Dancing Pumpkins

It's that time of year again, when the full moon takes on an eerie presence, a creaking door can give us goosebumps, and pumpkins... dance? Yup. They dance. At least they do in this song! And you might just join along once you hear the infectious rhythm. A minor up-tempo old-fashioned swing, it lends itself well to pumpkin patch prancing by pumpkins and pumpkin lovers of all ages.

The energetic melody is repetitious and comes in spurts for the most part. All the better to insert a few low male voices in the accompaniment that echo the word "pumpkins." (We're betting some of your kids, especially boys, will feel compelled to join in, even if they can't quite reach the octave.) The bridge is also catchy as it merely recites the days of the week, making it a learning moment for some and easily memorable lyrics for others. While there is a second part, it is optional and doesn't join in until the repeat. It's fun, but not particularly difficult and we have created an isolated rehearsal track for it at our web site if you need it.

Another optional part of this song is the body percussion. A simple heel stomp that alternates with a patsch (thigh slap) contributes to the groove and the excitement. Despite its simplicity, it does move along at a clip! But, it stays mostly the same except for the bridge, first ending, and final bar, so kids will need to pay attention. You will find a separate PDF of the body percussion part on our web site if that helps you.

Note that the D.S. after the second ending goes back to bar 21, so be ready for it. After that, it goes on to the coda at the end of bar 26 where it has a dramatic build to the end. And the pumpkins dance happily ever after. Or so we'd like to think.