Jazz Chants
These poems are used for choral repetition, speaking, singing, and rhyming activities. They
are chanted to a 4/4 time or beat, hence the name jazz chant.
Titles
I went to Costa Rica
Sh! Sh! Baby s sleeping
Sally Speaks Spanish, But Not Very Well
How s His English
Big Mouth John Brown
Rain
It s Got to Be Somewhere
Tall Trees
Selfish
Taking Credit
Meet Me in the Morning
Where Are You Going to Do at Two?
A Bad Day
More Bad Luck
Sorry I wasn t in class
Personal Questions
Do You Know Mary?
Departure and Return Home
On a Diet
Twelve Cans of Tuna Fish Rag
Panic on Being Late
Ouch! That Hurts
Would You Walk to China If You Had Time?
Major Decisions
Hard sell
I went to Costa Rica
You can insert any country or place instead of Costa Rica or California. You model the first line and
the students repeat it. Just snap your fingers or clap your hands to 4/4 time and chant away. [From
http://members.tripod.com/jrmeads_515/tips.htm]
I went to Costa Rica one fine day.
I went to Costa Rica one fine day.
And what did I find?
What did I find?
Warm, loving people with hearts so kind,
Warm, loving people with hearts so kind.
I have a class in California yes I do.
I have a class in California yes I do.
And what do I find?
What do I find?
Warm, loving people with hearts so kind,
Warm, loving people with hearts so kind.
I do, I do, I do, do, do.
I do, I do, I do, do, do.
After the chant has been learned, divide into two groups. Group 1 chants the poem:  I went to Costa
Rica one fine day... Group 2 chants:  Warm people, Loving people, Hearts so kind.
Sh! Sh! Baby s Sleeping
I Said, Sh! Sh! Baby s sleeping!
I Said, Sh! Sh! Baby s sleeping!
What did you say?
What did you say?
I Said, Hush! Hush! Baby s sleeping!
I Said, Hush! Hush! Baby s sleeping!
What did you say?
What did you say?
I Said, Please be quiet, Baby s sleeping!
I Said, Please be quiet, Baby s sleeping!
What did you say?
What did you say?
I Said, Shut up! Shut up! Baby s sleeping!
I Said, Shut up! Shut up! Baby s sleeping!
W A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Not anymore.
Sally Speaks Spanish, But Not Very Well How s His English?
Sally speaks Spanish, but not very well. His English is wonderful,
When she tries to speak Spanish, He speaks very well.
You really can t tell His accent is perfect.
What language she s speaking You really can t tell
Or trying to speak. That he isn t a native
The first time I heard her, Of the U.S.A.
I thought it was Greek. There s only one problem,
He has nothing to say.
Big Mouth John Brown
Who did you see?
I saw John.
John who?
John Brown.
I can t hear you.
I said John Brown.
I can t hear you.
I said John Brown.
I can t hear you.
I said John Brown.
I said John Brown.
John Brown.
John Brown.
What did he say?
Who?
John Brown.
John Brown?
Yes, what did he say?
He didn t say anything.
Nothing?
Not a word?
I don t believe it.
I don t believe it.
Big Mouth John Brown didn t say a word?
Not a word.
I don t believe it.
I don t believe it.
Big Mouth John Brown didn t say a word?
Big Mouth John Brown didn t say a word.
Rain
It was raining, raining, raining hard.
It was falling on my head.
It was falling on the stars.
It was falling on the sun.
It was falling on my shoes.
I got soaking wet.
I got soaking wet.
But I stayed outside.
I stayed outside.
The rain was soft.
The rain was warm.
The rain was soft.
It reminded me of home.
It was raining, raining, raining hard.
It was falling, falling, falling on the stars.
It was raining, raining, raining hard.
It was falling, falling, falling on the stars.
Soft rain
Raining, raining.
Sweet rain
Raining, raining.
Warm rain
Raining, raining.
Sweet soft Raining, raining.
Warm rain Raining, raining.
Sweet soft Raining, raining.
Warm rain Raining, raining.
It s Got to Be Somewhere
Where is it? Where is it?
Where is it? Where is it?
I can t find it!
She can t find it!
It s got to be here, it s got to here!
It has to be here! It must be here!
It s gone! It s gone!
It s gone! It s gone!
Take it easy! Take it easy!
It has to be here.
It must be here.
It can t be lost.
It can t be lost.
It s got to be here.
It s got to be here.
Try to remember.
Try to remember.
I can t remember.
Try to remember.
I can t remember.
Think back.
I can t think
Where did you put it?
Where did you put it?
I can t remember.
I can t remember.
Oh, here it is, here it is!
Thank heavens!
I found it.
He found it!
Here it is! Here it is!
Whew!
Tall Trees
CHORUS SOLO
Tall trees
Tall trees
Big tall trees.
Tall trees
Tall trees
Big tall trees.
Tall trees, tall trees The coast of California
Big, tall trees. Is a beautiful sight,
Tall trees, tall trees with the tall trees, tall trees,
Big, tall trees. Big, tall trees.
Tall trees, tall trees The coast of California
Big, tall trees. Trees, big, tall trees.
Big trees, tall trees
Big trees, tall trees
Big trees, tall trees
Big tall trees.
Selfish Taking Credit
This is mine! Whose book is this?
That s yours! It s mine.
Don t touch mine! It s mine.
Get your own! Are you sure it s not his?
This is mine! No, no, it s mine!
That s yours! Whose work is this?
This is mine! This beautiful work!
That s yours! It s mine! It s mine!
This is mine! It s mine! It s mine!
That s yours! Whose work is this?
That s yours! This beautiful work!
That s yours! It s his! It s his!
It s his! It s his!
Hey, what are you doing? Are you sure it s not yours?
What are you doing with that? Of course it s not mine!
That s mine! It s certainly not mine!
Hey, what are you doing? Not mine, not mine!
What are you doing with that? Not yours?
That s his! Not mine!
Hey, what are you doing? Are you sure?
What are you doing with that? I m sure.
That s hers! It s his?
What s mine is mine. It s his!
What s yours is yours. Not your?
What s his is his. Not mine!
What s hers is hers.
What s ours is ours.
What s theirs is theirs.
Meet Me in the Morning What Are You Going to Do at Two?
Meet me in the morning. What are you going to do at two?
Meet me at noon. What are you going to do?
Meet me in the September, Where are you going to be at three?
Or the middle of June. Where are you going to be?
Who are you going to see?
Meet me at midnight. What are you going to say?
Meet me in the hall. How are you going to go?
Meet me in the summer. Where are you going to stay?
Meet me in the fall. What are you going to do?
Who are you going to see?
Meet me in the evening. When are you going to leave?
Meet me at eight. Where are you going to be?
I ll meet you anytime you want.
But please don t be late.
Do You Know Mary?
Do you know Mary? Do you know her Aunt?
Mary who? Yes, of course I do.
Mary McDonald. I know her aunts and her uncles
Of course I do. And her cousins too.
Do you know her little brother? Do you know her husband Bobby?
Yes, of course I do. Yes, of course I do.
I know her older sister, Betty. I know her husband and his brother
And her younger sister, Sue. And his father too.
Personal Questions
Where you born?
I d rather not say.
Where are you from?
I d rather not say.
How tall are you?
How old are you?
How much do you weight?
I d rather not say.
How much rent do you pay?
I d rather not say.
How much do you make?
I d rather not say.
Why aren t you married?
I d rather not say.
Why don t you have children?
I d rather not say.
Where were you last night?
Why weren t you home?
Did you stay out late?
Did you come home alone?
Did you have a good time?
Did you see a good play?
Did you go to a concert?
I d rather not say.
A Bad Day More Bad Luck
I overslept and missed my train, The bread was stale,
Slipped on the sidewalk It was four days old.
In the pouring rain, The milk was sour.
Sprained my ankle, The coffee was cold.
Skinned my knees, The butter was rancid.
Broke my glasses, The steak was tough.
Lost my keys, The service was dreadful.
Got stuck in the elevator, The waiter was rough.
It wouldn t go, My bill was huge.
Kicked it twice and stubbed my toe. His tip was small.
Bought a pen that didn t write, I m sorry I went to that place at all.
Took it back and had a fight.
Went home angry,
Locked the door.
Crawled into bed,
Couldn t take any more.
Sorry I wasn t in class
Sorry I wasn t in class. Sorry I wasn t in class.
I said, I m sorry I wasn t in class. I said, so sorry I missed your class.
I had the flu. I overslept.
My cat got sick. I missed the bus.
My car broke down. I met a friend.
I lost my keys. I had a date.
So sorry I missed class.
I know I should have come.
It s the only way to learn.
Departure and Return Home
1. Departure 2. Return
Have a wonderful trip! Gee, it s good to see you.
Have a wonderful trip! You look wonderful!
Don t forget to call me So do you!
When you get back. It s been a long time!
It sure has.
Have a wonderful trip! It s been a long time!
Have a wonderful trip! It sure has.
Don t forget to call me I missed you terribly.
When you get back. Me too!
I m glad you re back!
Have a wonderful trip! So am I.
Don t worry, I will.
Have a wonderful trip!
Don t worry, I will.
Don t forget to call me.
Don t worry, I won t.
Don t forget to call me.
Don t worry, I won t.
On a Diet Twelve Cans of Tuna Fish Rag
First she gave up smoking. Twelve cans! Twelve cans!
Then she gave up gin. Twelve cans of tuna fish.
Then she gave up chocolate cake. Twelve cans.
She wanted to be thin. How many cans?
Twelve, twelve.
Then she gave up breakfast. Did you say twelve?
Then she gave up lunch. Yes, I said twelve.
On lazy Sunday mornings Twelve cans of what?
She even gave up brunch. Twelve cans of fish.
No matter what she gave up Twelve cans of fish?
Her skirts were very tight. Yes, fish, yes, fish.
What kind of fish?
Cause she ate twelve cans of tuna fish Tuna, tuna.
For dinner every night. Twelve cans of tuna fish?
Yes, twelve cans.
Oh, my goodness!
No wonder she s fat!
How often does she eat
Those twelve cans of tuna?
How often dose she eat
Those twelve big cans?
Every night, every night.
She eats twelve cans of tuna fish every night.
You re kidding!
Oh, my goodness!
No wonder she s fat!
That s a lot of tuna.
It sure is!
That s a lot of tuna.
It sure is!
That s too much tuna, if you ask me.
It sure is! It sure is!
Twelve cans of tuna is a lot of fish if you ask
me.
If you ask me.
It sure is!
It sure is!
Panic on Being Late Ouch! That Hurts
What time is it? Ouch!
What time is it? What s the matter?
Hurry up! Hurry up! I stubbed my toe.
Hurry up! Hurry up! Oh, that hurts, that hurts.
What time is it? I know that hurts.
What time is it? Ouch!
Please hurry up! What s the matter?
We re going to be late! I bit my tongue.
Oh, I don t have time Oh, that hurts, that hurts.
To talk to you now. I know that hurts.
I m late, I m late, I m terribly late. Ouch!
Hurry up! Hurry up! What s the matter?
What time is it? I got a cramp in my foot.
Hurry up! Hurry up! Oh, that hurts, that hurts.
What time is it? I know that hurts.
Hurry up! Ouch! Ouch!
What time is it?
What s the matter now?
Hurry up!
I bumped into the table,
Tripped on the stairs,
Slipped on the carpet,
Fell over the chairs.
Gee! You re clumsy today!
Would You Walk to China If You Had the Time?
Would you walk to China if you had the time?
Would you leave at a quarter to three?
Would you walk to China if you had the time?
Would you walk to China with me?
Of course, I d walk to China if I had the time.
I d leave at a quarter to three.
Of course, I d walk to China tomorrow night,
If I were only free.
Why can t you walk to China tomorrow night?
Why can t you go to China at three?
Why can t you walk out on your sweet sugar cat
And sail to China with me?
Well, I have to stay home and take care of my plants
Take care of my darling too,
And I d never walk out on my sweet sugar cat
And go to China with you.
Major Decisions
How do you like your coffee?
Black! Black!
How do you like your tea?
With lemon, please.
How do you like your steak?
Medium rare.
How do you like your eggs?
I don t care!
Sunny-side up?
I don t care!
Poached on toast?
I don t care!
Scrambled, with bacon?
I don t care!
Over-easy?
I don t care!
Soft-boiled? Hard-boiled?
I don t care!
How about an omelet?
I don t care!
Come on, tell me!
This isn t fair.
I told you the truth.
I really don t care!
Hard sell
Buy now, pay later.
Get it now. Don t delay.
Just a minute.
Let me think.
I need time.
More time.
Get it now. Don t delay.
It s a steal! Such a deal!
Just a minute.
Let me think.
I can t decide.
Not now.
Why wait? Get it now.
Don t delay. Take a chance!
Why the rush?
Give me time.
Let me think.
Go away!
All right. But do come back.
Don t forget! It s a deal!