Inspiring, participatory, life-affirming, heart-warming songs for children.
Videos. Lyrics. Chords. Notation.
Created with love by Dr Liam Maloy, singer & songwriter of Johnny & the Raindrops.
Author of book on music for children 'Spinning the Child: Musical Constructions of Childhood through Records, Radio and Television' .
International award-nominated songs used in schools in USA, UK & around the world.
RSC Associate Artist (Music) - Shakespeare-through-music specialist.
Inspiring, participatory, life-affirming, heart-warming songs for children.
Videos. Lyrics. Chords. Notation.
Created with love by Dr Liam Maloy, singer & songwriter of Johnny & the Raindrops.
Author of book on music for children 'Spinning the Child: Musical Constructions of Childhood through Records, Radio and Television' .
International award-nominated songs used in schools in USA, UK & around the world.
RSC Associate Artist (Music) - Shakespeare-through-music specialist.
This is the story of Macbeth in twelve short verses and a chorus (and eight minutes)!
The song is perfect for teaching the plot of the play to children.
The melody and words are designed for primary school children and others can easily participate. Smaller groups can sing the verses. All can sing the chorus.
MP3 vocal guide and instrumental are included. Also contains an example recorded by children, lyric sheet and notes for teachers.
Feel free to check out my other ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Shakespeare for schools’ music.
A simple catchy original song to introduce young children to the characters, theme and plot of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Get the children to make up actions to the four lines of the chorus. Get the whole class to sing the choruses. Split into groups to sing a verse each. Or even split the verse into 3x two lines so that the children has just a few words to remember.
Also includes an instrumental version for your class to sing-along.
Lyrics are included.
Chord sheet available on request.
It’s in the key of C with just four basic chords (C F G Am) required. Great for instrumental lessons.
Check out my simple catchy Xmas song ‘LITTLE SPIDERS’, perfect for young children to learn and sing.
It’s all about how spiders helped a widow and her poor family by spinning webs on Xmas night to make tinsel.
This folk tale is popular in the Ukraine, Poland, Germany and other countries in Eastern Europe.
Merry Christmas. Wesołych Świąt. щасливого Різдва. Fröhliche Weihnachten.
Album of sixteen songs for teachers covering many curriculum-linked themes for a range of age groups. Comes bundled with links to videos. Lyrics are included in most of the videos. Some of the songs have their own TES resource pages where you can get lyrics, chord sheets, sheet music, backing track versions and more.
1. You can count on me: A danceable tune that teaches counting in a number of languages.
2. What’s the time: Teaches quarter past, half past quarter yo and o’clock.
3. Recycling: A fun rockin’ song that encourages children to ‘turn old things into new things’.
4. Animals in danger: An upbeat yet sensitive song about endangered animals.
5. No bees. No people: A danceable song about the value of bees.
6. Goodbye Mr Panda: Another endangered animals songs, this time for younger children.
7. Tidy up: A danceable song. Good for getting younger children to clear up.
8. Time to rhyme: A lively song to explain rhyme.
9. Joey Chrome: Learn about each of the eight planets with this friendly alien.
10. To make a rainbow: Learn the colours, plus how rainbows are made.
11. Everybody’s body: An action song for younger children. Promotes differentiation of body image.
12. Get healthy. Get happy: Actions. Movement. Dancing. Healthy.
13. Get you head in a book: Encourages children to read.
14. Let’s make a band: Good for getting children to accompany on tambourines, shakers, and singing.
15. Smile: A relaxing ‘time-out’ song to promote smiling.
16. Shine a light: A Christmas song all about the power of light in the darkness of winter.
A joyful Christmas song full of the optimism that light brings to the darkness of winter. ‘Shine a light into every dark corner’ (sing along!).
The song is secular, perfect for holiday celebrations across all religions and cultures. It has been sung in many countries around the world. In Germany, Australia, Canada, and in a tiny village in the North Pole. Share the hope that ‘Shine a light’ brings.
Chords, sheet music, backing track versions with and without backing vocals are available on the Times Educational Supplement (TES) website.
‘When I’m Older’ is all about hoping, wishing, growing up and having birthdays.
Ultimately, it’s about looking to the future with optimism.
It’s a list song that details what the narrator wants to happen ‘when I’m older’.
It works just as well for the child as it does for the adult.
What do the children in your life want to do when they are older?
It starts sensible: ‘I’m gonna reach up and turn on the light’.
It gets a bit wilder as it goes on: ‘I’m gonna go to work with my robot friends. Take a trip ‘round the Moon again. Climb up Big Ben’.
The music is upbeat, danceable, mid-‘60s Motown.
‘Whipping up a Tempest’ is an original song - a sea shanty - written for schools productions of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
This single song tells the entire plot of the play and introduces the main characters.
Children can sing the verses in small groups and the chorus as a whole class.
This resource contains a vocal version as a guide, an instrumental for the production, a lyric sheet and a link to a video of children singing the song.
‘Whipping up a Tempest’ is my main song from the production.
This and the other 19 songs and pieces of music are available as a single resource in my TES shop.
Feel free to explore my other ‘Shakespeare in Schools’ resources for Macbeth and other plays.
The plot of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ in one song!
A great way to teach you and your class the basics of the play.
Introduces the main characters!
Covers the main parts of the plot.
Easy to sing for primary and secondary children at Key Stages 2 and 3.
Words and music by me, Liam Maloy, with a few words and phrases from the original text.
This song, and the others I have written for this play, have been used in school productions of ‘The Tempest’ in the East Midlands over the past 4 years.
The words are embedded in the video.
Here they are:
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Prospero.
So sit up in your seat and pay attention.
Open your ears. The hour’s now come to tell you of my woe.
There are many dirty deeds I have to mention.
I’ve been on this stinking island for twelve longs years,
With my lovely teenage daughter Miranda.
But I was once a ‘Prince of power’. It caused me tears.
In fact, I was the Duke of Milan.
So come fire and wind to boil the sea.
I’m whipping up a tempest to set me free.
And from my royal duties I started to rebel.
My personality opposed my position.
I loved reading in my library. I loved books and I learned spells.
And became a very powerful magician.
So my brother did the parties, kissed the babies, met the crowds.
All Milan seemed to love Antonio.
So he called the King of Naples and together they did vow,
That me and Miranda must go.
So come fire and wind to boil the sea.
I’m whipping up a tempest to set me free.
So they stuck us on this ship. A rotten carcass of a butt.
Full of rats but also clothes and books and food.
Then the storm’s mysterious forces seemed to pull us to this spot,
To begin these twelve long years of solitude.
We met a beast called Caliban. I owned him like a slave.
A thing most brutish. I taught him lots of facts.
He cooked and cleaned and fetched the wood. I kept him in a cave.
He was the son of a damned witch called Sycorax.
I also controlled Ariel. A spirit, ghost or sprite.
And he helped me do my magic on a whim.
When by chance my brother and the King came sailing into sight/
Stop this song! Let the tempest begin.
Ooooaaaahhhh!
So come fire and wind to boil the sea.
I’m whipping up a tempest to set me free.
So come fire and wind to boil the sea.
I’m whipping up a tempest to set me free.
So come fire and wind to boil the sea.
I’m whipping up a tempest to set me free.
So come fire and wind to boil the sea.
I’m whipping up a tempest to set me free.
Enjoy this bouncy sing-along song with a wistful twist.
Perfect for New Year Celebrations all around the world, Chinese New Year (1 Feb) for example.
Helps children to think back and remember the things that happened last year.
… and to look forward to the future.
It’s got a very easy sing-along chorus.
Make up your own dance moves!
The words are on the screen.
‘Thank You’ is a gratitude song to say ‘thank you’ to someone who has helped you out.
The video features Owen Brindley, a superstar of song signing.
He’s signing next to me, Johnny, to make sure everyone is included.
Children can learn to sign ‘thank you’ by watching the video.
The song is designed for children to sing along - the lyrics are included.
A simple song perfect for children’s voices to celebrate mothers on Mothering Sunday.
Sing along with the song.
Create you own version using the chords G, C, D and Em.
Lyrics are included.
‘I need space to make mistakes’: Colourful animated video of a groovy song about learning and the three things you need in order to learn - space, time and making mistakes.
It’s about taking that journey from ‘I don’t know’ to ‘Now I understand’
It mentions how you might need some help to learn.
It’s the perfect motivator for anyone trying learn anything.
Get the kids moving and dancing while thinking about their learning journey!
Poignant and melancholic. Uplifting and touching.
‘Bat with a Broken Wing’ is not only a great Halloween song to listen to or to sing with children. It also aims to highlight issues of disability in a sensitive and empowering way. Ultimately, it’s a song about the power of friendship.
Not all damaged little animals get better or win the race of life against all the odds, no matter what most children’s book and films might tell you.
Have a listen to what happens to this broken bat and friends.
It’s the ‘Fairytale of New York’ of Halloween!
This pack contains an mp3 of the song, an mp3 of the instrumental version of the song, a lyrics sheet and a link to the video on YouTube.
Animals in Danger: Instrumental backing track
Vocal free version of the backing music for ‘Animals in Danger’ by Johnny & the Raindrops.
Great for children to sing the song in class, assemblies, productions and as part of an endangered animals project.
Lyrics and other resources for this song available on my TES shop
Every day of the week you will learn an exciting thing about being a pirate.
Get ready to do the actions and sing along. Oh, and don’t forget to dance like a pirate!
Perfect for sea-themed activity for younger children.
Simple enough to teach it for a performance.
Great as a mood-changer or to raise the energy level in the classroom.
‘Seven days of the week’: Song to learn the days and the origins of their names
Catchy song for children.
Lyric video plus lyric sheet.
The second half of the song is a challenge for children to fill in the blanks as the days of the week disappear.
Enjoy this and my many other TES resources.
This version has no backing vocals.
Perfect for larger groups of singers who can fill in the extra voices.
The full version is available as an mp3 download elsewhere on TES.
This version has backing vocals included.
The full version (with lead vocal) is available as a free mp3 download elsewhere on TES. There is also a version with no backing vocals.
Uplifting and anthem song for Christmas.
Scored for alto sax, baritone sax, tenor sax, and trombone.
Mp3 downloads are available for the full song, and the backing track with and without backing vocals.
Fun song and video to help children learn about the things that can be recycled or reused. Watch it in class as a fun interlude or as part of a project. I would suggest that most children of 12 or under would enjoy this. Contains clips from a number of recycling videos currently on YouTube including the Peppa Pig episode.
I did some research as to what can actually be recycled. Some were surprising. There are also some funny ones in there (‘tunes and notes … daddy’s old jokes’). Look out for a guest appearance by Prof. Brian Cox!