Ian Rae a.k.a. "Badly Drawing Grandpa", is a Scottish musician/writer/teacher living in London. His music has been used on TV, radio, adverts and theatre and he is now producing silly songs and (badly drawn) videos to amuse & teach little children, & creating songs to help introduce KS1 topics. His songs and videos are also available free on his Thoughtz4Totz website and Thoughtz4Totz and Thoughtz4kidz Youtube channels for preschool & primary children (& parents & grandparents)
Ian Rae a.k.a. "Badly Drawing Grandpa", is a Scottish musician/writer/teacher living in London. His music has been used on TV, radio, adverts and theatre and he is now producing silly songs and (badly drawn) videos to amuse & teach little children, & creating songs to help introduce KS1 topics. His songs and videos are also available free on his Thoughtz4Totz website and Thoughtz4Totz and Thoughtz4kidz Youtube channels for preschool & primary children (& parents & grandparents)
A very short Remembrance Day song and video which could also be read as a poem. It was written by me in memory of my grandfather Private John Rae, a Scotsman killed in action in Belgium in 1916, serving in the Canadian Army. The video was shot on a visit I made to Ypres and the Menin Gate in 2016, and is mostly filmed around Sanctuary Wood Cemetery on the outskirts of Ypres.
I have also included jpgs of my Grandfather’s name in the Canadian Book of remembrance, and both sides of an embroidered photograph he sent to his wife and baby, only four days before his death. Also included is a PDF of background information about my grandfather and information about the shooting of the video.
The lyrics of the song / video are as follows
Shed No Tears For Me
If some day passing by you should chance on where I lie in silence
Shed no tears for me
Soldier’s grave, marked in stone
In a world where all that’s known is silence
Shed no tears for me
Only imagine me in the sunlight warm and free
Singing in the summer breeze
Floating on the restless seas till time stops
Shed no tears for me
Soaring with the skylark’s song
Dancing to the rhythm of the rain drops
Shed no tears for me
Shed no tears for me
Quite a dramatic song about the Vikings and the less publicized aspect of their lives. You can watch the video to see if it suits your requirements, and download the voice mp3, the backing track mp3, the lyrics and the sheet music for the song.
The lyrics are as follows
They sailed in their long boats from far across the seas
What were they called? The Vikings
From A D seven hundred for four centuries
What were they called? The Vikings
They robbed all the villages took all that they could take
They burned and they pillaged and they caused so much heartache
But if you think that’s all they did you’re making a mistake
What were they called? The Vikings
For fishing exploring and farming they were known
What were they called? The Vikings
In England King Canute and Harold reached the throne
What were they called? The Vikings
We see them as fighting men but they were so much more
Their Viking Gods like Thor and Odin gods we can’t ignore
And when they reached the end in burning ships they left the shore
What were the called? The Vikings
This is a very tongue in cheek song about Christopher Columbus discovering America. The lyrics are as follows
In fourteen hundred and ninety two
Christopher Columbus set sail with his crew
To reach the Indies was his intent
But without Google maps that is not where his ships went
The two month voyage didn’t go as planned
In America his three ships reached dry land
And since that day everybody knows his name
For discovering America we know now who to blame
For discovering America we know now who to blame
Feel free to change the last 2 lines to
For discovering America he’s had a lot of fame
The song pack comes with Vocal mp3, Backing track mp3, Lyrics and Sheet Music
A short song for children about the KS1 Topic The Gunpowder Plot, with some of the basic facts about the plot and Gut Fawkes. The lyrics are as follows
Long long ago in 1605
Some men had an evil thought
To kill King James the First they did contrive
A gunpowder treason plot
We still remember the fifth of November
And we think of the gun powder plot
To Parliament a secret letter sent
Meant Guy Fawkes and the plotters were caught
Guy Fawkes and the plotters were caught
The song could be used as an introduction to the topic of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, as a means of memorizing the basic facts of the event, or even as the soundtrack to a little video using drawings by the children
The resource pack contains an mp3 of the song, an mp3 backing track, sheet music and lyrics
A short song for young children with some basic information about KS1 Topic Florence Nightingale, her work in Crimea and outlining her contribution to nursing. The lyrics are as follows
Florence Nightingale We must never fail
To know the things you taught the world to do
You set out to bring help to soldiers suffering
Nursing changed so much because of you
In the dead of night Your lamp brought new light
And in Crimea you showed what to do
Florence Nightingale We will never fail
To recognise the debt we owe to you
The song could be used as an introduction to the topic of Florence Nightingale, as a means of memorizing the basic facts or even as the soundtrack to a little video using drawings by the children
The resource pack contains an mp3 of the song, an mp3 backing track, sheet music and lyrics
Not to be confused with the “London’s Burning” this is a new short song for young children / teachers providing some information about the KS1 topic The Great Fire of London in 1666. The lyrics are as follows
In sixteen hundred and sixty six
There was a fire in Pudding Lane
The houses were wooden not made with bricks
And the weather was hot with no rain
London is burning, by day and by night
For four days the flames leap all around
London is burning what a terrible sight
As London is burned to the ground
London is burned to the ground
The song could be used as an introduction to the topic of The Great Fire of London, as a means of memorizing the basic facts of the event, or even as the soundtrack to a little video using drawings by the children
The resource pack contains an mp3 of the song, an mp3 backing track, sheet music and lyrics