|
1. |
|
|
|
|
Stuck inside and the rain is falling
Another day on my own
Feels like I’ve been here for so long
That I’m turning to stone
Read books, played games
Until the cows come home
My little brother wants to play but
He is so annoying and I say ‘go away’
He cries and I realise
CHORUS
Oooooooo I’ve got a friend in my sister or brother
Oooooooo It’s a friendship like no other
Oooooooo Could be older, could be younger
Oooooooo Ain’t nobody like that
Hey Dad can I have a friend over
He says ‘No’
Slam the door and I’m in my bedroom, all alone
Read books, played games
Until the cows come home
Big sister knocks on the door
She is so annoying and I say ‘go away’
She cries and I realise
CHORUS
BRIDGE
Yo, yo, we’ve got our differences you and me
it’s the same in everyone’s family
There’s no way we can get along all of the time
It’s like we’re out of rhythm, out of rhyme
We can meet in the middle, on common ground
There’s always a compromise to be found
If we’re kind to each other we’ll be just fine
‘Cos we’re all part of the same life line
Sisters and brothers, get on with each other
CHORUS
|
|
2. |
|
|
|
|
My shoe is on the wrong foot
My hair just won’t stay put
My toasted marshmallow is covered in soot
My shirt’s on back to front
I hurt my knee when performing a bike stunt
My pencil is seriously blunt
I can’t find my homework for school
My friend pushed my into the pool
I wanna fix my bike but I can’t find the right tool!
My ice cream fell off the cone
I dropped my sister’s brand new phone
I waited in the wrong waiting zone
My favourite tee shirt has to be washed
The banana I packed is all squashed
Stood in a puddle and my shoe got sloshed
Then I got stung by a bee
The sticking plaster came off my knee
My zip won’t come undone and I really need to pee!
I want to SCREAM……………..
Ahhh, but, tomorrow’s another day.
|
|
3. |
|
|
|
|
I went down to the river one hot summer’s day
To find relief in the cool, cool water
I wasn’t the only one to have the same idea
And I thought to myself ‘we’re all strangers here’
But we smiled and we talked, we had something to share
We were gathered together as one sweet community
I drove to a festival miles away
To hear people sing and music play
I wasn’t the only one to have the same idea
And I thought to myself ‘we’re all strangers here’
But we danced and we sang, we had something to share
We were gathered together as one sweet community
CHORUS
No matter where you come from
No matter what the season
No matter your religion
No matter what the reason
No matter how you see things
No matter how you say things
No matter if your guitar is strung
With fishing line or Martin strings
No matter where you’re going
No matter where you’ve been
No matter what you don’t know
Or what you haven’t seen
Huihui tātou (we gather together as one)
Nō Hineahuone (all human beings – from the first woman)
Auē te wairua (the human spirit within)
Ko tātou tātou nei (we are all one)
I went for a walk in the bush one day
I took some kai to eat along the way
I wasn’t the only one to have the same idea
And I thought to myself ‘we’re all strangers here’
But we ate and we drank, we had something to share
We were gathered together as one sweet community
CHORUS
|
|
4. |
|
|
|
|
CHORUS
Here’s a little song, it won’t take long
Here’s a little song for you to sing along to
Here’s a little song to make you feel good each day
Here’s a little song to help you to be strong
To help you feel right, when you feel wrong
Here’s a little song and it belongs to you
VERSE 1
I’m grateful for my knees ‘cos they help me to climb trees
I’m grateful for my thumbs, ‘cos without them it’d be so hard to pick plums
I’m grateful for blue skies and also for sunrise and sunset
It’s a treat for my eyes and it warms my insides
CHORUS
VERSE 2
I’m grateful for dogs, they remind me to be happy simply sniffing logs
I’m grateful for bees, ‘cos without them there’d be no apple trees
I’m grateful for my nose, ‘cos without it I couldn’t sniff my toes
I mean a rose and I’m grateful that a rose even grows
CHORUS
BRIDGE
The next verse is yours to fill with things you’re grateful for
It doesn’t have to rhyme or even make sense
Just have a lot of fun and I hope that when you’re done
You feel better, you feel better
VERSE 4 (kids fill in)
I’m grateful for x 4
CHORUS
|
|
5. |
|
|
|
|
It started with a creaking of the floorboards
Just after I had heard the squeaky door
And suddenly I felt a little dizzy
‘cos I wasn’t in the attic any more
It all began one sunny Friday morning
As usual I was sitting on my bed
When all at once the bedroom door burst open
And someone put their arms around my head
PRE-CHORUS
What’s going on? Is this a dream?
Now I belong to The Teddy Bear Team
I was getting used to feeling claustrophobic
Hadn’t seen the sun for many years
Hidden underneath a pile of worn-out toys
Next minute I was pulled out by my ears
PRE-CHORUS
CHORUS
Teddy in the window
What do you see?
A teddy in the window
Smiling at me
Teddy in the window
What do I see?
Lots of happy children, looking at me
And waving and pointing and laughing – it’s amazing!
I was cold and dusty underneath the armchair
Sad because I thought that I’d been tossed
But on this special day in 2020
I realised that I was only lost
BRIDGE
Teddies in the window
Puppies on the roof
Pandas in the letterbox
I’m telling the truth!
Unicorns on buses
Monkey’s hanging by their tails
Tigers, lions, elephants
Even tiny snails!
CHORUS
|
|
6. |
|
|
|
|
Autumn leaves take it nice and slow
From summery green to a golden glow
They wait and they wait and they hold on tight
‘til their veins feel the chill as day turns to night
Autumn leaves they fall, they fall
Break free from their branches so tall, so tall
Float through the air swaying side to side
Admiring the view on their downward ride
CHORUS
Oooooooo x2
My winter heart grieves for those autumn leaves
Autumn leaves dance in pirouettes
While I make believe I’m their silhouettes
Whirling and twirling most gracefully
I am an autumn leaf, wild and free
BRIDGE
A bright orange fire
Sunset so red
Riches of gold on the flower bed
Pile them up
Toss in the air
And underneath my feet
What do I hear?
Autumn leaves know it’s not a race
They’ll finally find their resting place
‘til the wind takes a deep breath and blows and blows
Turning cartwheeling leaves into spiralling tornadoes
CHORUS X2
|
|
7. |
|
|
|
|
Today I am the sun, shining bright
Warming everyone that passes by
A welcoming glow all over my face
Today I am the sun
Today I am a bird, soaring high
Wings outstretched in a clear, blue sky
Nothing gets in my way
Today I am a bird
Today I am a cloud, full of rain
Heavy and grey, what’s my name?
Cumulonimbus, see me cry
Today I am a cloud
CHORUS
Who knows how
Who knows why
I change from day to day
Or minute by minute (and that’s OK, yeah that’s OK)
Today I am a snail, steady and slow
Head in the direction that I want to go
A silvery trail, shimmers behind
Today I am a snail
CHORUS
Today I am the sea, on a stormy night
Destroying ships, in my sight
Toss and turn and crash on shore
Today I am the sea
BRIDGE
Many different layers underneath my skin
Many different colours make up my within
Many different sides like a decagon
Put them all together...
CHORUS
|
|
8. |
|
|
|
|
U – I’m moving into the Unknown
N – I’m travelling into something New
C – I know it takes a lot of Courage
E – When I don’t know Exactly what to do
R – I’m Riding on a Rollercoaster
T – I’m gunna hold on Tight
A – and if I feel a little Anxious
I – I I I’ll tell myself I’ll be alright
CHORUS
U N C E R T A I NTY – UNCERTAINTY! X2
I’m not gunna hide, what I’m feeling inside, but I’ll open my arms wide
And embrace uncertainty
N – It’s OK to feel Nervous
T – It’s OK to feel a little Tense
Y – maybe I could do some Yoga, ‘
cos some deep breaths might help to make some sense
CHORUS
Instrumental
CHORUS
|
|
9. |
|
|
|
|
Streets are empty, no cars
Everybody’s inside
It feels different in my neighbourhood
Like we’ve all found a place to hide
So quiet
Nobody on the see-saw
No legs sliding down the slide
No monkeys on the monkey bars
No swings swinging way up high
So quiet
No happy squeals in the school yard
No children running on the grass
No laughter from the playground
Not one child learning in the class
So quiet
Chorus
But quiet time’s a time to relax
A time to reflect and think things through
A time to unwind a time to renew
and start again
Instrumental Verse
Chorus
|
|
10. |
|
|
|
In 2020 Kath received funding from Creative New Zealand to write 10 songs, from ideas given to her by children. The ideas stemmed from their feelings during our first NZ COVID Lockdown in April-June 2020. Kath was inundated with suggestions and settled down to write 10 very different songs. A good chunk of the funding was for producing the instrumentation for each song, so Kath chose one of NZ’s best producers, Doug Stenhouse from Doghouse Tunes.
The album's title is a play on the acronym ‘COVID’ and is a roller-coaster ride through different emotions, genres, styles and creativity, with each song being sung by children, which definitely enhances each song and the album. Many of the children had never been in a recording studio, so the experience was new and exciting and one they will never forget. Each child embraced their song, they related to it in their own way and made it special.
Kath says “I wanted to re-create the feelings of the 2020 Lockdown period, but also wanted each song to stand alone. Two songs however, directly relate to that time, ‘The Teddy Bear Team’, is a song about the soft toys people places around their neighbourhood, to cheer people up and is written from the Teddy’s point of view. The second song, ‘so quiet’, is a very moving account of the emptiness and quietness of playgrounds, schools, towns and streets.
released December 1, 2021
All songs written by Kath Bee & Produced by Doug Stenhouse of Doghouse Tunes. Each song has a featured artist, named as Artist on each single. Huge thanks to EMIKA, HANA, Devan, Daisy Filby, Jonathan Oliver, Imani-J, Amiria Keyanna and their parents, for their time, energy and beautiful vocals.
