(Source: "The Kids' Campfire Book", Jane Drake and Ann Love, Kids Can Press, 1996.) (in each verse, the leader sings a line and everyone repeats. Chorus is sung all together.)
(This song is a much-modernized version of the traditional "Rattlin' Bog".)
Once upon a time
There was a tree
The prettiest tree
That you ever did see!
Chorus:
And the tree was in the ground
And the green grass grew all around, all around,
And the green grass grew all around!
Now on that tree
There was a branch
Just the prettiest little branch
That you ever did see!
Chorus:
And the branch was on the tree
And the tree was in the ground
And the green grass grew all around, all around
And the green grass grew all around!
...add on twig, nest, egg, bird, wing, feather, flea, elephant!
Actions:
Ground: move both arms out from the body horizontally (i.e. as a movie director would when saying "cut!")
Tree: two hands trace parallel lines starting at the level of your head and heading downwards
Branch: hold one arm out as a branch
Twig: hold up your pinkie finger
Nest: cup your hands
Egg: make a fist
Bird: one hand pointed forward at your face as a beak, the other sticking out behind as a tail
Wing: flap one arm
Feather: trace the path a feather would take as it falls through the air
Flea: indicate something really small
Elephant: trace the outline of something really big!