Over in the Meadow

Adapted by Lee Hays and Doris Kaplan
I know it from Raffi's version
Rise Up Singing chapter: Play, p.175
D - Em A7 / D - A7 D / A7 - - - / D - A7 D

I just realized something about this song. When I was a kid and I sang it, nothing seemed strange about the line "lived an old mother [animal] and her little [babies][number]". Now it rings totally wrong to me because I think to myself "Wait, if she has little babies, then she can't be old, right?" As a 7-year old listening to the song, though, I can see why it sounded perfectly accurate, since my own mom was "old". Sorry for lacking perspective, moms.

Over in the meadow in a pond in the sun
Lived an old mother duck and her little duck one
"Quack" said the mother, "Quack" said the one
And they quacked and were happy in their pond in the sun

Over in the meadow in a stream so blue
Lived an old mother fish and her little fishes two
"Glub" said the mother, "Glub, glub" said the two
And they and were happy in the stream so blue

Over in the meadow in a nest in the tree
Lived an old mother bird and her birdies three
"Tweet" said the mother, "Tweet tweet tweet" said the three
And they sang and were happy in their nest in the tree

Over in the meadow on a rock by the shore
Lived an old mother frog and her little frogs four
"Ribbit" said the mother, "Ribbit (4x)" said the four
And they croaked and were happy on the rock by the shore

Over in the meadow in a big beehive
Lived an old mother bee and her little bees five
"Bzz" said the mother, "Bzz (5x)" said the five
And they buzzed and were happy in their big beehive

Over in the meadow in the noonday sun
There was a pretty (pretty old?) mother and her baby one
(Repeat D - Em A7 / D - A7 D for this verse)
"Listen" said the mother "to the ducks and the bees
To the frogs and the fish and the birds in the trees"
"Bzz (5x)" said the five, "Ribbit (4x)" said the four, "Tweet (3x)" said the three, "Glub (2x)" said the two, "Quack" said the one
And the little baby laughed just to hear such fun