The Foolish Frog
Pete Seeger (Family) Lyrics

There was once a farmer, walking down the road whistling a tune to himself.
Once upon a time, a farmer was walking and whistling a tune.

"Dog-gone, I wish I had some words to that tune. But all I've got is the melody."
The farmer felt frustrated that he knew the tune but not the words.

Just then he came to a little bridge, And he leaned on the railing looking down at the brook.
The farmer leaned over a bridge and watched the brook below.

There was a big old bullfrog, hopping from bank to bank. Well, the bullfrog looked up and saw the farmer and decided to show off.
A bullfrog was jumping along the banks of the brook when it saw the farmer and started to show off.

He took an extra special big hop - z-z-z-z-tt! He landed, splash! in the water and got himself all wet.
The bullfrog took a big hop and landed in the water, getting itself wet.

The farmer laughed and laughed and started singing
The farmer laughed a lot and then started singing.

"Way down south in the yankety-yank, a bull frog jumped from bank to bank, Just because he'd nothing better for to do! He stubbed his toe and fell in the water, You could hear him yell for a mile and a quarter, Just because he'd nothing better for to do."
The farmer made up a song about a bullfrog who had nothing better to do than jump from bank to bank and then fell into the water, yelling loudly.

Now the farmer went walking down the road Feeling mighty proud of himself for making up a song.
The farmer walked down the road, feeling proud of himself for making up the song.

He went down to the corner store, bought himself some groceries, A pair of work gloves and a plug of chewing tobacco, and said, "Oh, before I go, I have to sing you my new song."
The farmer went to the store, bought some items, and then wanted to sing his new song to the storekeeper before leaving.

"Go on home," says the storekeeper, "I'm busy here, can't you see all these customers?" "I won't pay you any money unless you let me sing you my song!"
The storekeeper told the farmer to leave, but the farmer insisted on singing his song before paying for his items.

"Well, sing it and get it over with then,"said the storekeeper.
The storekeeper finally agreed to let the farmer sing his song.

The farmer began to sing and the man in the store cried out, "That's a w-o-o-nderful song, gather round everybody, We'll have a party." And he passed round the free Coca Colas And the free soda-crackers, and everyone was stamping on the floor.
The storekeeper liked the song and started a party, serving free Coca Colas and soda crackers while people danced.

The mother said, "Children, you better run down to the corner store and fetch your old man. He's probably down there wasting his time as usual."
Mothers at home realized the fathers had not returned and told the children to go fetch them from the store.

They run inside the corner store. You know, they heard all that music, They forgot about coming home. The children started singing
The children went to the store and started singing and dancing instead of going back home.

And they were passing around the free Coca-Colas and Now, in every farmhouse it was the same situation.
The children continued to enjoy the free Coca-Colas, and the same thing was happening in each farmhouse.

"This has gone far enough. Supper's getting cold. 'Spect us to work all the day nobody show up?"
The mothers were frustrated that their families had not come home for dinner and were not helping with chores.

They reached over on the stove And grabbed some heavy frying pans And start down the road with a mad look in their eyes. Somebody's going to get beaned.
The mothers got angry and grabbed frying pans, ready to hit someone.

Well, they get near and they hear all that pretty music, And they forget all about being mad. They drop the frying pans in the gutter, Walk into the store, and the mothers start singing!
The mothers let go of their anger and started singing along with everyone else.

Meanwhile out in the barns all the cows started talking, "Where is everybody? We're supposed to be milked and it's getting mighty uncomfortable!"
The cows were getting uncomfortable because no one was milking them.

So the cows left their stalls, they wobbled out of the barn, And down the road right into the corner store. And the cows started singing,
The cows left their stalls and went to the store, where they started singing.

"Moo, moo, moo, moo, moo moo, moo, moo, moo, moo." And the cow's tails were swishing out the windows, And they were stamping on the floor,
The cows sang and danced, their tails swishing outside the windows, and they stomped on the floor.

And drinking the free Coca-Colas and In the barnyard all the chickens said, "Where is everybody? We're supposed to be fed and we're getting hungry!"
The cows drank the free Coca-Colas, and the chickens were getting hungry because no one was feeding them.

So the chickens hopped over the fence, Hopped down the road, hopped into the store, And the chickens started; (Chicken imitation to tune).
The chickens left their enclosure and went to the store, where they started singing like chickens.

And the chicken were stamping on the floor and drinking the free Coca C Meanwhile all the barns started talking to each other. "We feel mighty lonely," they said, "without any cows or any chickens. I guess we'll have to go find them."
The chickens drank the free Coca-Colas and danced, and the barns were feeling lonely without cows and chickens, so they decided to go look for them.

So the barns picked themselves off their foundations and galumphed down the road, And s-q-u-e-e-z-e-d themselves into that corner store, Believe it or not. Did you ever hear a rusty hinge on a barn door? That's the way the barns sang
The barns moved and squeezed themselves into the store, creating a loud, creaking sound like a rusty door hinge.

"Where is everybody? The cows are supposed to come and eat us. And the grass picked itself up and swished off down the road, And swished right into the store and started singing
The grass was wondering where everyone was, and it started to move and go to the store, where it began singing.

Of course, when the grass was gone, the fields were gone, So the brook didn't have any banks to flow between. It said, "I've got to go someplace," So it bubbled down the road.
When the grass was gone, so were the fields, and this caused the brook to lose its banks. The brook bubbled down the road to find a new place to flow.

It bubbled right up into the corner store and the brook started Bubbl-bubbl-bubbl-bubbl-bubbl-bubbl-bubbl. The brook was bubbling up and down the stairway!
The brook made its way into the store, where it started to bubble and create a commotion, even on the stairs.

The grass was growing out the chimney! Feathers flying through the air! Cows tails swishing through the windows! Everybody stamping on the floor And drinking the free Coca-Cola And eating the free soda-crackers!
In and around the store, everything was in chaos. Grass was growing out of the chimney, cows' tails were swishing through windows, and people were dancing, drinking free Coke and eating free crackers.

"Hey, what's all that racket down at the corner store?" says the frog. "Why They're singing! They're singing about ME!" And he was so proud he puffed himself up with pride.
The bullfrog heard the loud music and went to check it out. When he learned they were singing about him, he felt very proud and puffed himself up.

And he puffed, And he boom! He exploded. Cows, barns, chickens, farmers, the whole corner store went up in the air, And everybody floated down And landed right where they were supposed to have been all the time. They all sat down eating supper again, Feeling kind of foolish for themselves.
The bullfrog became so proud and puffed himself up so much that he exploded, causing everyone to float back to where they were supposed to be and eat dinner as usual. Everyone felt foolish for getting so caught up in the excitement.

Next day they went out to find the frog. They looked high, they looked low. Coca-Cola bottles and soda crackers in all directions. But no frog.
The next day, they searched for the bullfrog but couldn't find it. They searched everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found.

So all there is left of the frog is the song. We might as well sing 'er once again. "Way down yonder in the yankety-yank"
All that was left of the bullfrog was the song, and they decided to sing it again: "Way down yonder in the yankety-yank..."