Suzy the MonkeyIn my flatthere lived SuzyShe liked to eat bananasunder the bedShe dreamed of friendsbut she can’t find.words and music by Alina Budko (age 11) and Ksyusha Gebennikova (age 11)

 

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The MonkeyThere lived a monkey.She lived in the jungle.She liked to eat bananas,and ride on the elephant.She dreamed of living like people,but the people didn’t want that.words and music by Artiom Tereshchenko (age 13)Minsk, Belarus. Artiom is on the right in the photo. That’s his cousin Nikita on the left.

 

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The Cockroach
In the kitchen
there lived a cockroach.
He liked to eat
inside the fridge
He dreamed of eating
all the fridge food
but the door is closed.
words and music: Nick Artyushevski (age 11), Minsk, Belarus

 

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On Kiselova Street in Minsk, there’s an after-school English school of sorts. Teacher Alla Kalishevich allowed me to work with her students aged, 10-13. I did one lesson with the kids (90 minutes) and by the end of this time they had all written lyrics for songs. In the following days I met with them individually or in pairs, and recorded their songs. The recordings took from 20 minutes to one hour.

The kids did all the creative work. They wrote the lyrics; compiled and arranged the music from loops (pre-recorded snippets of instruments), and they sang. I was the recording engineer.

The songs are fun, but useful too. I have even used them with adult teachers of English in Belarus—as listening tasks. There’s nothing wrong with learning and hearing English from non-native speakers. Think of the huge English-language hit “Dancing Queen,” which was composed and sung by Swedes.

Lovely Lively Mouse
In a cage
there lived a mouse
He liked to swim a lot of times
He liked to run away from a cat
Lovely Mouse, lively mouse
He liked to run away from a cat
He wanted to live with a big big bat
Lovely Mouse, lively mouse

words and music by Nastya Zhdanovich (age 13)
and Ksyusha Stankevich (age 12)
Minsk, Belarus

 

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The Bee
In your stomach
there lived a little bee.
She liked to eat some honey
and sing a song about a tree.
She dreamed of money,
but it is not free.
words and music by Dana Yastremskaya (age 10)
Minsk, Belarus

 

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