Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Gramma's Pajamas.

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The Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (24) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

11 Cross-curricular activities are provided in the PDF download extending the focus of this song to other subject areas including:

• Fine arts: music, visual art, design
• Language Arts
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies
• Technology

Gramma's Pajamas

I grew up in a rambling farmhouse that included two kitchens and two living rooms. This “double house” setup accommodated my grandmother who lived with us for my whole life. It was great to be able to slip over to Gram’s kitchen for a treat or a snack when Mom’s mealtime options didn’t appeal to our taste buds. Gram also usually had a treat or two, including “store boughten” cookies. We considered this a treat, but her homemade chocolate chip cookies were also delicious and certainly worth eating.

Upstairs, a common hall connected all the bedrooms. My bedroom was across the hall from Gram’s. Sometimes Gram snored and it was loud enough that I could hear her from across the hall. Of course she denied being responsible for this nighttime din, but one afternoon when she was napping, my sisters and I crawled on hands and knees into her room to record her magnificent snoring. We presented the evidence to her later. She insisted it wasn’t really her and that we had just made up the recording ourselves.  

When I first started writing this song, Gram’s snoring was the inspiration. However, my Gram was a proud and proper lady, and would have been mortified to have anyone know that she snored. So, I replaced the snoring details with lyrics about Gramma giggling from being tickled by the lace on her pink nightie and Gram’s reputation was left intact. Until now, I guess!

This song took a long time to write. I had the idea for the first line of the song in 1992. I couldn’t seem to figure out how I wanted the song to go, and the chorus and melodies for the verses kept getting mixed up. I would work on it and then put it away without completing it. In 2005, we (Donna & Andy) began planning for our Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me CD. I knew the bluegrass style of the song would be a fun addition to our CD and I decided to put on a real push to finish it. The musicians we hired to create the bluegrass instrumental track brought the music alive and the result is one of my favourite tracks on the CD. Sometimes song writing takes a long time. I am glad I kept my scraps of notes and didn’t throw them away. In this case, I think the thirteen-year wait was worth it.  

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Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for It's Christmas Time & It's Winter Time.

Stream or Purchase the It's Christmas Time  tracks from many streaming sites including: Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer.

Donna & Andy have yet to record It's Winter Time.

The It's Christmas Time CD and tracks (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental tracks - 22) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

It's Christmas Time

I have been inspired to write many of my compositions to fill repertoire needs for my students throughout the school year. I wrote this song for one of the many, many school Christmas concerts I planned and presented with my elementary school students. It is a lot of work to put on a school concert with over 500 students, but it was one of my favourite things to do during my 35-year career as a music education specialist. The grade 4-5 elementary choir was the group that took on this challenging piece of music with its plethora of lyrics and quickly moving eighth note passages that required extra attention to diction. I am pleased to recall that they did a super job at the concert. As the years progressed, Christmas concerts often included more winter-themed songs to accommodate students who didn’t celebrate Christmas. New lyrics were created and “It’s Winter Time” found its way into concert rotation. I am always pleased to offer my teaching colleagues options so that my music is as versatile and useful as possible. Giving teachers the option to choose either Christmas or winter lyrics is one way to offer this versatility.

In 2006, when recording our Donna & Andy CD: It’s Christmas Time, my son Benjamin and Andy’s niece, Oriana played French horns for this song. These two young players did such a super job adding that magical horn sound to our recording. It has a special place in my heart as one of my favourite Christmas songs.

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See background information for the song Hanukkah, Hanukkah

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Hanukkah, Hanukkah.

I was working with a teacher to create a school concert program with a multi-cultural focus. The teacher wanted songs to address a variety of holiday observances and traditions of students in her school. I had great fun doing online research and using information provided to me from the school and I learned a lot! I ended up writing four new songs which were sent off to the music teacher to use in the concert.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah is one of the songs I wrote during the process of working on the multi-cultural concert repertoire. It mentions two of the most common symbols associated with this holiday, the menorah and the dreidel. Working on this song brought back a memory of playing a game of Dreidel with my students. A Jewish colleague on staff at my school explained how the game was played and provided enough dreidels for an entire class to play in small groups. I remember that the two best things to land on are “Nun” which means you don’t have to do anything (a position of safety) or “Gimel” which means you win ALL the items contributed to the winner’s pot throughout the game to that point. It created much excitement in music class that day!

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Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Celebrate Diwali.

See background information for the song Celebrate Diwali

Celebrate Diwali

I love celebrating holidays with my family. As a child, I have many memories that include large family gatherings, laughter, lots of food and great fun. Although each culture celebrates different events, be they religious, cultural or based on heritage, every culture shares this bond of gathering with loved ones to share meaningful traditions.

I was asked to assist with the creation of a concert program that represented a combination of celebrations and traditional observances across a variety of cultures. The songs I ended up creating are in no way to be deemed as “cultural” offerings. Rather they are a stepping stone providing context and some of the elements that are included in those cultural activities. The simple song I composed for Diwali was to provide an opportunity for young singers to sing about this celebration, learn more about it and present that information to an audience. Hopefully it will allow children to showcase their familiar traditions presented in the concert in which they are singing. It may even spark discussion about the songs that are sung in the homes and as part of true Diwali celebrations. I consider it a privilege to be part of the ongoing building of community offered to all of us through music.

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See background information for the song Ramadan is Coming

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Ramadan is Coming.

I spent some time with music teacher, Carolyn Duerkson brainstorming ideas for a multi-cultural concert music presentation for her school. Carolyn’s student population is diverse and she wanted to create a concert that was meaningful for students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. As we discussed song options, it became evident that there were “gaps” in the repertoire available for cultures represented by her students. Particularly difficult was finding meaningful songs for the youngest students in the school while also addressing their need for simple lyrics and simple melodies to ensure a positive performance outcome.

Ramadan is Coming was created using notes Carolyn compiled in consultation with a fellow staff member with cultural experience with Ramadan. She passed on her notes to me and we determined the grade level for which the song was intended. I take seriously Carolyn’s trust in me to craft words into a song for her inclusive concert program. I consider it a privilege to use my composing skills to fill a need that benefits young singers in their school concert.

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Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for It’s a Busy, Busy Time of Year

Add brightly coloured presents to your performance. We used one gift for every three students. The gifts were hidden behind their backs while singing the opening of the song. During the instrumental section, students revealed their hidden gifts, passing them from row to row while miming their excitement at seeing friends and exchanging presents. It is a great way to include a bit of drama to a performance, and it lengthens the song without requiring a lot of additional words!

Instead of including gift passing, add some movement to the instrumental section – quiet stepping, scarves, or hand movements.

For the performance at my school, we began the song with two students “talking” to each other using two cans tied together with a string. This was an old game I used to play when I was young! The students thought it was a novel idea (in this day and age of texting!). Alternatively, two students could be chatting by cell phone for the opening sequence.

Add props such as hats and scarves, and some shopping bags filled with presents.

It’s a Busy, Busy Time of Year

I was driving and listening to the radio. Someone was being interviewed and the announcer thanked them for agreeing to give their time to do the interview at this “busy, busy time of year.” Later, in the same drive the announcer again said something about this “busy, busy time of year.” The phrase stuck in my head and when I arrived home I started to write this song. It can be very important to “stay tuned” to what is going on around you if you are going to write songs!

My song ended up with a show tune kind of vibe and I was excited to share it with my music students. We had fun trying to figure out the opening telephone sequence. The first detail we needed to clear up is whose voice we should hear first in the phone conversation. We realized that when the phone rings, the first person to speak is not the caller! After that, the back and forth conversation worked out okay. For our performance in the school concert we decided to add gift passing as part of the song. Students entered the performing space with small, colourfully wrapped presents hidden behind their backs. When we arrived at the instrumental section the students pretended to meet and greet friends, miming enthusiasm and passing gifts from row to row. They liked the bouncy tune, they enjoyed being able to add some drama, and the song was a hit!

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