500 Best-Loved Song Lyrics

INTEREST

The Aba Daba Honeymoon

W&M: ARTHUR FIELDS & WALTER DONOVAN (1914)

1. ’Way down in the Congoland

Lived a happy chimpanzee,

She loved a monkey with a long tail,

(Lordy, how she loved him!)

Each night he would find her there,

Swinging in the cocoanut tree,

And the monkey gay, at the break of day,

Loved to hear his Chimpie say:

Chorus:

Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab,

Said the Chimpie to the Monk,

Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab,

Said the Monkey to the Chimp.

All night long they’d chatter away,

All day long they were happy and gay,

Swinging and singing

In their hunky, tonkey way.

Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab,

Means Monk, I love but you,

Baba, daba, dab, in monkey-talk,

Means Chimp, I love you too.

1st time:

Then the big baboon, one night in June,

He married them, and very soon

They went upon their aba, daba honeymoon.

2nd time:

One night they were made man and wife,

And now they cry, This is the life,

Since they came from their aba, daba honeymoon.

2. Well, you should have heard that band

Play upon their wedding day,

Each Chimp and Monkey had nutshells,

(Lordy, how they played them!)

And now it is ev’ry night,

High up in the cocoanut tree,

It’s the same old thing, with the same old swing,

When the Monk and Chimpie Sing:

[to Chorus]

Abide with Me

W: HENRY F. LYTE (1847) / M: WILLIAM H. MONK (1861)

1. Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide,

The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!

2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;

Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou, who changest not, abide with me!

3. I need Thy presence every passing hour,

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?

Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Thro’ cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me!

4. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine thro’ the gloom, and point me to the skies;

Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee!

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!

Ach, du Lieber Augustin

AUSTRIAN DRINKING SONG

Ach, du lieber Augustin,

    Augustin, Augustin,

Ach, du lieber Augustin,

    Alles ist weg:

Bock ist weg, Stock ist weg,

    Auch ich bin in dem Dreck,

Ach, du lieber Augustin,

    Alles ist weg.

After the Ball

W & M: CHARLES K. HARRIS (1892)

1. A little maiden climbed an old man’s knee,

Begged for a story, "Do, uncle, please!

Why are you single, why live alone?

Have you no babies, have you no home?"

"I had a sweetheart years, years ago,

Where she is now, pet, you will soon know;

List to the story, I’ll tell it all:

I believed her faithless after the ball."

Chorus:

"After the ball is over, after the break of morn,

After the dancers’ leaving, after the stars are gone,

Many a heart is aching, if you could read them all,

Many the hopes that have vanished after the ball."

2. "Bright lights were flashing in the grand ballroom,

Softly the music playing sweet tunes.

There came my sweetheart, my love, my own:

‘I wish some water; leave me alone.’

"When I returned, dear, there stood a man

Kissing my sweetheart as lovers can.

Down fell the glass, pet, broken, that’s all,

Just as my heart was after the ball."

[to Chorus]

3. "Long years have passed, child, I’ve never wed,

True to my lost love, ’though she is dead.

She tried to tell me, tried to explain,

I would not listen, pleadings were vain.

"One day a letter came from that man.

He was her brother, the letter ran.

That’s why I’m lonely, no home at all,

I broke her heart, pet, after the ball."

[to Chorus]

After You’ve Gone

W & M: HENRY CREAMER & TURNER LAYTON (1918)

1. Now, won’t you listen, honey, while I say

How could you tell me that you’re going away;

Don’t say that we must part,

Don’t break your baby’s heart.

You know I’ve loved you for these many years,

    Loved you night and day.

Oh, honey baby, can’t you see my tears?

    Listen while I say:

Chorus:

After you’ve gone and left me crying,

After you’ve gone, there’s no denying

You’ll feel blue, you’ll feel sad,

You’ll miss the bestest pal you’ve ever had.

There’ll come a time, now don’t forget it,

There’ll come a time when you’ll regret it;

Oh! Babe, think what you’re doing,

You know my love for you will drive me to ruin,

      After you’ve gone,

      After you’ve gone away.

2. Don’t you remember how you used to say

You’d always love me in the same old way;

     And now it’s very strange

     That you should ever change.

Perhaps some other sweetie’s won your heart,

     Tempted you away.

But let me warn you tho’ we’re miles apart,

     You’ll regret some day:

[to Chorus]

Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life

W: RIDA JOHNSON YOUNG / M: VICTOR HERBERT

[from Naughty Marietta, 1910]

Ah! Sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found thee,

Ah! I know at last the secret of it all;

All the longing, seeking, striving, waiting, yearning,

The burning hopes, the joy and idle tears that fall!

For ’tis love, and love alone, the world is seeking;

And ’tis love, and love alone, that can repay!

’Tis the answer, ’tis the end and all of living,

For it is love alone that rules for aye!

For ’tis love, and love alone, the world is seeking;

For ’tis love, and love alone, that can repay!

’Tis the answer, ’tis the end and all of living,

For it is love alone that rules for aye!

Ah! Vous Dirai-je, Maman

FRENCH FOLK SONG

(same melody as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman,

Ce qui cause mon tourment!

Papa veut que je raisonne

Comme une grande personne;

Moi, je dit que les bonbons

Valent mieux que la raison.

Alexander’s Ragtime Band

W & M: IRVING BERLIN (1911)

1. Oh, ma honey, oh, ma honey,

Better hurry and let’s meander;

Ain’t you goin’, ain’t you goin’

To the leader man, ragged meter man?

Oh, ma honey, oh, ma honey,

Let me take you to Alexander’s

Grandstand, brass band,

Ain’t you comin’ along?

Chorus:

Come on and hear, come on and hear

Alexander’s Ragtime Band;

Come on and hear, come on and hear,

It’s the best band in the land.

They can play a bugle call like you never heard before,

So natural that you want to go to war;

That’s just the bestest band what am,

Honey lamb.

Come on along, come on along,

Let me take you by the hand

Up to the man, up to the man

Who’s the leader of the band.

And if you care to hear the Swanee River

Played in ragtime,

Come on and hear, come on and hear

Alexander’s Ragtime Band.

2. Oh, ma honey, oh, ma honey,

There’s a fiddle with notes that screeches,

Like a chicken, like a chicken,

And the clarinet is a colored pet. Come and listen, come and listen

To a classical band what’s peaches,

Come now, somehow,

Better hurry along.

[to Chorus]

Alice Blue Gown

W: JOSEPH Mc CARTHY / M: HARRY TIERNEY

[from Irene, 1919]

1. I once had a gown, it was almost new,

     Oh, the daintiest thing, it was sweet Alice Blue;

With little forget-me-nots placed here and there,

      When I had it on, I walked on the air.

And it wore, and it wore, and it wore,

      Till it went and it wasn’t no more.

Chorus:

       In my sweet little Alice Blue gown,

 When I first wander’d down into town,

       I was both proud and shy

       As I felt ev’ry eye,

 But in ev’ry shop window I’d primp passing by;

 Then in manner of fashion I’d frown,

  And the world seemed to smile all around,

  Till it wilted I wore it,

        I’ll always adore it,

 My sweet little Alice Blue gown.

2. The little silkworms that made silk for that gown,

       Just made that much silk and then crawled in the ground;

For there never was anything like it before,

       And I don’t dare to hope there will be any more.

But it’s gone ’cause it just had to be,

       Still it wears in my memory.

[to Chorus]

All God’s Children Got Shoes

SPIRITUAL

1. I got a shoe, you got a shoe,

All God’s children got shoes,

When I get to heaven gonna put on my shoes,

I’m gonna tromp all over God’s heaven,

    Heaven, heaven,

Ev’rybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there,

    Heaven, heaven,

    Gonna tromp all over God’s heaven.

2. I got a robe, you got a robe,

All God’s children got robes,

When I get to heaven gonna put on my robe,

I’m gonna shout all over God’s heaven,

    Heaven, heaven,

Ev’rybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there,

    Heaven, heaven,

    Gonna shout all over God’s heaven.

3. I got a harp, you got a harp,

All God’s children got harps,

When I get to heaven gonna play on my harp,

I’m gonna play all over God’s heaven,

    Heaven, heaven,

Ev’rybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there,

    Heaven, heaven,

    Gonna play all over God’s heaven.

All Night, All Day

SPIRITUAL

Chorus:

All night, all day,

Angels watchin’ over me, my Lord,

All night, all day,

Angels watchin’ over me.

1. Now I lay me down to sleep,

       Angels watchin’ over me, my Lord,

Pray the Lord my soul to keep,

       Angels watchin’ over me.

[to Chorus]

2. If die before I wake,

Angels watchin’ over me, my Lord,

Pray the Lord my soul to take,

Angels watchin’ over me.

[to Chorus]

All Through the Night

WELSH FOLK SONG

1. Sleep, my love, and peace attend thee

All through the night;

Guardian angels God will lend thee,

All through the night.

Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,

Hill and dale in slumber steeping,

Love alone his watch is keeping,

All through the night.

2. Though I roam a minstrel lonely,

All through the night,

My true harp shall praise thee only,

All through the night.

Love’s young dream, alas, is over,

Yet my strains of love shall hover

Near the presence of my lover,

All through the night.

3. Hark! a solemn bell is ringing,

Clear through the night.

Thou, my love, are heav’nward winging

Home through the night.

Earthly dust from off thee shaken,

Soul immortal thou shalt waken

With thy last dim journey taken,

Home through the night.

Alouette

FRENCH-CANADIAN CHILDREN’S ACCUMULATION SONG

[Lark, sweet lark, I’ll pluck your feathers …

… and your head… and your beak …

and your eyes … (etc.)]

1. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

Je te plumerai la tête, je te plumerai la tête,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah!

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

2. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

Je te plumerai le bec, je te plumerai le bec,

    Et le bec, et le bec,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah!

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

3. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

    Je te plumerai les yeux, je te plumerai les yeux,

    Et les yeux, et les yeux,

    Et le bec, et le bec,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah!

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

4. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

    Je te plumerai les ailes, je te plumerai les ailes,

    Et les ailes, et les ailes,

    Et les yeux, et les yeux,

    Et le bec, et le bec,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah!

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

5. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

    Je te plumerai le dos, je te plumerai le dos,

    Et le dos, et le dos,

    Et les ailes, et les ailes

    Et les yeux, et les yeux,

    Et le bec, et le bec,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah!

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

6. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

    Je te plumerai les jambes, je te plumerai les jambes,

    Et les jambes, et les jambes

    Et le dos, et le dos,

    Et les ailes, et les ailes

    Et les yeux, et les yeux,

    Et le bec, et le bec,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah!

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

7. Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

Je te plumerai les pieds, je te plumerai les pieds,

    Et les pieds, et les pieds,

    Et les jambes, et les jambes

    Et le dos, et le dos,

    Et les ailes, et les ailes

    Et les yeux, et les yeux,

    Et le bec, et le bec,

    Et la tête, et la tête,

Alouette, alouette—ah

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

The Alphabet Song

CHILDREN’S PLAY SONG

(same melody as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star as well as ’Ah! Vous Dirai-je, Maman")

A B C D E F G,

H I J K L-M-N-O-P,

Q R Sand T U V,

Double-U [W] and X Y Z.

Now you’ve heard my A B C’s,

Tell me what you think of me.

Amazing Grace

AMERICAN FOLK SONG

1. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

2. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved,

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!

3. Through many dangers, toils and snares,

I have already come.

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

4. When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we first begun.

America (My Country! ’Tis of Thee)

W: SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH (1831) M: ANON.

(from the English anthem God Save the King,

itself possibly based on an unknown English ballad)

1. My country! ’tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

    Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrim’s pride,

From every mountain side,

    Let freedom ring.

2. Our fathers’ God! to thee,

Author of liberty!

    To thee we sing;

Long may our land be bright

With freedom’s holy light;

Protect us by thy might,

    Great God, our King!

3. My native country! thee,

Land of the noble free,

    Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills:

My heart with rapture thrills,

    Like that above.

4. Let music swell the breeze,

And sing from all the trees

    Sweet freedom’s song;

Let mortal tongues awake;

Let all that breathe partake;

Let rocks their silence break,

    The sound prolong.

America the Beautiful

W: KATHERINE LEE BATES (1895) M: SAMUEL A. WARD (1882)

(melody originally known as Materna)

1. Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Across the fruited plain,

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

2. Oh, beautiful for Pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness.

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw;

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law.

3. Oh, beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved,

And mercy more than life.

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And ev’ry gain divine.

4. Oh, beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Anchors Aweigh

SONG OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY W & M: CAPT. ALFRED H. MILES, U.S.N. (Ret.) & CHARLES A. ZIMMERMAN (1907)

1. Stand, Navy, out to sea,

Fight our battle cry;

We’ll never change our course,

So vicious foe, steer shy-y-y-y.

Roll out the T.N.T.,

Anchors aweigh,

Sail on to victory,

And sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!

2. Anchors aweigh, my boys,

Anchors aweigh,

Farewell to college joys,

We sail at break of day-day-day-day.

Through our last night on shore,

Drink to the foam,

Until we meet once more,

Here’s wishing you a happy voyage home.

3. Stand, Navy, down the field,

Sail set to the sky!

We’ll never change our course,

So, Army, you steer shy-y-y-y.

Roll up the score, Navy,

Anchors aweigh,

Sail, Navy, down the field,

And sink the Army, sink the Army gray.

Angels, from the Realms of Glory

W & M: JAMES MONTGOMERY (19th c.)

1. Angels, from the realms of glory,

Wing your flight o’er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation’s story,

Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

Come and worship,

Come and worship,

Worship Christ, the newborn King!

2. Shepherds, in the fields abiding,

Watching o’er your flocks by night,

God with man is now residing;

Yonder shines the infant Light.

Come and worship,

Come and worship,

Worship Christ, the newborn King!

3. Sages, leave your contemplations;

Brighter visions beam afar;

Seek the great Desire of Nations;

Ye have seen his natal star.

Come and worship,

Come and worship,

Worship Christ, the newborn King!

4. Saints, before the altar bending,

Watching long in hope and fear,

Suddenly, the Lord descending,

In his temple shall appear.

Come and worship,

Come and worship,

Worship Christ, the newborn King!

Angels We Have Heard on High

TRADITIONAL FRENCH NOEL

(anonymous English translation)

1. Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o’er the plains,

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria in excelsis Deo;

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

2. Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

That inspire your heav’nly song?

Gloria in excelsis Deo;

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

3. Come to Bethlehem and see

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Gloria in excelsis Deo;

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Annabel Lee

W: EDGAR ALLAN POE (1849-50) / M: ANON.

It was many and many a year ago,

    In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

    By the name of Annabel Lee.

And this maiden lived with no other thought

    Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

    In this kingdom by the sea:

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

    I and my Annabel Lee.

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

    Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

    In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

    My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her high-born kinsman came

    And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

    In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

    Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

    In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

    Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than love

    Of those who were older than we—

    Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

    Of the beautiful Annabel Lee,

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

    Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

    Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

    In the sepulchre there by the sea,

    In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Annie Laurie

W: WILLIAM DOUGLAS(?) (l8th c.) M: LADY JOHN SCOTT (1835)

1. Maxwellton braes are bonnie,

Where early fa’s the dew,

And it’s there that Annie Laurie

Gie’d me her promise true.

Gie’d me her promise true,

Which ne’er forgot will be;

And for bonnie Annie Laurie,

I’d lay me doon and dee.

2. Her brow is like the snowdrift,

Her neck is like the swan,

Her face it is the fairest

That e’er the sun shone on.

That e’er the sun shone on,

And dark blue is her e’e;

And for bonnie Annie Laurie,

I’d lay me doon and dee.

3. Like dew on the gowan lying,

Is the fa’ o’ her fairy feet;

And like winds in summer sighing,

Her voice is low and sweet.

Her voice is low and sweet,

And she’s a’ the world to me,

And for bonnie Annie Laurie,

I’d lay me doon and dee.

The Ash Grove

WELSH FOLK SONG

The ash grove, how graceful,

    how plainly ’tis speaking,

The harp through it playing

    as language for me.

Wherever the light

    through its branches is breaking,

I see the kind faces of friends,

    of friends dear to me.

The friends of my childhood

    again are before me,

Each step brings a mem’ry

    as freely I roam.

With soft whispers speaking,

    its leaves rustle near me,

The ash grove, the ash