Ladybug In My Soda

by Karl Hitzemann

I hope you have as much fun singing this song as I had writing it. The story behind it goes like this... One day I was calling my dear friend (and boss) Paul Jennings. I could tell by the way he answered the phone that he was having "one of those days." To top it all off, he told me that moments before my call he had tipped his mug back for the last bit of coffee, and, much to his chagrin (and horror), there was something else in there - a friendly little ladybug (who was probably also having "one of those days").

Anyway, in an attempt to cheer him up, I came up with "Ladybug In My Soda." This bluesy-rock song tells the story from both points of view - the person having the bad day and the ladybug. The accompaniment even features some talking ladybugs throughout the song and a ladybug "chorus" singing "woe is me." The recording has an awesome rhythm section and jazz band to really help drive the tune.

You could have a lot of fun staging this one. Some of your singers might even have ladybug costumes at home, or you could have a few of your performers wear red shirts and tape on some black spots. Try to find a few pair of antennae for an even better look. These ladybugs could lip-sync the ladybug "woe is me" that happens at measures 14 and 16 the second and third time through, or they could even sing it with them. Be sure to find someone to do a really good "Ahhhh!" at measure 29. You'll hear a great example on the performance track. - KH

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.