red Studio in Corbett, Oregon, with Billy Oskay engineering and co-producing with me. One day I went in and laid down the main guitar and vocal tracks, and on the second day I came in and did harmony vocals and some other stuff. Then Billy mixed and mastered the whole thing.

license

tags

about

David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

shows

contact / help

Contact David Rovics

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

David Rovics recommends:

If you like David Rovics, you may also like: