| "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | 1852 |
| Songwriter(s) | Eliphalet Oram Lyte |
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is an English language nursery rhyme and a popular children's song, of American origin, often sung in a round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19236.
The most common modern version is often sung as a round for up to four voice parts (). A possible arrangement for SATB is as follows:
| Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Bass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Row, row, row your boat | |||
| Gently down the stream. | Row, row, row your boat | ||
| Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, | Gently down the stream. | Row, row, row your boat | |
| Life is but a dream. | Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, | Gently down the stream. | Row, row, row your boat |
| Life is but a dream. | Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, | Gently down the stream. | |
| Life is but a dream. | Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, | ||
| Life is but a dream. |
The earliest printing of the song is from 1852, when the lyrics were published with similar lyrics to those used today, but with a very different tune. It was reprinted again two years later with the same lyrics and another tune. The modern tune was first recorded with the lyrics in 1881, mentioning Eliphalet Oram Lyte in The Franklin Square Song Collection but not making it clear whether he was the composer or adapter. [2]
The nursery rhyme is well known, appearing in several films and TV programmes, including Blackadder Goes Forth , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , The Trumpet of the Swan , Manos: The Hands of Fate , and Dante's Peak .
Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his 1961 album 101 Gang Songs . Crosby also used the song as part of a round with his family, as captured on the 1976 album Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium . Aimee Mann included a brief interpolation in her 1996 song "Choice in the Matter".
People often add additional verses, a form of children's street culture, with the intent of either extending the song or (especially in the case of more irreverent versions) to make it funny, parody it, or substitute another sensibility for the perceived innocent one of the original. [3] Don Music, a Muppet character in Sesame Street , changed the lyrics to feature a car instead of a boat. [4] [5] [6]
Versions include:
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don't forget to scream.
Row, row, row your boat
Underneath the stream.
Ha-ha, fooled you!
I'm a submarine.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently to the shore.
If you see a lion there,
Don’t forget to roar.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently around the bath.
If you see a large giraffe,
Don’t forget to laugh.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the river.
If you see a polar bear,
Don’t forget to shiver.
Row, row, row your punt
Gently down the stream.
Belts off, trousers down!
Isn’t life a scream?
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Throw your teacher overboard,
And listen to her scream. [7]
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Try to make it back to shore,
Before your boat sinks.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the creek.
If your boat fills with water,
Then you've got a leak.
Row, row, row your boat
Out across the bay.
If you see a pirate ship,
Row the other way.
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