Friday Featured Track for Sept. 18, 2009
- “The Foolish Frog,” by Pete Seeger, from the 1971 animated film of the same name.
One of the biggest advantages of having two sons 12 years apart is the abundance of hand-me-downs. My younger boy, Gabe, 2 1/2, often wears clothes, listens to CDs and watches movies passed down from his older brother, Chris, 14.
As all parents know, toddlers have a tendency to watch the same film over and over and over again, and Gabe’s newest obsession is the Scholastic animated adaptation of the storybook “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.” He found Chris’ old VHS copy, and his compulsive viewing prompted us to rent the DVD version from Netflix.
The DVD includes a few bonus storybook adaptations not featured on the old VHS, and before I knew it, I was hearing a familiar folksy voice belting out a catchy but nonsensical yarn about a farmer whose song about an arrogant frog starts a community sensation.
The familiar voice turned out to be venerable folk singer Pete Seeger, who apparently wrote the song with his father, Charles L. Seeger. Pete Seeger narrates and sings the tale, which was turned into a 1971 cartoon by Firebird Films and director Gene Deitch (”Popeye the Sailor Man,” “Krazy Kat”).
The cartoon and song were apparently turned into a 1973 children’s book, which is out of print but can be found through Amazon.com.
Not only has the song captured my toddler’s imagination, it also has become wedged in my brain, mostly because it’s packed with vivid lyrics about singing barn doors and families drinking free strawberry pop and eating free soda crackers at the corner store.
I’ve posted a YouTube of the video above, but beware, you may find yourself singing and whistling this exuberant song days from now.
-BAM
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