Say It Twice!

by Karl Hitzemann

Put this one in the "just for fun" category. How many things (foods, objects, places, etc.) can you think of that have names with repeated words? Like mahi-mahi, yo-yo, and Walla Walla. We thought of as many as we could and put them all into a song! See if you and your singers can come up with any others, and feel free to include them in your performance.

Movement would be a great idea for this song. Consider having some sort of action or gesture for each item in the lyrics. For example:
"cuckoo" - flap arms like a bird
"couscous" - pretend to eat from a bowl
"Bora Bora" - raise hand to forehead as if looking in the distance
"cocoa" - pretend to sip from a cup
"muumuu" - strike a fashion pose
"yeah yeah" - nod head up and down
"go go" - march in place
"tom-tom" - pretend to play a drum
"bye-bye" - wave to the audience
"mama, papa" - point to the audience
"aye-aye" - raise right hand in a salute

Anyway, you get the idea. You could also let your singers come up with fun things to do while singing. If nothing else, you could always do the "two step." (Sorry, couldn't resist).

When the song reaches the point where they sing "...please don't try a fancy trick with just a yo!" (measure 21), have a singer step forward and pretend that half a yo-yo has just sailed off its string and broken a window, then move up close to a microphone for the "Oh oh."

Ta ta!

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.