Fairies, a Singable Poem
Posted on: March 7, 2010
“Fairies,” a poem by Rose Fyleman, was first published in her book “Fairies and Chimneys” (1918). The speaker of this poem, which famously begins “There are fairies at the bottom of our garden,” is a girl who joins the fairies in play and becomes their queen. I love the voice of this girl as she uses her imagination and expresses a confident sense of self. She BELIEVES and she’s not apologizing for it!
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The Fairies’ Ring (A Book of Fairy Stories and Poems)
Collected and Adapted by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Stephen Mackey
(“Fairies” is printed and illustrated on pages 18 and 19)
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You might enjoy singing with this song sheet:
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Fairies
Poem by Rose Fyleman
Music by Various Artists, including Ginger Sands
To view or print this song sheet, click here:
FAIRIES (Rose Fyleman) song sheet SBWE
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The Gift of Make-Believe (Read and Sing Along Lyric Book)
Words by Various Artists
Tunes by Ginger Sands and Various Artists
Illustrations derived from published works of Various Artists
Ginger Sands has composed a likable and fun to sing musical setting of “The Fairies“ on her CD “The Gift of Make Believe.” Sands’ wonderful collection of children’s poetry set to music includes vocal and instrumental tracks for each poem. The vocals for “Fairies” are on Track 8. The instrumental sing-along is found on Track 18.
Hear musical clips or buy the tracks at many online music sellers, including Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Gift-of-Make-Believe/dp/B0019VU8QU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1267562676&sr=8-4
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Liza Lehmann wrote a musical setting, much less “singable” for “Fairies,” but which has inspired some hilariously funny renditions.
“There are Fairies at the Bottom of Our Garden”
Poem by Rose Fyleman
Music by Liza Lehmann
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This version has been charmingly recorded live by Sarah Walker on her album of funny operatic songs, “Blah Blah Blah and Other Trifles”
“There Are Fairies at the Bottom of Our Garden” is Track 11
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I especially enjoyed finding this recording by Beatrice Lillie, which includes a funny over-the-top introduction
“There are Fairies at the Bottom of our Garden”
Track 14 on the CD “The Very Best of Beatrice Lillie”
or by clicking here:
http://www.amazon.com/There-are-Fairies-Bottom-Garden/dp/B0039BUM2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1267888873&sr=8-1-catcorr
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Fairies
Poem by Rose Fyleman
There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
It’s not so very, very far away;
You pass the gardner’s shed and you just keep straight ahead.
I do so hope they’ve really come to stay.
There’s a little wood, with moss in it and beetles,
And a little stream that quietly runs through;
You wouldn’t think they’d dare to come merrymaking there.
Well, they do.
There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
They often have a dance on summer nights;
The butterflies and bees make a lovely little breeze,
And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights.
Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams
And pick a little star to make a fan,
And dance away up there in the middle of the air?
Well, they can.
There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
You cannot think how beautiful they are;
They all stand up and sing when the Fairy Queen and King
Come gently floating down upon their car.
The King is very proud and very handsome;
The Queen – now you can guess who that could be?
She’s a little girl all day, but at night she steals away.
Well, it’s Me!
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Read an excellent biography, including a bibliography, of Rose Fyleman on the Poetry Foundation’s website: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81207
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My friend Michael Miyazaki conduced an interview with the wonderful Music Director Alex Rybeck in October 2007. In a response to a question, Mr. Rybeck mentions this Singable Poem, here is the Q & A:
Q:
…Any thoughts on “playing funny”?
A:
…. I once worked with Jean Stapleton on a song — “There Are Fairies At the Bottom of My Garden” — a turn-of-the-century parlor song, popularized by Bea Lillie. Stapleton was worried she couldn’t “make it funny”. I suggested we look at the lyric as very serious, and play it as such. The result was funny — because she played the truth….
Read the full post here:
http://cabaretdc.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/at-the-keys-alex-rybeck/
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Related Posts
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POETRY SINGABLE POETRY IN COMPILATIONS
An list of singable poems from compilations of poetry for children
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/singable-poetry-a-list-of-poems-that-can-be-sung-from-illustrated-compilations-of-poetry-and-singable-picture-books/
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POETRY, SINGABLE POETRY IN INDIVIDUALLY ILLUSTRATED SINGABLE PICTURE BOOKS
A list of individually illustrated poems that have been set to music and can be sung
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/poems-individually-illustrated-spb/
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SING ALONG RESOURCES AND PRINTABLE MATERIALS
